What Is a Device Comparison in Search Console?
A device comparison is a Performance report view that splits Google Search clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position by the type of device the searcher used, desktop, tablet or mobile, and sets two of them side by side.
Search Console is Google’s free tool for site owners, and the Performance report is where it shows how a site appears in Google Search. Google defines clicks as “the number of times a user clicked your site from Google Search results,” impressions as how many times the site “appeared in Search results,” CTR as “the click count divided by the impression count,” and average position as “the average position of the topmost result from your site” (Search Console Help). The devices dimension “groups data by the type of device on which the user is searching: desktop, tablet, or mobile” (Search Console Help).
The news this week is small but useful. Search Engine Roundtable reported on November 4, 2026 that the device filter now accepts more than one device (Search Engine Roundtable), and Google’s help page now reads “Filter by multiple countries or devices to see their combined data” (Search Console Help). The same outlet reported the country version on October 6, 2026 (Search Engine Roundtable), so, by our count, the device version followed 29 days later. For a PR or communications team, it means a single view can now answer “how do our press pages do on phones versus everything else?” without exporting anything.
How to Compare Devices at a Glance
| Step | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Performance, Search results, and set search type and date range | The chart and table for one search type and period |
| 2 | Open the Devices tab in the table | One row each for desktop, mobile and tablet |
| 3 | Add a Device filter and choose Compare, then two devices | Two lines on the chart and a Difference column in the table |
| 4 | Switch the table to Queries or Pages | Every query or page with both devices’ figures side by side |
| 5 | Use the multi-device Filter to group mobile and tablet if you want “handheld” totals | Combined figures for the devices you checked |
| 6 | Export, or use the Search Analytics API for more than 1,000 rows | A file or dataset you can chart and keep |
Time: 10 to 20 minutes. Tools: a browser and a Search Console account; optionally a spreadsheet, or the API with a developer project. Cost: free. Skill level: beginner for the report, intermediate for the API.
What Do You Need Before Starting?
You need a verified Search Console property and a question to answer, such as whether a page ranks well but gets few clicks on phones. If the site is not verified yet, our guide on verifying a site in Search Console covers each method. If an agency is doing the analysis, give it its own user rather than a password, as our guide on giving a PR agency access explains.
- The right property type. If your mobile site lives on its own host, such as an m. subdomain, Google says that without a Domain property “you’ll need to open a separate Performance report for each site” to compare them (Search Console Help).
- A long enough date range. Collected data is usually available in two to three days, and the newest days can be preliminary (Search Console Help; Search Console Help). Stop your range a few days before today.
- A note of the time zone. Outside the 24-hour view, dates are in Pacific Time (Search Console Help). Analytics tools in another zone will not match day for day.
Step 1: Open the Performance Report and Set the Basics
Open Search Console, choose the property, and go to Performance, then Search results. Two filters are always present: date and search type. Google says you “can’t remove the Search type or date filters” (Search Console Help). Search type can be web (text-based), web (multimodal), image, video or news (Search Console Help). For most device work, keep web (text-based) and pick a range of at least 28 days so weekday and weekend searching both appear.
Step 2: Read the Devices Tab First
Click the Devices tab under the chart to see one row each for desktop, mobile and tablet. This is the quickest overview. Device rows are aggregated by property, the same way as the chart, so they can be read directly against the chart totals (Search Console Help). Note the CTR and average position for each row. A device with a similar position but a much lower CTR is the first thing worth investigating.
Step 3: Add a Device Comparison
Click + Add filter (or New), choose Device, select Compare, pick two devices and click Apply. Google’s instructions are to open or add a filter, “choose Compare in the filter properties dialog box,” add the values and apply; the table then shows a “Difference” column (Search Console Help). Compare takes exactly two values. Google says “you can have only one comparison at a time. Adding a new comparison filter will replace an existing one” (Search Console Help), so you cannot compare devices and date ranges in the same view. If you need both, filter to one device and compare dates instead.
Step 4: Switch the Table to Queries or Pages
With the comparison applied, click the Queries or Pages tab to see every query or page with both devices’ figures. Sort by the Difference column to find the largest gaps. Expect some cells to show a tilde. Google explains that if a value “is very rare in one group but not in the other, the rare group will show ~ (not available) for that row” (Search Console Help). Filtering to that one query or page usually brings back figures for both devices.
Read the Pages view with care. Data grouped by Pages or Search appearance “is aggregated by page,” while the chart is aggregated by property (Search Console Help). Google’s own example shows CTR and average position “generally higher when aggregating by property” when several pages from one site appear in the same results (Search Console Help). Compare pages with pages, not with the chart totals.
Step 5: Combine Devices With the New Multi-Select Filter
To see two devices as one group, add a Device filter, choose Filter rather than Compare, and check more than one device. Google’s help says this shows “their combined data” (Search Console Help). A common use is grouping mobile and tablet as handheld traffic and then comparing that group across two date ranges, which the one-comparison rule otherwise blocks. You can stack it with other filters; Google’s example is country='USA' AND device='Mobile' (Search Console Help). You cannot do the same for Search appearance: “You can’t filter by multiple Search appearances” (Search Console Help).
Step 6: Export or Use the API for Larger Comparisons
Use Export for a quick file, and the Search Analytics API when you need more than 1,000 rows per device. Google says exports download “both the chart and table data,” and that values shown as ~ or - “will be zeros in the downloaded data” (Search Console Help), so a zero in a spreadsheet may mean “not available” rather than “none.” The report table shows a maximum of 1,000 rows (Search Console Help).
