How to Find Average Session Duration in GA4

Posted in Tech on August 27, 2025
Tags: GA4, Google Analytics

If you’ve recently moved from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), you may have noticed a big change: the average session duration metric that used to sit front and center is nowhere to be found in the GA4 interface.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to bring it back using Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio), and I’ll also cover a few other ways you can find or approximate this data in GA4.

What Changed From Universal Analytics to GA4?

Universal Analytics (UA): Average Session Duration was easy to find on dashboards. It showed the average amount of time visitors spent on your site during a session.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4): Google shifted focus toward average engagement time per session, which measures only the time when a user is actively engaging with your site or app (as opposed to time when a tab might just be sitting open).

While the average session duration metric is still tracked in GA4, it’s no longer front and center. You just need to know where to look for it.

Method 1: Using Looker Studio (Recommended)

Looker Studio is a free Google tool that lets you build custom dashboards using GA4 data. Here’s how to set it up:

Connect GA4 as a Data Source
Open Looker Studio, create a new report, and connect your GA4 property.
Insert a Table
Go to Insert → Table and add it to your dashboard.
Add Dimensions
Use Page Path (or another dimension like Page Title) to break down session data by individual pages.
Add Metrics
Under Metrics, select Average Session Duration. This will display the data just like it used to appear in UA.

From here, you can style the table however you like, add filters, or create multiple charts — for example:

Overall average session duration
Session duration by page
Trends over time

The dashboard will refresh automatically with GA4 data, and you can even share it with clients or team members for easier reporting.

Method 2: GA4 Explorations

If you don’t want to leave GA4, you can use the Explorations tool:

Go to Explore in GA4.
Choose a blank report.
Add Session Duration as a metric.
Add dimensions like Page Path, Source/Medium, or Device Category depending on what you want to analyze.

This approach takes a few more clicks and isn’t as polished as Looker Studio, but it works when you need quick insights.

Method 3: GA4 BigQuery Export

For advanced users, GA4’s BigQuery export gives you access to raw event-level data. You can calculate average session duration directly using SQL:

Each session has a start and end timestamp.
Subtracting them gives you session duration.
Then, averaging across sessions yields the average session duration metric.

This method is great for data analysts who want maximum flexibility or want to integrate GA4 data into other reporting pipelines.

Method 4: Using GA4 API or Third-Party Tools

If you prefer automation or already use a BI tool like Tableau or Power BI, you can:

Query the GA4 Data API to pull the session duration metric into custom dashboards.
Use third-party connectors that surface GA4 metrics (including average session duration) directly.

This can save time if you’re managing multiple websites or need to combine GA4 data with other business data sources.

Final Thoughts

Google may have made average engagement time the star metric in GA4, but average session duration hasn’t disappeared. With tools like Looker Studio, Explorations, or BigQuery, you can still access and use it to understand how long visitors spend on your site.

For most marketers, Looker Studio is the easiest and most user-friendly option since it creates a permanent, shareable dashboard that updates automatically.