Date Ranges and Comparison
Every dashboard in Calm Analytics starts with a date range. The date picker sits in the top-right corner of every dashboard view. Click it to choose the time period you want to analyze.
Presets#
The fastest way to pick a range is to use one of the built-in presets:
| Preset | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Today | Midnight to now |
| Yesterday | Full previous day |
| Last 7 days | The past week, not including today |
| Last 28 days | The past four weeks |
| Last 30 days | The past month |
| Last 90 days | The past quarter |
| Last 12 months | The past year |
Click any preset and your dashboards update immediately.
Custom ranges#
Need a specific window? Click Custom in the date picker, then select a start date and end date on the calendar. This is useful for measuring a product launch, a marketing campaign, or any other time-bound event.
Click Apply when you have your dates set. The entire dashboard refreshes to show data for that exact period.
Comparison mode#
Comparison is where things get powerful. It lets you see how your current numbers stack up against a previous period, so you can tell at a glance whether things are trending up or down.
Enabling comparison
- Open the date picker.
- Toggle Compare to on.
- Choose a comparison type:
| Option | What it compares |
|---|---|
| Previous period | The same number of days immediately before your selected range. If you picked the last 7 days, it compares to the 7 days before that. |
| Previous year | The same date range one year earlier. Great for spotting seasonal patterns. |
| Custom | Pick any start and end date for the comparison period. |
What comparison looks like
Once comparison is active, you will see changes across the dashboard:
- Metric cards show a percentage change badge (green for up, red for down) next to each number.
- Charts display a dotted line for the comparison period alongside the solid line for the current period, so you can visually track the difference over time.
Spot trends fast
The comparison feature is the fastest way to spot trends. Enable it to see at a glance whether your traffic is growing or declining. No spreadsheet needed.
Granularity#
On the Overview dashboard, you can control how data points are grouped on the time-series charts. The granularity selector appears next to the date picker.
| Granularity | Best for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Today or Yesterday | See traffic spikes hour by hour |
| Daily | 7 to 90 day ranges | One data point per day on the chart |
| Weekly | 90 days or longer | Smooths out day-to-day noise |
| Monthly | 90 days or longer | High-level trend across months |
Shorter ranges pair best with finer granularity. If you select "Last 7 days" with monthly granularity, you will only see a single data point, which is not very useful. Daily or hourly will give you a much clearer picture.
Free plan date limits#
Free plan limitation
The Free plan limits you to the last 30 days of data. If you need to analyze longer time periods (last quarter, year-over-year comparisons, or custom historical ranges), upgrade to the Starter plan.