Summary
Device Category is the dimension, and Total Revenue is the metric. The dimension splits the data into mobile and desktop rows, and the metric supplies the revenue figure measured against each of those rows. Without both, the mobile versus desktop revenue comparison cannot be built.
Nitin Batra is a Google Analytics 4 certified analyst who configures GA4 properties, builds Free form explorations and validates ecommerce revenue tracking for client accounts on a daily basis.
Last updated: August 16, 2026
In this report Device Category is the dimension and Total Revenue is the metric, because Device Category groups the rows into mobile and desktop while Total Revenue supplies the numeric revenue total for each row.
- Both Device Category and Total Revenue are metrics.
- Device Category is the dimension, and Total Revenue is the metric.
- Device Category is the metric, and Total Revenue is the dimension.
- Both Device Category and Total Revenue are dimensions.
The correct answer is: Device Category is the dimension, and Total Revenue is the metric.
Key Takeaways
- – Device Category is the dimension and Total Revenue is the metric in this report.
- – Dimensions return text values such as mobile, desktop, tablet and smart tv, and they create the rows in a report, while metrics return numbers that are counted, summed or averaged for each row.
- – Every GA4 report, whether standard or an exploration, is built by pairing at least one dimension with at least one metric, so identifying which is which is the first step in planning any report.
- – A common mistake is thinking Total Revenue is a dimension because it appears as a column heading. Column headings can be either. The test is simple, if the value is a number that can be added up, it is a metric.
How do I quickly tell a GA4 dimension apart from a metric?
Ask whether the value can be summed. Sessions, Total revenue, Event count and Average engagement time are numbers, so they are metrics. Device category, Country, Session source and Landing page describe something and return text, so they are dimensions. In Explore, GA4 also separates them for you in the variables panel with dimensions listed in green and metrics in blue.
Where do I find the Device Category dimension in GA4?
In Reports it sits under Tech, in the Tech details report, where you change the first column drop down to Device category. It is also available as a secondary dimension on most standard reports and in the dimension picker inside any Free form exploration. In the Data API the same field is called deviceCategory.
Can Total Revenue be broken down by more than one dimension at a time?
Yes. In a Free form exploration you can drop Device category and, say, Session default channel group into Rows together, and Total revenue will be calculated for every combination. Standard reports allow one primary and one secondary dimension. Just watch for data thresholding and the (other) row when the combinations create too many unique values.
Why does Total Revenue sometimes not match my ecommerce platform's revenue by device?
GA4 credits revenue to the device where the purchase event fired, so a user who browses on mobile and buys on desktop shows revenue only against desktop. Ad blockers, consent choices and missing purchase events on the thank you page also cause gaps. Always validate the purchase event in DebugView on both a mobile and a desktop session before trusting the split.