Databuddy vs Google Analytics (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Databuddy if

• Fits if you want cookieless analytics plus error tracking in one script
• Works for small sites under 10,000 events a month

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you stay free, at 10K events a month and 10 AI credits
• Watch out: investigations aren't on Hobby or Pro, and start at Business at $299
• Watch out: events past your allowance cost $0.03 to $0.035 per 1,000
• Skip it if you need self-hosting or yearly billing, as neither exists
• Watch out: Business and Scale prices are early-user prices that may change

Pick Google Analytics if

• Fits if you run Google Ads and want to see which campaigns bring in sales
• Works for small businesses that want free traffic reports with raw data in BigQuery

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to watch recordings of visits, which it doesn't do
• Not for you if you need more than 14 months of user-level history without paying for 360
• Tight if you need data within the hour, as intraday freshness is a 360 feature
• Watch out: Analytics 360 has no published price, and sub-properties and roll-up reports are 360 only
• Watch out: Google Ads data in reports covers a rolling 36 months, and Google signals data is kept 26 at most

Databuddy

• Plans are billed monthly; the pricing page says there is no annual billing.
• It is a hosted service only: the pricing page says there is no self-hosting option.
• Events beyond the allowance cost $0.03 to $0.035 per 1,000, and extra investigations cost $1 each.
• Business and Scale are early user prices that stay fixed while you keep the plan; later prices may differ.

Google Analytics

• Analytics 360 has no published price; it is quoted through Google's sales team.
• In the free version, user- and event-level data is kept for 2 or 14 months; 26, 38 and 50 months are 360 only.
• Intraday data freshness, sub-properties, roll-up reporting and higher limits on custom dimensions and audiences are 360 only.
• Google Ads data in reports is limited to a rolling 36 months, and Google signals data is kept no more than 26 months.

Databuddy

Cookieless product analytics

Tracks real-time visitors, sessions, funnels, custom events and revenue from one script without cookies.

Databunny AI analyst

Chat with an AI analyst about your numbers and see the query behind each answer; credits are capped per plan.

Scheduled investigations

On Business and Scale, Databunny checks metrics daily or weekly and posts findings with evidence to Slack.

Errors, Web Vitals and flags

Error tracking, Web Vitals, uptime monitoring and feature flags use the same script as analytics.

Session recordings

Business and Scale include 5,000 session recordings a month, with extra recordings at $5 per 1,000.

Google Analytics

Traffic and acquisition reports

Shows how people reach a site or app across paid and organic channels, which pages and screens they use, and what happens in real time.

Explorations

Free-form analysis, open or closed funnels, path analysis, segment overlap, cohorts and user lifetime value, built by dragging fields onto a canvas.

Attribution

Data-driven attribution, conversion path reports and model comparisons show how each marketing channel contributes to conversions.

Predictions and insights

Machine learning predicts actions such as purchase or churn to build audiences, flags notable changes automatically, and answers typed questions.

Google Ads and BigQuery links

Imports Google Ads, Display & Video 360 and Search Ads 360 data, sends audiences and conversions back, and exports raw events to BigQuery.

Databuddy

• Free$0

  10K events a month and 10 AI credits for Databunny chat. No trial period and no credit card.

• Hobby$9.99

  per month for 30K events, billed monthly

  Then $0.035 per 1,000 events. Product analytics and Databunny chat, without investigations.

• Pro$49.99

  per month for 1M events, billed monthly

  Then $0.035 per 1,000 events. Product analytics and Databunny chat, without investigations.

• Business$299

  per month for 2M events, billed monthly

  100 investigations a month ($1 each after), 1,500 AI credits, 5,000 recordings. Early user price locked in.

• Scale$799

  per month for 6M events, billed monthly

  250 investigations a month, 3,000 AI credits, SSO with SAML or OIDC, audit logs and guided onboarding.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom event volume, a security review and an SLA.

Google Analytics

• Google Analytics$0

  Free: reports, explorations, attribution, predictive audiences, Google Ads and Search Console links, and BigQuery export.

• Analytics 360Custom

  Sold through sales: intraday data within an hour, sub-properties, roll-up reporting, higher limits, up to 50 months of data and SLAs.

Databuddy

• Startups

  30% off any plan for a year

  For teams founded in the last 5 years that have raised less than $5M; the discount covers the first 12 months.

• Nonprofit

  Free Pro for nonprofits under $1M

  Registered nonprofits with an annual budget under $1M get Pro free, and larger ones get half off Hobby or Pro, renewed yearly.

Google Analytics

No public discounts listed.