The Google Analytics Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Google Analytics in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Google Analytics
The Insider’s Guide
Google's free website and app analytics, with a paid 360 tier
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among website and product analytics tools, read from Google Analytics’s own pages.
Made by Google · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Google Analytics’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Google Analytics’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
3.4
GPA, above 13 of the 13 other website and product analytics tools we grade
Google Analytics measures traffic and behavior across websites and apps: where visitors come from, what they view, and which campaigns lead to purchases or sign-ups. It ties into Google Ads, Search Console and BigQuery, uses machine learning for predicted audiences and automatic insights, and answers plain-language questions. The standard version is free; Analytics 360, with higher limits, fresher data and support agreements, is sold through Google's sales team.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about Google Analytics, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You can ask questions in plain words, but explorations, events and attribution settings take some learning to get the most from.
- 1
Best for free traffic reports for any size of site
Google Analytics is free at any size and shows where visitors come from, what they do and which campaigns lead to sales, with deep links into Google Ads, Search Console and BigQuery.
- 2
There is a 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.
- 3
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 4
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.
- 5
Explorations
Free-form analysis, open or closed funnels, path analysis, segment overlap, cohorts and user lifetime value, built by dragging fields onto a canvas.
- 6
Attribution
Data-driven attribution, conversion path reports and model comparisons show how each marketing channel contributes to conversions.
- 7
A 3.4 GPA, above 13 of 13
That is against the other website and product analytics tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
The plain part of Google Analytics you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Google Analytics at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Category
- Website & Product Analytics
- Our grade
- 3.4 GPA, very good
- Store rating
- 4.6 on the App Store, 5,249 ratings
The report card
Best for free traffic reports for any size of site
Google Analytics is free at any size and shows where visitors come from, what they do and which campaigns lead to sales, with deep links into Google Ads, Search Console and BigQuery. That's hard to beat for nothing. It doesn't record visits, though, and the free version keeps user-level data for 14 months at most.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| Free plan and trial | A | Free 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. |
| Features | B | Traffic 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. |
| Ease of use | B | 4.6 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 to get the most from. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web 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. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Google Analytics is for
- Great if you run Google Ads and want to see which campaigns bring in sales
- Handy when you want raw event data in BigQuery without paying for it
- Good for small businesses that want free traffic reports
Who it is not for
- 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
Good to know
Good for
- Small businesses and site owners who want free traffic reports
- Advertisers running Google Ads campaigns
- Teams that want raw event data in BigQuery
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
2
plans to choose from
Google Analytics has a free plan.
Free for sites and apps of any size, with no traffic cap a normal business would reach.
Google Analytics
$0
Free: reports, explorations, attribution, predictive audiences, Google Ads and Search Console links, and BigQuery export.
Analytics 360
Custom
Sold through sales: intraday data within an hour, sub-properties, roll-up reporting, higher limits, up to 50 months of data and SLAs.
The 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.
Read from marketingplatform.google.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Google's free website and app analytics, with a paid 360 tier. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: AI features, reports, web analytics.
Traffic and acquisition reports, funnel and path explorations, cohorts, data-driven attribution, predicted audiences and BigQuery export.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Google Ads
- Google Search Console
- BigQuery
- Google Tag Manager
- Display & Video 360
- Search Ads 360
- Firebase
- Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Google Analytics is made by Google.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
13/13
Other website and product analytics tools it is graded above
Google Analytics's GPA of 3.4 is higher than 13 of the 13 other website and product analytics tools we grade.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 12 of 13) and worst on platforms and integrations (B, above 0).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 14 website and product analytics tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Google Analytics’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 8 of 13
- AFree plan and trialAbove 12 of 13
- BFeaturesAbove 4 of 13
- BEase of useAbove 10 of 13
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 13
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of Google Analytics you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 5 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.4 is higher than 13 of the 13 other website and product analytics tools we grade.
What you could make
- Reports: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A tracking script and a database that counts every visit.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Google Ads, Google Search Console and BigQuery among them.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Google Analytics’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Matomo, Plausible, Fathom Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Amplitude
The 5 tools Google Analytics is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Matomo
Free plan · from $26/mo
Open-source web analytics you can host yourself or in Matomo's cloud.
- Only Google Analytics lists iOS and Android apps.
- Matomo is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Google Analytics also covers reports.
- 2.4GPA
Plausible
Free plan · from $7.50/mo
Cookie-free, privacy-first website analytics made and hosted in the EU.
- Only Google Analytics lists iOS and Android apps.
- Plausible is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Google Analytics also covers reports.
- 2.4GPA
Fathom Analytics
Free trial · from $12.50/mo
Cookie-free, privacy-first website analytics priced by pageviews.
- Google Analytics has a free plan. Fathom Analytics does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Google Analytics lists iOS and Android apps.
- 3.2GPA
Microsoft Clarity
Free
Free session recordings and heatmaps from Microsoft, no traffic cap.
- Only Google Analytics lists iOS and Android apps.
- Google Analytics also covers reports.
- Microsoft Clarity also covers session replay.
- 3.0GPA
Amplitude
Free plan · from $900/yr
Product analytics with session replay, experiments and in-app guides.
- Only Google Analytics lists iOS and Android apps.
- Google Analytics also covers reports.
- Amplitude also covers surveys, session replay and a/B testing.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
12
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Google Analytics free?
Google Analytics has a free plan. The standard Google Analytics is free for sites and apps of any size, with reports, explorations, attribution and BigQuery export.
How much does Google Analytics cost?
Google Analytics lists 2 plans. Google Analytics: $0.
What platforms does Google Analytics work on?
Google Analytics is available on Web, iOS and Android.
How is Google Analytics rated?
Google Analytics's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5,249 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Google Analytics have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Google Analytics is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Google Analytics have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Google Analytics is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Google Analytics open source?
Google Analytics is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
What does Google Analytics integrate with?
Google Analytics's listing names Google Ads, Google Search Console, BigQuery, Google Tag Manager, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360, Firebase and Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
Who makes Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is made by Google.
What are the alternatives to Google Analytics?
The closest alternatives to Google Analytics in our directory are Matomo, Plausible, Fathom Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and Amplitude.
How does Google Analytics compare with other website and product analytics tools?
Google Analytics's GPA of 3.4 is higher than 13 of the 13 other website and product analytics tools we grade.
Could I make my own version of Google Analytics?
The plain part of Google Analytics you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Google Analytics’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Google's own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Google. Prices change, so check marketingplatform.google.com before you buy.
- marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics-360/
- marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/
- marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/features/
- support.google.com/analytics/answer/7667196?hl=en
- apps.apple.com/us/app/google-analytics/id881599038
- play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.giant&gl=US&hl=en
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,281
Tools graded, in 73 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,281
tools graded
73
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Google Analytics, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/google-analytics
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Google Analytics: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/google-analytics
Know someone choosing between website and product analytics tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/google-analytics/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded website and product analytics tools after Google Analytics, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Website & Product Analytics Insider's GuideEvery one of the 14 website and product analytics tools we grade, compared
- Microsoft Clarity Insider's GuideFree session recordings and heatmaps from Microsoft, no traffic cap3.2 GPA
- PostHog Insider's GuideOpen-source product analytics with replays, flags and surveys3.2 GPA
- Amplitude Insider's GuideProduct analytics with session replay, experiments and in-app guides3.0 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Google Analytics’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Google Analytics is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Google. Prices and plans change: check marketingplatform.google.com before you buy.