Google Analytics vs StatCounter (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Google Analytics: it is first in our ranking of website and product analytics tools, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.8.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Google Analytics grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. StatCounter grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on features.
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
StatCounter
Web traffic stats with a live visitor feed and session replay
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 StatCounter if
- Fits if you want to watch individual visits as they happen
- Works for small sites under 20,000 sessions a month
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, with 5,000 sessions and 14 days of data
- Watch out: session replay is billed separately from €9 a month
- Watch out: heatmaps and UTM tracking need Premium Plus at €19
- Pricey if your traffic grows, since 100,000 sessions is €29 or €45
- Watch out: the prices read were in euros, with no confirmed dollar price
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAGoogle AnalyticsVery good | 2.8GPAStatCounterGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | BPremium is €9 a month for 20,000 sessions, near $10, inside the $13 where the cheaper quarter ends. |
| 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. | CFree forever, but 5,000 sessions a month and 14 days of data are caps you'll reach. The 30-day trial needs no card. |
| 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. | BSessions, a live feed, conversions, replay, heatmaps and UTM tracking. Replay and heatmaps cost more. |
| 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 read. A tracking code to add and reports to learn. |
| 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. | AWeb, iPhone, Android and Windows apps, an API, and WordPress, Squarespace and Google Ads links. |
| Best for | free traffic reports for any size of site | simple traffic stats with a live visitor feed |
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 StatCounter. How we grade
Where they differ
- StatCounter also covers session replay.
At a glance
| Google Analytics | StatCounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | €9 per month for up to 20,000 sessions (€97 billed yearly) |
| 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. | Basic plan, free forever: 5,000 sessions per month, 14 days of data retention, trend charts, a reports dashboard and a real-time visitor feed. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of all features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Statcounter | |
| Price read from | marketingplatform.google.com | statcounter.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
StatCounter
- The pricing page displayed euro prices when read from India; a US dollar list price was not confirmed.
- The free Basic plan stops at 5,000 sessions a month and keeps data for only 14 days.
- Session replay is billed separately: €9 a month for 1,000 recordings, €19 for 10,000, €29 for 50,000.
- Heatmaps and UTM campaign tracking need Premium Plus, the higher-priced tier.
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.
StatCounter
- Live visitor feed
- A real-time list of visitors as they arrive, with location, device, navigation path and visit history for each one.
- Session replay
- Plays back a recording of each visitor's session. Basic includes none; recordings are an add-on from 1,000 per month on every plan.
- Heatmaps
- Interactive heatmaps show which parts of a page get attention and where visitors click on elements that are not links. Premium Plus only.
- Conversion and paid traffic analysis
- Premium tracks a landing page conversion rate and looks for repeat paid clicks from the same visitor, to help spot click fraud.
- Visitor labels and alerts
- Attach notes or customer IDs to a visitor and get an email or mobile alert when that visitor returns. Premium and above.
- Mobile apps and API
- iOS, Android and Windows apps are linked from the site, and the Premium plan adds API access for custom reports and scripts.
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.
StatCounter
Basic€0
per month for up to 5,000 sessions
Trend charts, reports dashboard, real-time visitor feed and basic email reports. 14 days of data retention.
Premium€9
per month for up to 20,000 sessions (€97 billed yearly)
Adds landing page analysis, conversion tracking, CSV export, API access, live chat support and 3 years of data. €29 a month at 100,000 sessions.
Premium Plus€19
per month for up to 20,000 sessions (€205 billed yearly)
Adds heatmaps, Google Ads integration and UTM campaign tracking, with 5 years of data. €45 a month at 100,000 sessions.
Ways to pay less
Google Analytics
No public discounts listed.
StatCounter
- Annual discount
Save 10% with yearly billing
The pricing page says paying yearly saves 10%: Premium at 20,000 sessions is €97 a year against €9 a month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Google Analytics or StatCounter?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Google Analytics publishes no starting price, and StatCounter starts at €9 per month for up to 20,000 sessions (€97 billed yearly).
Which has a free plan, Google Analytics or StatCounter?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Google Analytics and StatCounter have a free plan.
Which platforms do Google Analytics and StatCounter run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only StatCounter lists a Windows app. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
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.