Google Analytics
FreemiumWeb analytics from Google
About Google Analytics
GA4 replaced Universal Analytics in July 2023 and broke everyone's historical data in the process. The new event-based model is technically sounder — everything is a hit now, sessions are derived — but the reporting UI regressed significantly from UA. Explorations replaced custom reports, but standard reports feel dumbed down. Free tier is genuinely useful for most sites; GA360 starts around $50K/year for enterprise volume. The biggest gripes on r/analytics: the 14-month data retention limit on free tier, and BigQuery export (necessary for anything serious) requiring GA360 or the free daily export with quota limits. Attribution defaults to last-click. Server-side tagging via Google Tag Manager now works, which helps with ad blockers and GDPR. The deep Google Ads integration is the real reason most teams use it — attribution data from Ads into GA4 is unmatched. If you're not running Google Ads, Plausible or Fathom handle 90% of traffic analytics needs without the GDPR compliance headache.
Key Features
Pricing Plans
Free
- Unlimited hits
- Standard reports
- BigQuery export
- Up to 50 custom dimensions
Analytics 360
- Unsampled reports
- BigQuery streaming
- Advanced attribution
- SLA support
Pros
- Free for virtually all use cases
- Deep integration with Google Ads ecosystem
- Powerful audience and conversion tracking
- Large ecosystem of tutorials and consultants
- Cross-device and cross-platform measurement
- Machine learning insights and predictions
Cons
- GA4 learning curve is steep for GA3 users
- Data sampling on free tier for large sites
- Privacy concerns with Google data collection
- Limited real-time capabilities vs specialized tools
- Complex event setup for custom tracking
- UI can feel overwhelming for beginners
Best For
- tracking Google Ads ROI and attribution
- pageview analytics for content sites on the free tier
- teams already embedded in the Google ecosystem
- sites under 10M monthly hits that can live with data retention limits
Not Ideal For
- privacy-conscious or GDPR-strict EU sites
- product analytics needs (funnels, cohorts, user-level tracking)
- teams who need more than 14 months of data without paying for GA360
Potential Deal Breakers
- 14-month data retention limit on free tier
- BigQuery export for serious analysis is limited to free daily quota on the free plan
- GDPR compliance requires significant configuration and still sends data to US servers by default
Data & Privacy
Google Analytics collects extensive visitor data and shares it within the Google advertising ecosystem. GA4 uses data for Google ad targeting and product improvement. Many EU data protection authorities consider GA non-compliant with GDPR. Data exported via BigQuery or API. Consent mode available but complex. Cookie-based tracking requires consent banners in EU.
Who Is This For?
Hands-on tested May 2026
Signup Experience
Google account required -- no separate signup. GA4 property setup takes about 10 minutes. Installing the gtag.js snippet or using Google Tag Manager is the primary integration path. Events are pre-configured for common actions but custom event tracking requires additional code. The GA4 interface has a steep learning curve compared to Universal Analytics.
For Home Users
Free and comprehensive -- the default choice for any personal website or blog that wants traffic data. Understanding where visitors come from, what pages they read, and how long they stay is genuinely useful. The privacy trade-off is significant: GA shares data with Google ad ecosystem and requires a cookie consent banner in EU. Plausible or Fathom are better choices for privacy-conscious site owners.
For Business Users
GA4 is free with deep integration into Google Ads, Search Console, and BigQuery. The free tier covers essentially all small and mid-size business needs. GA360 at $50K/yr adds SLAs, higher data limits, and advanced attribution for enterprise. The GDPR compliance situation is genuinely problematic in the EU -- multiple data protection authorities have ruled GA non-compliant. Businesses serving EU users should either implement Consent Mode carefully or use a privacy-friendly alternative.
Our Verdict
If you run Google Ads, GA4 is a no-brainer — the attribution data is unmatched. For everyone else, the forced migration from Universal Analytics was painful and GA4's UX is a step back; Plausible or Fathom handle traffic analytics with far less compliance headache. The free price is hard to argue with, but you get what you pay for.