Definition
A PLG funnel is a structured view of how users move from discovering your product to activating, engaging, and eventually expanding their usage.
Instead of focusing only on marketing or sales stages, a PLG funnel is anchored in in-product milestones and behaviors.
Common stages in a PLG funnel
Typical PLG funnel stages include: acquisition, signup or self-serve signup, onboarding, activation, feature adoption, and expansion.
Many teams also add intermediate stages such as "aha moment" or PQL creation, depending on their product.
Some products add a "habit" stage between activation and expansion to track when users become regular users.
PLG funnel vs traditional funnel
Traditional funnels: Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Closed Won. Stages are based on marketing and sales activities.
PLG funnels: Visitor → Signup → Activated → Engaged → PQL → Expanded. Stages are based on product usage.
PLG funnels put the product at the center, measuring whether users are actually getting value.
Measuring your PLG funnel
Track conversion rates between each stage to identify bottlenecks.
Measure time spent in each stage to identify where users stall.
Segment funnel metrics by acquisition channel, use case, and plan to understand which paths work best.
PLG funnels and Skene
Skene helps define PLG funnels by turning your codebase into journeys and milestones that can be measured end-to-end.
Because those milestones are wired into analytics, you can see where users drop off in the PLG funnel without manually rebuilding dashboards for every change.
Implementation notes
- Define clear, measurable events for each funnel stage before building dashboards.
- Start with a simple 4–5 stage funnel and add complexity only when you have clear hypotheses to test.
- Review funnel metrics weekly to spot trends early.