Title: Comparison mode
Author: bethurban
Published: November 10, 2022
Last modified: September 19, 2025

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 1. [User handbook](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/)
 2. [Tools and features](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/tools-features/)
 3. Comparison mode

#  Comparison mode

Parse.ly’s comparison mode allows you to see “before and after” results. It displays
a comparison of metrics between two selected time periods.

Comparison mode provides a clear percentage and trend indicator in the [Parse.ly Dashboard](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/)
to demonstrate the impact of work. For example, after making site changes, you can
answer: “How did traffic change for our site this week versus last week?”

![Comparison mode on the Sections tab.](https://docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/
sites/5/2025/07/Comparison-mode.png)

Comparison mode on the Sections tab.

Comparison mode can be used with every Dashboard [metric](https://docs.parse.ly/measuring-reporting-performance/),
and all Parse.ly account users have access to it.

**Note**

Comparison mode is currently available with posts, authors, tags, and sections. 
This data cannot be exported. Future Parse.ly releases may expand this feature.

## Viewing comparison mode

Visit the [Posts/Pages](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/posts-tab/), [Authors](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/authors-tab/),
[Tags](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/tags-tab/), or [Sections](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/sections-tab/)
tab of the [Dashboard](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/). Select the [Historical view](https://docs.parse.ly/dashboard/navigating/pulse-vs-historical/)
and the primary time period, then click the “Compare” button.

![](https://docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/09/image-76-scaled.png)

Click the “Compare” button on the Posts/Pages, Authors, Tags, or Sections tab.

This opens a menu to select the time period to compare to. Presets are available,
such as “A Week Ago,” and a custom time range can also be selected.

![A custom time range can be chosen for comparison mode.](https://docs.parse.ly/
wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/07/Comparison-mode-custom-range.png)

A custom time range can be chosen for comparison mode.

Dashes in comparison mode results indicate no data is available to compare between
the selected time periods.

![A dash seen in comparison mode.](https://docs.parse.ly/wp-content/uploads/sites/
5/2025/07/Comparison-mode-dash.png)

A dash seen in comparison mode.

**Note**

If you have questions on how to make the most of comparison mode, contact your Relationship
Manager or Parse.ly Support at [support@parsely.com](https://docs.parse.ly/user-handbook/tools-features/support@parsely.com?output_format=md).

Last updated: September 19, 2025