Amplitude learning guide

Guide · 9 chapters

Learning Amplitude through what you know about Adjust

Adjust tells you where a user came from. Amplitude tells you what they did after they arrived. This guide teaches the second question by comparing it with the logic of the first.

Adjust: where did this user come from? Amplitude: what did they do inside the app? Adclick Storevisit Install /first open Onboarding Productviewed Addedto cart Purchase Returns7 days later where the two tools meet
Adjust's job resolves at the moment of install: which source does this device belong to? Amplitude stores every step after that as an event stream tied to one person. Adjust measures post-install events too, but to report them by source; Amplitude analyses the behaviour itself.

Learning path

Each chapter builds on the previous one. The first three cover the logic, the next three the practice, and the last three the Adjust connection and hands-on work.

ChapterWhat you will learnWhat you already know from Adjust
1. What is Amplitude?Which question product analytics answers, and how it differs from an MMPThe role of an MMP
2. Data modelEvents, event properties, user properties, groupsEvent tokens, callback/partner parameters
3. Identitydevice_id, user_id, Amplitude ID and mergingADID, device-based installs
4. Data ingestionSDKs, HTTP API, integrations, warehouseThe SDK vs S2S split
5. Analysis chartsSegmentation, funnel, retention, journeys, cohorts, stickiness, lifecycleDatascape and cohort reports
6. Tracking planNaming, plan template, validation loopThe event token list
7. Working with AdjustHow the integration works and why the numbers don't matchDiscrepancy analysis
8. GlossaryAdjust → Amplitude concept mapping, searchableAll of it
9. Hands-on labA 4-week plan, exercises, verification listA test integration

How to read this guide

Colours mean the same thing in every chapter. Orange boxes explain the Adjust equivalent; they are the main bridge of the guide. Red boxes flag common mistakes, green boxes give practical tips.

On the Adjust side

These boxes map a concept you already know in Adjust to its Amplitude counterpart and state the difference.

Verify

Purple boxes contain details that can change with product version, plan or UI. Check them against Amplitude's current documentation before passing them on to a client.

The numbers in the charts are sample data chosen to illustrate a concept. To understand what a chart counts, focus on how a number comes about, not on the number itself.