Google Analytics

Widely supported web and app traffic analytics from Google.

webtraffic

Websiteanalytics.google.com

CategoryAnalytics

PricingFree

Card requiredNo

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ABOUT

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is the most widely used web analytics platform, offering comprehensive traffic, behavior and conversion reporting for websites and apps. The free standard tier covers most small to medium businesses with advanced segmentation, real-time data and integration with Google Ads. The enterprise version (Analytics 360) adds higher limits and SLA guarantees.

BEFORE YOU SIGN UP

What you should know

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Most comprehensive free analytics tierUnlimited pageviews, advanced segments, real-time reports and Google Ads integration at no cost.

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GA4 has a steep learning curveThe event-based model in GA4 is very different from Universal Analytics. Many users find the interface confusing and less intuitive.

Privacy and compliance overheadGDPR requires cookie consent banners with GA. EU regulators have deemed GA non-compliant in some jurisdictions without consent.

Slows down page load timesThe full GA4 script bundle can add significant weight to pages, especially on initial load.

COMMUNITY

From the forums

Google Analytics is ubiquitous but polarizing on Reddit. Many developers dislike the privacy implications, GDPR complexity and performance overhead of the script. Product and marketing teams generally appreciate the depth of reporting and free tier. The migration from Universal Analytics to GA4 generated significant negative sentiment due to interface and data model changes.

— Community sentiment · Reddit

💬Discuss on Reddit ↗

Alternatives to Google Analytics

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Simple, cookie-free website analytics with AI traffic, funnels and SEO context from Ahrefs.

Amplitude

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Axiom

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Store and explore event data and logs with fast queries and dashboards.

ABOUT US

Honest, independent, no fluff.

No paid placements. Just a clear look at what this does, what it costs, and what to know before you commit.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is Google Analytics free?＋

The standard Google Analytics is free for most websites and apps. Analytics 360 is a paid enterprise version with higher limits and SLAs.

What is the difference between GA4 and Universal Analytics?＋

GA4 uses an event-based data model and is more privacy-focused with cookieless measurement. Universal Analytics was session-based and stopped processing data on July 1, 2024.

Is Google Analytics GDPR compliant?＋

Google Analytics can be used in a GDPR-compliant way with proper cookie consent, data processing agreements and IP anonymization. Some EU data protection authorities have found standard GA implementations non-compliant.