Google Analytics vs Parse.ly (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 Parse.ly if

• Fits if you run a news or content site and care which articles earn attention
• Works for a publisher on WordPress that wants article-level numbers

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a price on the page, as there isn't one
• Not for you if you need a free plan or trial, as none is listed
• Skip it if you want app or product analytics, since it's built for content publishing
• Watch out: the three tiers cap you at 1, 2 or 3 sites tracked

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.

Parse.ly

• The pricing page names three tiers (Content Performance, Content Value, Content Advocacy) but shows no prices, so costs are not public.
• The tiers are limited by sites tracked: 1, 2 and 3 sites respectively.
• Aimed at content publishing; it is not a general product-analytics tool for apps.

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.

Parse.ly

Content analytics dashboard

Real-time and historical reports on article performance, with more than 30 audience-centric metrics and 13 months of history on the entry tier.

Conversion and attribution reporting

Connects what people read to conversions. Conversions reporting, attribution analytics and audience segmentation start on the second tier.

Content API

An API for serving recommended content on your own sites, with customizable models and a WordPress block for placing it.

Data pipeline

Streams raw, event-level data from websites and apps into a data warehouse for analysts.

AI insights

Answers questions in plain English, tests headlines while content is live, and can be reached from AI assistants through a Parse.ly MCP connection.

Video and geographic segmentation

Video tracking and reports by region are listed on the third tier, alongside single sign-on.

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.

Parse.ly

Pricing could not be confirmed. See parse.ly.