Google Search Console vs Search Analytics for Sheets (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Google Search Console: it is first in our ranking of technical SEO tools, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Google Search Console grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms. Search Analytics for Sheets grades higher on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Search Console
Free Google reports on a site's search traffic, indexing and issues
Search Analytics for Sheets
Google Sheets add-on that pulls and backs up Search Console data
Which one is for you
Pick Google Search Console if
- Fits if you own a site and want to know which Google searches bring visitors
- Works for finding out why pages are missing from Google's index
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need Bing, Yandex, Baidu or Naver data, as it covers Google Search only
- Not for you if you can't prove you own or manage the site, as nothing shows until you do
- Tight if you pull a lot through the API, which stops at 50,000 rows a day per search type and 25,000 per request
- Watch out: the BigQuery export needs a Google Cloud project with billing, and use beyond the free level is charged
- Too light for big teams on one property, which allows at most 100 non-owner users
Pick Search Analytics for Sheets if
- Fits if you already work through Search Console data in spreadsheets
- Works for keeping daily or monthly backups of your Search Console data in a sheet
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't use Google Sheets, as it runs only there as a Workspace add-on
- Tight if your site is large, as free requests stop at 10,000 rows and Pro at 100,000
- Watch out: URL Inspection rows are capped by Google's daily quota for each property, whatever the plan
- Not for you if you want reports made for you, as it pulls data and leaves the analysis to you
- Watch out: it reads only properties verified in the Google account you connect
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGoogle Search ConsoleVery good | 2.2GPASearch Analytics for SheetsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, from Google, with every report, URL Inspection, email alerts, the API and up to 100 non-owner users per property. There is no paid plan. | CPro is $16 a month on yearly billing ($19 monthly), a little above this category's cheaper quarter at $13. Unlimited, for every row the API returns, is $41. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free once you verify the site. The caps are on the API, 50,000 rows a day per search type, which most sites won't reach. | BThe free plan pulls up to 10,000 rows per request and 100 URL Inspection rows, with unlimited requests and unlimited daily or monthly backups. One person with a small site can live on that. |
| Features | CPerformance by query and page, indexing and URL Inspection, Core Web Vitals, rich result and links reports, alerts and a BigQuery export. The gap: it's Google's view only, with no crawl you run yourself, and Bing, Yandex, Baidu and Naver need their own tools. | DOne narrow job: getting Search Console data into a sheet, with grouping, filters, URL Inspection results and scheduled backups. It needs Google Sheets to be useful, and the charts and analysis are yours to build. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You prove you own or manage the site before seeing anything, and the indexing and performance reports take some learning. | BNo rating on record. It's an add-on inside Google Sheets, using the Google account you already have: pick a property and the dimensions, then run it. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with the Search Console API, a scheduled daily BigQuery export and Site Kit by Google. | CWeb only, inside Google Sheets as a Workspace add-on, linked to Search Console. No API or other apps on record. |
| Best for | Google search traffic and indexing data | Search Console data straight into Google Sheets |
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 Search Console and Search Analytics for Sheets. How we grade
Price against what you get
Google Search Console has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Search Analytics for Sheets starts at $16 a month and scores 2.0.
Google Search Console scores higher and starts $16 a month lower. Of the other technical SEO tools on the chart, none scores higher than Google Search Console for less, and 21 score higher than Search Analytics for Sheets for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Google Search Console also covers site audit, schema markup and page speed.
- Search Analytics for Sheets also covers spreadsheets and reports.
At a glance
| Google Search Console | Search Analytics for Sheets | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $16 per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free with a Google account for any site whose ownership you verify: every report and tool, email alerts, the API and up to 100 non-owner users per property. | Up to 10,000 rows per request of Search Analytics data and 100 of URL Inspection data, unlimited requests and unlimited daily or monthly backups. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Vertify SRL | |
| Price read from | support.google.com | searchanalyticsforsheets.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Google Search Console
- Covers Google Search only; Bing, Yandex, Baidu and Naver each run their own webmaster tools.
- You must prove you own or manage the site before you see any data, and a property allows at most 100 non-owner users.
- The API exposes at most 50,000 rows a day per search type, at up to 25,000 rows per request.
- The BigQuery export needs a Google Cloud project with billing; storage and queries beyond the free usage level are charged.
Search Analytics for Sheets
- It runs only inside Google Sheets, as a Google Workspace add-on.
- Row counts depend on what the Search Console API returns, and URL Inspection rows are capped by Google's daily quota for each property.
- It reads only properties verified in the connected Google account.
- Free requests stop at 10,000 rows; larger sites need Pro or Unlimited for complete exports.
Key features
Google Search Console
- Performance report
- Clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position, by query, page, country, device, search appearance and date, for web, image, video and news results.
- Indexing and URL Inspection
- Review which pages Google has indexed, submit sitemaps and single URLs, and inspect a URL for its crawl, index and serving details straight from the Google index.
- Issue alerts
- Email alerts when Google finds indexing, spam or other problems, with the affected URLs and a way to tell Google once they are fixed.
- Experience and enhancement reports
- Core Web Vitals on mobile and desktop, plus reports on rich results from structured data such as recipes and jobs, and on AMP pages.
- Links report
- Shows which other sites link to yours, as part of the same set of reports as search traffic and indexing.
- API and BigQuery export
- The Search Console API queries search data, lists sites and manages sitemaps; a scheduled daily export sends all performance data, except anonymized queries, to BigQuery.
Search Analytics for Sheets
- Search Console data in a sheet
- Request clicks, impressions, CTR and average position for web, image or video search into any sheet, without exporting files.
- Grouping by several dimensions
- Group by query, page, country, device and date at the same time, which the Search Console interface does not allow, and stack as many filters as needed.
- More rows than the web interface
- Pull up to 10,000 rows per request free, 100,000 on Pro or every row the API returns on Unlimited.
- URL Inspection data
- Pair performance data with each page's URL Inspection results to find indexing problems, up to 100, 1,000 or 2,000 rows per request by plan.
- Automated backups
- Save data daily or monthly for any number of properties without opening the sheet, with an optional status email after each run.
Plans
Google Search Console
Free$0
Performance, indexing, Core Web Vitals and rich result reports, URL Inspection, sitemaps, alerts and the API.
Search Analytics for Sheets
Free$0
Up to 10,000 Search Analytics rows and 100 URL Inspection rows per request, with all grouping, filters and automated backups.
Pro$16
per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 100,000 Search Analytics rows and 1,000 URL Inspection rows per request, for medium to large sites.
Unlimited$41
per month, billed yearly ($49 billed monthly)
Every row the Search Console API returns per request, and up to 2,000 URL Inspection rows.
Ways to pay less
Google Search Console
No public discounts listed.
Search Analytics for Sheets
- Annual discount
Save about 16% with yearly billing
The pricing page lists Pro at $16 a month billed yearly instead of $19 monthly, and Unlimited at $41 instead of $49.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Google Search Console or Search Analytics for Sheets?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Search Console is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $16 a month for Search Analytics for Sheets. Google Search Console is free, and Search Analytics for Sheets starts at $16 per month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Google Search Console or Search Analytics for Sheets?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Search Console and Search Analytics for Sheets have a free plan.
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.