Why choose it: Product, growth, and data teams that need event-based behavioral analysis tied to experiments, replay, and downstream activation.
Google Analytics: Pricing, Plans & Features
Google's event-based analytics for websites and apps, with a paid Analytics 360 edition.
Overall Score61/100
AI features4.3Editor Rating
Market Signal 40Top-rated in Ecommerce Analytics#1 of 6 in Ecommerce Analytics by Overall Score
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics measures websites and iOS and Android apps with an event-based model, where page views, clicks, purchases and other interactions are all recorded as events with parameters. Standard reports cover acquisition, engagement and ecommerce, and Explorations let analysts build funnels, path analyses and segments from event-level data. Properties link to Google Ads, Search Console, Google Tag Manager and BigQuery. A standard property can export up to one million events a day to BigQuery, while streaming export carries a separate Google Cloud ingestion charge. Retention settings of 2 or 14 months apply to Explorations and funnel reports, not to the aggregated standard reports. Analytics 360, bought through a Google Marketing Platform order, stretches retention to as long as 50 months and raises limits on custom dimensions, audiences, key events, exploration sampling and API quotas. It also adds subproperties, roll-up properties and service level agreements for large organizations.
Best for: Businesses of any size that want web and app measurement tied directly to Google Ads, Search Console and BigQuery.
GA4 uses an event-based model with automatically collected, enhanced measurement and recommended event types. Custom reporting depends on choosing useful event parameters and key events; Google Ads integration can support campaign optimization, but it does not make GA4 an independent privacy-first visitor counter.
4.3
out of 5
Editor Rating
Calculated from facts we verified on Google Analytics's own website, using published thresholds. Nobody can pay to change it. Together with Market Signal it makes the Overall Score of 61 that orders our lists.
- Pricing transparency4.8
- Entry cost5.0
- Free access5.0
- Platforms & API4.5
- Support3.0
- Integrations3.0
- Security & compliance5.0
Dimensions without verified data count as a neutral 2.5. Facts checked October 13, 2026. How the rating works
40
Moderate
Market Signal
Real dataComputed from Ahrefs + Semrush data about Google Analytics's own website. Not an assessment of the product itself. How this works →
Market Strength
37
Where it stands today
Momentum
51 Stable →
Where it’s heading
Data Confidence
Medium
How much to trust it
- Traffic Strength5
- Search Visibility8
- Authority96
- Brand & Market Presence87
Tick mark = category average.
Compared with 24 tracked Analytics tools. Data through September 2026, pulled October 12, 2026.
Who Is It Best For?
- Website owners who want traffic and conversion reporting at no cost
- Advertisers measuring Google Ads campaigns against site behavior
- Analysts who query raw event data in BigQuery
- Large organizations that need 360's longer retention and SLAs
Who Should Avoid It?
- Teams needing more than 14 months of exploration history without buying 360
- High-volume sites whose daily BigQuery export would exceed one million events
Use Cases
- Tracking traffic sources and conversions on a website
- Measuring in-app events for iOS and Android apps
- Building checkout funnels in Explorations
- Exporting raw event data to BigQuery for SQL analysis
Google Analytics Features
- Event-based web and app measurement
- Audience segmentation
- Ecommerce measurement
- Advertising integrations
- Explorations and funnels
Google Analytics Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (mo) |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Free | Free |
| Google Analytics 360 | Custom | Custom |
Pricing shown reflects list prices as of our last check and may have changed. Confirm current pricing on Google Analytics' website before purchasing.
Google Analytics Integrations
Google Ads, Google Search Console, Google Tag Manager, BigQuery
Customer Support
Knowledge Base, Community
Google Analytics at a Glance
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, CA
- Built for
- Freelancer, Small Business, Mid-Market, Enterprise
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, API
- Languages
- English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese
Google Analytics Pros and Cons
What We Like
- The standard version is free and includes daily BigQuery export of up to one million events.
- Aggregated standard reports are not cut off by the data retention setting.
- Explorations build funnels, paths and segments from event-level data.
- Native links to Google Ads, Search Console, Tag Manager and BigQuery.
- Analytics 360 keeps event data for up to 50 months.
What Could Be Better
- Standard properties keep exploration data for at most 14 months.
- Subproperties and roll-up properties require Analytics 360.
- Standard Explorations are sampled above 10 million events per query.
- Age, gender and interest data is always kept for only two months.
Google Analytics Alternatives
Why choose it: Organizations that need full data ownership or strict privacy/compliance guarantees.
Why choose it: Site owners and teams that want simple privacy-oriented web analytics without the complexity of a broader marketing analytics suite.
Why choose it: Enterprise analytics teams needing detailed cross-channel behavioral analysis and attribution controls.
More tools like Google Analytics
Fathom AnalyticsPrivacy-focused web analytics with simple dashboards, event tracking, uptime monitoring, and EU isolation.
PostHogProduct engineering suite combining analytics, replay and feature flags.
Microsoft ClarityBehavior analytics with session recordings, heatmaps, smart events, and Copilot summaries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google Analytics have a free trial or free plan?⌄
Google Analytics offers a free plan, though it doesn't offer a separate free trial of paid tiers.
How much does Google Analytics cost?⌄
Google Analytics doesn't publish a starting price. Check its pricing page for current plans.
What are the best alternatives to Google Analytics?⌄
Commonly considered alternatives include Amplitude, Matomo, Plausible and Adobe Analytics. The Alternatives section on this page shows what each one is best at and its starting price.
Last updated: October 13, 2026Details checked: October 5, 2026Pricing checked: October 13, 2026