Difference between published posts and viewed posts in the period
Updated 4 months ago
What’s the difference between these two sections?
Metricool shows your post metrics in two different ways, each with a specific purpose. Understanding the difference will help you analyze your content more effectively.
In Metricool, the date filter doesn’t include the current day. The data shown always goes up to yesterday at most.
Posts published in the period
This section filters and displays only the posts you created within the selected date range. The key is that it shows accumulated metrics from the moment the post was published until yesterday, not just the filtered period.
First, you’ll see a summary of all posts created in that date range, giving you an overview of the overall performance.
In the Posts list you’ll then find the full detail for each post, with all its accumulated metrics from the moment it was published until yesterday.
For example, if you filter from November 1 to 30 and you published 8 posts during those days, you’ll see those 8 posts with the total performance they’ve accumulated from publication until yesterday.
Posts viewed in the period
This section works completely differently. Here we show a global view of the performance generated during the selected date range, regardless of when the posts were created.
This section is a general overview of the period that includes activity from any post (new or old) that generated views in that date range.
The metrics shown here are filtered exclusively to the selected period. This means:
Older posts may appear if they had recent activity (for example, a post from two months ago that went viral this week).
The numbers only include metrics generated during the selected date range (available metrics vary depending on the social network).
Why are the numbers different?
It’s completely normal that the numbers don’t match between both sections. The key difference is:
Aspect | Published Posts | Viewed Posts |
|---|---|---|
Filter | Publication date | Activity/view date |
Metrics | Accumulated (from publication to yesterday) | Only from the selected period |
View | Global + individual breakdown | Global only |
Posts included | Only new posts from the period | Any post with activity in the period |
For multi-brand or advanced analysis, we recommend the Advanced plan, which includes the Looker Studio connector to create custom reports combining data from different periods and brands.
Practical example
Imagine that today is December 15 and you apply a filter from November 1 to 30:
In “Posts published in the period”:
You’ll see the posts created between November 1 and 30.
Each post shows its accumulated metrics from publication until December 14 (yesterday).
The numbers don’t represent only November, but all performance accumulated up to yesterday.
In “Posts viewed in the period”:
You’ll see a global summary of all activity generated between November 1 and 30, regardless of when the posts were created.
This number includes both new posts and any older post that had activity during November.
Only metrics from the filtered period are shown, with no individual breakdown.
When should you use each section?
Use “Published posts” when you want to:
Evaluate the accumulated performance of specific posts.
Compare different posts with individual detail.
Identify which published content performed better.
Export detailed per-post data.
Use “Viewed posts” when you want to:
Get a quick overview of the period’s overall performance.
Understand how much total activity was generated within a specific date range.
Analyze general trends without focusing on individual posts.
See the impact of older content that is still active.