Google Analytics vs Site Kit by Google (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Analytics grades higher than Site Kit by Google: 3.4 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Google Analytics grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Analytics
Google's free website and app analytics, with a paid 360 tier
Free plan
Site Kit by Google
Google's free WordPress plugin for Search Console and Analytics stats
Free
Which one is for you
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 Site Kit by Google if
- Fits if you want Search Console and Analytics figures without leaving WordPress
- Works for agencies setting up Google tools for clients and emailing them stats
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for SEO on its own, as it edits no titles, meta descriptions, schema or sitemaps
- Watch out: each admin who wants full access has to connect their own Google account
- Tight if your site is new, as data can take a few days to appear
- Skip it if your site isn't live and public on WordPress 5.2 or later with the REST API available
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAGoogle AnalyticsVery good | 2.8GPASite Kit by GoogleGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$0 for a 10,000-visitor site, or one a hundred times that size: the standard version is free, with reports, explorations, attribution and BigQuery export. Only Analytics 360, quoted by Google's sales team, costs money. | AFree and open source, and Google says it will stay free. Google products you connect through it, such as Google Ads, keep their own terms and any fees they charge. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree for sites and apps of any size, with no traffic cap a normal business would reach. The limits that do exist are about history: user- and event-level data is kept for 2 or 14 months. | AEvery feature is free. There's no paid plan, so nothing is held back. |
| Features | BTraffic and acquisition reports, funnel and path explorations, cohorts, data-driven attribution, predicted audiences and BigQuery export. The whole traffic analytics job, graded against Matomo, Plausible and Fathom. It doesn't record visits; that's Clarity's job. | DIt reports Google's numbers and places tags for Tag Manager, AdSense and Ads, but its pages list no title, meta, schema or sitemap editing, and it shows nothing until Search Console or Analytics is connected. |
| Ease of use | B4.6 from 5,249 App Store ratings for its phone app. You can ask questions in plain words, but explorations, events and attribution settings take some learning. | CNo rating on record. Every admin wanting full access connects their own Google account, and new sites or services can take a few days to show data. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps, with links to Google Ads, Search Console, BigQuery, Tag Manager, Firebase and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. No desktop app, which keeps it off an A. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, linked to Search Console, Analytics, PageSpeed Insights, Tag Manager, AdSense and Google Ads, and listed with Elementor and Hostinger. |
| Best for | free traffic reports for any size of site | Google's search and traffic numbers in WordPress |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Google Analytics and Site Kit by Google. How we grade
Where they differ
- Site Kit by Google is open source, according to its own site.
- Site Kit by Google also covers page speed.
In commonFree planWebReportsWeb analytics
At a glance
| Google Analytics | Site Kit by Google | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | Not published | Free |
| Free plan | The standard Google Analytics is free for sites and apps of any size, with reports, explorations, attribution and BigQuery export. User- and event-level data is kept for at most 14 months. | The whole plugin is free and open source; Google products connected through it keep their own terms and any fees they charge. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | ||
| Price read from | marketingplatform.google.com | wordpress.org |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Site Kit by Google
- Runs only inside WordPress, on a live public site with WordPress 5.2, PHP 7.4 and the REST API available.
- It reports on Google's own services; its pages list no title, meta description, schema or sitemap editing.
- Each WordPress admin who wants full access connects their own Google account.
- New sites or newly connected services can take a few days before data appears.
Key features
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.
Site Kit by Google
- Search Console in WordPress
- Shows how often pages appeared in Google Search and which queries led there, for the whole site or, from the admin bar, for one page.
- Analytics dashboard
- Brings Google Analytics traffic and engagement figures into WordPress. IP addresses are anonymized by default when Analytics is connected.
- PageSpeed Insights
- Compares a page's speed with real-world sites and lists suggestions for making it faster.
- Setup without code
- Adds the snippets for Tag Manager, AdSense, Google Ads, Sign in with Google and Reader Revenue Manager without editing theme files.
- Email reports
- Since version 1.178.0, users can subscribe to a periodic email of key stats and invite other registered site users, such as clients, to get it too.
- View-only sharing
- Admins can share a read-only dashboard with other WordPress roles, choosing which Google services each role can see, with no Google sign-in needed.
Plans
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.
Site Kit by Google
Free$0
Every feature, installed from WordPress.org. Google says the plugin is free and will remain so.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Google Analytics or Site Kit by Google?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Analytics publishes no starting price, and Site Kit by Google is free.
Which has a free plan, Google Analytics or Site Kit by Google?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Analytics and Site Kit by Google have a free plan.
Which platforms do Google Analytics and Site Kit by Google run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Google Analytics lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
- Google Analytics vs Matomo
- Google Analytics vs Plausible
- Google Analytics vs Fathom Analytics
- Google Analytics vs Microsoft Clarity
- Google Analytics vs Amplitude
- Site Kit by Google vs Google Search Console
- Site Kit by Google vs Yoast SEO
- Site Kit by Google vs Rank Math
- Site Kit by Google vs All in One SEO (AIOSEO)
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.