How to Build Funnels in Tableau: 3 Different Ways

If you’re a product manager, you probably already know how important it is to track user journeys. Funnels are a game-changer when it comes to identifying drop-offs, understanding user behavior, and making data-driven decisions to optimize your product.

A few weeks ago, I decided to dig into building sign-up funnels in Tableau. Turns out, there are a few different ways to do it—each with its own pros and cons. In this article, I’m breaking down three different methods I used to create a sign-up funnel and the biggest lessons I learned along the way.

Oh, and if you’re wondering which product management funnels are most important to track, this article from UserPilot (Product Management Funnel: 9 Funnels PMs Should Track) gave me some great inspiration. Highly recommend checking it out!

Why Use a Sign-Up Funnel?

A sign-up funnel helps you:

✅ Identify where users drop off during sign-up.

✅ Understand the user journey and where friction occurs.

✅ Make better product decisions based on real data.

How to Build a Funnel: 3 Different Ways

1. The Fastest & Easiest: Bar Chart Funnel

This is the quickest way to visualize your funnel.

• What it is: A simple bar chart showing the number of users at each step.

• Why use it? It’s super clear and gets the job done fast.

• The downside? It doesn’t have that classic funnel shape we all expect.

  
  

🔗 Helpful tutorial: Three Different Ways to Build Funnels in Tableau

2. The “Looks Like a Funnel” Version: Area Chart (Single Color)

Want something that actually looks like a funnel? This is for you.

• What it is: Uses an Area Chart to create a smooth, tapering effect.

• Why use it? It gives you a more traditional funnel visualization that’s easier to interpret.

• The downside? Takes a little more setup.

  
  

🔗 Step-by-step guide: How to Create a Funnel Chart in Tableau (YouTube)

3. The Best-Looking Funnel: Multi-Colored Area Chart

This one takes more effort, but it’s the most polished and easiest to read.

• What it is: Uses calculated fields to color each step differently.

• Why use it? The color-coding helps quickly identify problem areas.

• The downside? You’ll need to use calculated fields to pull it off.

  
  

🛠 What’s a calculated field? From Tableau: “A calculated field lets you create new data values that aren’t directly in your dataset.” Perfect for smoothing out your funnel data.

🔗 Helpful tutorial: How to Create a Funnel Chart in Tableau (YouTube)

3 Key Lessons I Learned

Plan Your Data Before You Start

This will save you so much time. Even though Tableau can clean and manipulate data, it’s way easier to do it in Google Sheets or Excel first.

For example, my dataset originally had 'user_id' and 'step_number' fields, with each step recorded as a separate row. This made it hard to work with. Instead, I reformatted the data to show the total number of users at each step, which made the visualization process way smoother.

Focus on One Type of Chart, Multiple Ways

Instead of trying to build a bunch of different charts, I focused on just one—funnels.

This helped me go deeper into Tableau’s features, like calculated fields and chart settings, instead of bouncing between unrelated visualizations.

You Can Use SQL in Google Sheets

Did you know that you can write SQL queries directly in Google Sheets? I had no idea!

I’ve always used Google Sheets functions, but using SQL inside Google Sheets was a game-changer. It’s a great way to practice SQL without needing a fancy data warehouse.

🔗 Google Docs: Using SQL in Google Sheets

What You Can Do Next

1️⃣ Start simple – Build the bar chart funnel first.

2️⃣ Experiment – Try the area chart versions to see what works best.

3️⃣ Optimize your data before bringing it into Tableau – It will make things 10x easier.

Funnels are a must-have skill for product managers who want to make data-driven decisions. Now that you know how to build them, give it a try!

Got questions? Hit reply and ask away!