Google Analytics 4

Google's free, event-based analytics platform for websites and mobile apps, with a paid 360 edition.

4.3Editor ratingAnalyticsFree plan available

Overview

Google Analytics 4 is the current version of Google's web and app analytics service, which replaced Universal Analytics in 2023. It uses an event-based data model in which page views, clicks, purchases and app interactions are all events, and a single property can combine a website with its iOS and Android apps. It is the default analytics tool for most websites, from personal blogs to large retailers, and marketers rely on it for attribution, audiences and its direct link to Google Ads.

The standard version is free with no traffic cap, which is its main advantage. Explorations for funnel, path and cohort analysis, custom audiences, a free BigQuery export, a reporting API and a Looker Studio connector are all included. The trade-off is complexity: the interface is widely regarded as harder to learn than its predecessor, standard reports are thinner, explorations are sampled above 10 million events per query, and user-level data retention is capped at 14 months.

Analytics 360, the enterprise edition, raises those limits and adds SLAs, but its pricing is not published and is widely reported to start in the tens of thousands of dollars per year. Consent mode and data deletion tools exist, but several EU data protection authorities challenged Google Analytics' GDPR compliance in 2022, so sites with EU visitors should configure consent carefully.

Key features

Collaboration

Roles & permissions

Automation

API access

Data

Import & export
Reporting & dashboards

Platforms

Mobile app

Security

GDPR compliance tools

Marketing

Audience segmentation

Analytics

Funnels
Custom event tracking

Integrations: Google Ads, Google Workspace, WordPress
Platforms: Web, iOS, Android, API

Pros & cons

Strengths

Free with no traffic cap for the standard version
One property can combine a website with its iOS and Android apps
Free BigQuery export and Looker Studio connector
Native linking with Google Ads for audiences and attribution
Explorations cover funnel, path and cohort analysis

Limitations

Steep learning curve and thinner standard reports than Universal Analytics
Explorations are sampled above 10 million events per query on the standard tier
User-level data retention capped at 14 months on the standard tier
Consent handling and EU data-transfer questions require careful configuration

Pricing

Free. The standard version is free with no traffic cap. Analytics 360, the enterprise edition with higher limits and SLAs, is priced on request and not published.

Google Analytics (standard)

Popular

Free

Free for any site or app, with limits on sampling, retention and export volume.

No traffic cap
Explorations sampled above 10 million events per query
User-level data retention of 2 or 14 months
Free BigQuery export (daily export capped at 1 million events per day)

Analytics 360

Custom

Enterprise edition sold by Google and its Marketing Platform partners; pricing is not published.

Much higher sampling and export thresholds
Data retention up to 50 months
SLAs and enterprise support
Subproperties and roll-up properties

See Google Analytics 4 pricing

Prices are listed in USD and can change. Confirm current pricing on the vendor’s pricing page.

Best for

A good fit if you are

Marketers who run Google Ads and need attribution and audiences
Websites of any size that need free, full-featured traffic analytics
Teams combining web and app data in one property

Not ideal if you

Small sites that want simple, cookie-free analytics without a consent banner
Product teams that need deep user-level retention analysis without BigQuery

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