google analytics differences between dashboard and

Question

I get different numbers when I use google analytics APIs compare to google analytics dashboard. I use the exact same filters in both ways.

Answer 1

In a word: Sampling

Regardless of how your traffic data is collected (sampled or unsampled), Analytics may examine only a portion of the collected data when calculating the result for a report. This type of sampling is called report sampling. It occurs automatically when you query for data that is not available in aggregate.

Google Docs on Sampling

Google Analytics API not returning same data as Analytics dashboard