Understand the differences between generating new events and creating audience triggers in Google Analytics
The following table outlines the key differences between generating new events and audience triggers in Google Analytics:
| Generating new events | Audience triggers | |
|---|---|---|
| Data scope | Event | User, session, or event |
| Event Limits | Up to 50 modifications to existing events and up to 50 new events. Collection limits also apply (e.g. 100K events per user per day). | Up to 20 audience triggers per property (from the limit of up to 100 audiences per property) |
| When it is calculated | Client side (before data is sent to Google Analytics) | During data processing (after data is sent to Google Analytics) when users become part of and/or refresh their audience membership |
| Shows up in the Network tab of Chrome DevTools | Yes, because it's calculated on the client side | No, because it's calculated during data processing (not on the client side) |
| gtag.js/Google Analytics for Firebase SDK dependency | Yes | No (can work using Measurement Protocol / Data import) |
| Modify parameters/values | Yes | No |
| Supported in subproperties and roll-up properties | No, because it would affect data that is collected client side. | Yes, because audience-trigger events are processed separately from data that is collected client side. |
Note: Audience triggers can't be used to create custom events as audience triggers and custom events are designed for different purposes and operate in separate domains (server vs. client). Audience triggers are calculated during data processing (after data is sent to Google Analytics) when users become part of and/or refresh their audience membership. Custom events are generated on the client side (before data is sent to Google Analytics).