Google Analytics
The industry-standard web analytics platform for tracking traffic, conversions, and user behavior across websites and apps.
Google Analytics (GA4) is the most widely used web analytics platform in the world, providing comprehensive tracking of website traffic, user behavior, conversion funnels, and marketing attribution. GA4 represents a shift to event-based tracking and cross-platform measurement.
Key Features
GA4 offers event-based data modeling, cross-device tracking, machine learning-powered insights, and deep integration with Google Ads. It provides funnel analysis, cohort reports, and predictive metrics like purchase probability and churn probability.
Best For
Early-stage startups that need a zero-cost analytics foundation, marketing teams focused on acquisition channel attribution, and companies already invested in the Google ecosystem (Ads, Search Console, BigQuery).
Limitations
GA4 has a steep learning curve compared to Universal Analytics, limited data retention on the free tier (14 months), sampling on large datasets, and less depth in product analytics compared to dedicated tools like Amplitude or Mixpanel.
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| GA4 Free | Free | Up to 10M events/month, 14-month data retention |
| GA4 360 | $50,000+/year | Enterprise SLAs, BigQuery export, 50-month retention |
Used by
Airbnb · Spotify · Uber · The New York Times · Shopify · Nike
Use cases
- Tracking website traffic sources and marketing attribution
- Measuring conversion funnels from landing page to signup
- Analyzing user engagement across web and mobile
- Building audiences for Google Ads retargeting
Alternatives
- Heap — Auto-capture analytics platform that retroactively tracks every user interaction without manual event instrumentation. (Free)