When running a load test in LoadView, you may notice that the number of active users reported in tools like Google Analytics (GA) appears significantly higher than the number of virtual users configured in the test. For example, a test configured with 1,000 virtual users may correspond with 5,000 or more active users shown in GA. This behavior is expected and is because of fundamental differences in how LoadView and GA interpret and track user sessions:
- LoadView recycles sessions rapidly, executing scripts and terminating browser sessions immediately.
- Google Analytics continues to count users as active based on time-based assumptions, even after the virtual session has ended.
In a nutshell, because LoadView continuously creates and ends sessions rapidly, multiple virtual sessions may overlap within the timeframe GA considers a single user “active.” That’s why the number of active users in GA can look higher than the number of virtual users you set in LoadView.
LoadView Session Behavior Explained
LoadView generates virtual users that simulate browser-based activity using real browsers. These users execute scripted actions quickly, often opening and closing the browser in a matter of seconds. After the script is completed, the session is terminated, browser cache is cleared, and the process begins again—creating a new virtual user session.
Google Analytics Session Tracking
Google Analytics interprets a page load as the beginning of a user session and assumes the user remains active for a predefined period (typically 30 minutes of inactivity). GA does not detect when a user actually leaves the page or closes the browser immediately after loading it. As a result, even though a LoadView virtual user may exit the page within seconds, GA will continue counting that session as active for several minutes.