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

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

Pick Keyword Hero if

• Fits if you want to know which searches end in a sale or sign-up, not only a visit
• Works for reporting brand and non-brand search growth to a boss or a client

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you're hunting for new keywords, since it only reads traffic you already get
• Not for you if you don't run Google Analytics 4 and Search Console
• Pricey if your site is big, as plans rise with sessions and 250,000 a month is $134 on yearly billing
• Watch out: keywords are matched statistically, not read from Google, and land in a separate Analytics property
• Tight if you want search intent or MCP, which start at Giant for $44 a month on yearly billing

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.

Keyword Hero

• It needs Google Analytics 4 and Search Console, and writes its keywords to a separate Analytics property; the keywords are matched statistically, not read from Google.
• The free plan stops at 2,000 organic sessions a month and keeps no history.
• Search intent and MCP access start at Giant, $49 a month; the BigQuery table starts at Ultimate.
• Plans are priced by organic sessions a month; above 250,000 is a custom contract.

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.

Keyword Hero

Keywords restored in Analytics

Matches Search Console queries to Google Analytics sessions, so sessions, bounce rate, page views and conversions show by keyword. The FAQ puts the average match at 93%.

AI assistant traffic

Shows how much traffic ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude and Gemini send to the site, next to classic organic search.

Search intent

Labels keywords as transactional, commercial, navigational or informational, from the Giant plan up.

Performance reports

Compare keyword performance over time, and from Big up use custom segments and brand, device and country reports.

MCP server

From Giant up, AI clients such as Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code can query sessions, conversions and revenue by keyword, page, country, device or intent.

BigQuery export

Ultimate and Ultimate Pro deliver the keyword data as a BigQuery table for your own analysis.

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.

Keyword Hero

• Little$0

  Up to 2,000 organic sessions a month, keyword performance and comparison, and the Google Analytics upload.

• Big$8

  per month for 10,000 sessions, billed annually ($9 billed monthly)

  1 key event, 1 month of history, custom segments, and brand, device and country reports.

• Giant$44

  per month for 50,000 sessions, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)

  3 key events, 6 months of history, keyword search intent and MCP server access.

• Ultimate$134

  per month for 250,000 sessions, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)

  10 key events, 16 months of history and keyword data as a BigQuery table.

• Ultimate ProCustom

  More than 250,000 sessions and 10 key events on a custom contract, with dedicated support.

Google Analytics

No public discounts listed.

Keyword Hero

• Annual discount

  Save 10% with annual billing

  Keyword Hero's pricing page lists annual billing at 10% off: Big is $8 a month billed annually instead of $9, and Giant $44 instead of $49.