The API’s query method accepts a device filter whose “supported values” are DESKTOP, MOBILE and TABLET, and a rowLimit with a “valid range is 1–25,000; Default is 1,000,” paged with startRow (Google for Developers). Run one request per device, or group by the device dimension, and join the results by query or page. A minimal request body looks like this:
{
"startDate": "2026-10-01",
"endDate": "2026-10-31",
"dimensions": ["query", "device"],
"rowLimit": 25000
}How Many Rows Can Each Method Return?
The report table stops at 1,000 rows, while one API request can return up to 25,000. For a small site the table is enough. For a newsroom, a large blog or a site with thousands of product pages, the long tail of device differences only shows up through the API.
rows
Sources: Google for Developers, “Search Analytics: query”; Search Console Help, “Performance report (Search results): Troubleshooting data discrepancies.” Read November 5, 2026.
A display and request limit, not a data cap: rows beyond the table limit are still counted in chart totals, and the API can page further with startRow.
The chart shows why a long-tail device comparison belongs in the API: one request returns 25 times as many rows as the report table can show.
Our illustration, not real data: if a press page has 4,000 mobile impressions and 80 clicks, its mobile CTR is 2.0%; with 1,000 desktop impressions and 50 clicks, desktop CTR is 5.0%. If the two average positions are close, the gap points to how the result looks or loads on a phone rather than to ranking.
How Do You Verify It Worked?
The comparison worked if the chart shows two lines in different colors and the table has a Difference column. Check three things. First, the filter bar should show the Device comparison and no other comparison. Second, each line’s totals should be in line with that device’s row on the Devices tab for the same dates. Third, if you used the multi-select Filter, the filter should list every device you checked, and the combined totals should be close to those devices’ rows added together; this is our check, not a Google guarantee.
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Your date comparison disappeared | Only one comparison is allowed, and the device comparison replaced it | Filter to one device and compare dates instead |
| Rows show ~ for one device | The query or page is rare for that device | Filter by that single query or page to see both values |
| Table totals are lower than chart totals | The 1,000-row limit or anonymized queries | Use the chart for totals, or pull rows through the API |
| Zeros in the export | ~ and - values export as zeros | Treat zeros as “not available” unless the report shows a number |
| Mobile site figures look too low | A separate m. host is a separate URL-prefix property | Use a Domain property, or open both properties’ reports |
| Numbers do not match Google Analytics | Pacific Time dates, processing and JavaScript-only tracking | Compare weekly or monthly totals, not single days |
What Not to Do
Do not compare a single Monday with a single Saturday. Consequence: the device gap you see may just be the weekly pattern of how people search. Correction: Google recommends Weekly or Monthly granularity to neutralize the “day-of-the-week” effect (Search Console Help).
Do not add page-level and property-level numbers together. Consequence: CTR and position will look inconsistent. Correction: read Pages and Search appearance rows only against each other (Search Console Help).
Do not treat a share link as access. Consequence: a colleague sees only the one view. Google says a shared link “grants access only to the current view of the report” (Search Console Help). Correction: add them as a user if they need to work in the property.
Do not read a device gap as a ranking penalty. Consequence: wasted work on the wrong fix. Correction: check position first; a CTR gap at a similar position usually points to the result’s title, snippet or page speed on that device. For brand questions, our guide to tracking branded search in Search Console shows how to isolate brand queries before you compare devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you filter by more than one device in Search Console?
Yes. Google’s help says you can filter by multiple countries or devices to see their combined data. Search Engine Roundtable reported the multi-device option on November 4, 2026.
How do I compare mobile and desktop in Search Console?
In the Performance report, add a Device filter, choose Compare, select mobile and desktop and click Apply. The table shows both values and a Difference column.
Can I compare devices and dates at the same time?
No. Google says you can have only one comparison at a time, and a new one replaces the old one. Filter to one device, or a multi-device group, and compare dates instead.
Why do some rows show a tilde (~) in a device comparison?
Google says a value that is very rare in one group shows ~ (not available) for that group. Filtering to that single query or page usually shows both values.
How many rows can I export from the Performance report?
The report table shows a maximum of 1,000 rows. The Search Analytics API returns up to 25,000 rows per request and can page further with startRow.
What devices does Search Console report?
Three: desktop, tablet and mobile. The API uses the values DESKTOP, MOBILE and TABLET.
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from Google’s Search Console Help pages on the Performance report and Google’s Search Analytics API reference, read November 5, 2026, plus Search Engine Roundtable’s reports on the multi-select country (October 6, 2026) and device (November 4, 2026) filters. The day count between those reports and the CTR example are our own arithmetic; the example uses invented numbers for illustration. Step timings, the 28-day range and the advice on reading CTR gaps are our recommendations, not Google rules. We did not test the new filter in a live property for this guide.
- platform documentation Google, Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): Advanced filtering and comparison. Multi-device filter wording, Compare steps, one-comparison limit, ~ values, regex, granularity advice, m. site note. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Google, Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): Dimensions and data groupings. Device values, Pacific Time dates. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Google, Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup. Metric definitions, search types, aggregation, export zeros, share links. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Google, Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): Troubleshooting data discrepancies. 1,000-row table limit, 2 to 3 day lag. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Google, Search Console Help, Performance report (Search results): About the data. Property versus page counting of CTR and position. Read November 5, 2026.
- platform documentation Google for Developers, Search Analytics: query. Device filter values, rowLimit range and default, startRow. Read November 5, 2026.
- trade press Search Engine Roundtable, Google Search Console Performance Report Multi-Select Device Filters. November 4, 2026 report of the multi-device filter. Read November 5, 2026.
- trade press Search Engine Roundtable, Search Console performance report country filters. October 6, 2026 report of the multi-country filter. Read November 5, 2026.