Are you looking for a substitute (or additional metrics tool) for Google Analytics 4?
As you know, Google Analytics 4 (or GA4), measures all sorts of data to help you better understand the people who visit your website. And best of all, it’s totally free as long as you install it on your website.
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) tells you:
- The keywords website visitors use to find your site
- What devices they’re viewing your site on – desktops, laptops, tablets, Android or iPhones
- If they come to your site through a paid search engine or social media ad, unpaid social media, organic traffic, email, another website, a newsletter, directly or some other way
- What pages they click on, and what buttons, images, videos and other content they click on
- What pages make them leave the site entirely
- And a whole lot more
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That said, even with all of these benefits, some people don’t like Google Analytics.
We are huge fans of Google Analytics and we regularly install and update our clients’ sites so that they can access GA4 data. But we also know that some people don’t like Google Analytics 4.
These are some of the most common reasons:
- Too much customer data is at risk to hackers, employees and others
- Reports are visually overwhelming
- Free is good, but aren’t paid options always better?
We’ve debunked some of these myths, and explained how our services can help you tackle some of these issues in other posts, but if you want something else, we want to help you too.
Here are 9 analytics tools that offer a nice alternative.
All of these tools also have free trial periods. Just remember to cancel in case you see that GA4 does enough for you.
Matomo, formerly Piwik, is perfect for businesses who are using Google Analytics but have developed privacy concerns about sensitive data. Matomo lets you import all of your past Google Analytics data and also analyzes current data.
This platform provides you with heatmaps (visual diagrams of where people look and hover on your site), A/B testing (which designs test better), funnels and goals and many other features.
The company promises 100% data ownership and user privacy protection.
Businesses can host Matomo on their own servers if they’re deeply worried about sensitive data, but the company also offers cloud-based hosting on servers located in certain countries.
You can integrate their tools with certain ad platforms like Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising, and Yandex Ads. There are also no data limits with Matomo – ideal for companies with large customer databases that need protection.
There is a free trial with prices for the on-premise hosting product starting at $0 a month for beginning use and $23 per month for using the cloud.
If you host Matomo on your own server, costs can range from $29/year for an activity log to $579/year.
Used by giants like Amazon, Woopra is a tool providing information for product, marketing, sales, and support teams. It follows customers throughout every step they take as they make their way through a site.
It has unique custom tracking capabilities and dozens of integrations with products such as Salesforce, LiveChat, Google Ads, Zapier, Mailchimp, and more. Mailchimp, in fact, also uses Woopra.
But Woopra isn’t just for big businesses. They’ve won several awards for small and mid sized businesses too.
Woopra does have features GA4 does not, like sending a message to a salesperson right when a new user signs up.
There is a free trial and a free plan. And more robust plans begin at $999 a month.
You can contact the company for a quote on an Enterprise solution.
The top complaint about Google Analytics is that it’s too hard to use. We personally don’t believe that. Once you familiarize yourself, it gets easy.
That said, if you don’t have the patience, GoSquared has simplified reports that do seem a little less daunting.
Plans start at $9/month for a beginners package. Middle-tier plans are $24/month for the Standard and $49/month for the Pro. The top price is $99/month.
They do have a decent help section that includes an ebook.
GoSquared offers users unlimited team sharing, email reports and more.
It has integrations with Salesforce, Slack, Zapier, X, Shopify, and Squarespace, among other companies.
Analytics isn’t all they do. They offer an email service that reduces carbon footprints. Yes, even emails have an effect on the environment.
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Wide Angle
If you built your website with Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Wide Angle Analytics can measure your web traffic while making sure that users have a clear understanding of your privacy policy and what you do with their information.
They cater to Europeans, so their price plans are in Euros: the Founder plan is €9.99 per month, the Team plan is €29.99 per month, and the Business plan is €89.99 per month.
They do not have a free trial plan but if you are a non-profit, definitely investigate this option if GA4 isn’t enough for you. They don’t charge some organizations that advance social causes. The best way to find out if you qualify is to contact their support department.
Mixpanel has a catchy slogan. They promise to be the one analytics tool you’ll enjoy using. They allow you to dig deep into your user’s behavior with live updates, all without using any SQL, a programming language for storing and processing information in a relational database that many people find confusing.
There is a free trial package. The next level goes to $20/month. Big businesses can explore an Enterprise package starting at $833/month.
For eligible startups less than 5 years old, Mixpanel offers up to $50,000 in credits.
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Heap
Heap gives advice, something these other tools don’t offer. They show you every single action by every user on your site. Then they give you tips on what can be improved upon. For example, adding a button with the words “Get started” may increase the chances your users continue on their journey by x%.
Lending Club, esurance and other companies in competitive fields use Heap, and have documented exactly how the tool has helped them. You need to contact them for all pricing on
Growth, Pro, and Premier plans. But they do have a free trial plan.
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StatCounter
StatCounter is a web analytics tool that does what the rest of these tools do, along with one special feature – it can detect click fraud for paid ads. This is important in pay-per-click ads. You pay in a PPC ad every time someone clicks on it. Guess who does that sometimes? Your competitors – and they do it so you spend money without getting any ROI. Sometimes, even well-intentioned employees do this. All you need to do, if you use StatCounter, is identify the source and explain that clicking on sponsored ads costs you money.
StatCounter also notifies you when an important, i.e. high spending, visitor returns to your site. You can personalize the experience for them a bit more.
StatCounter does a lot for the price.
There’s a free trial, a Premium plan for $18/month, and a Premium Plus plan for $28/month.
Publytics is built “by publishers for publishers.” As students of SEO, we start every day reading Search Engine Journal, an esteemed publication that teaches us everything we pass on to our clients. They use Publytics to track their visitors.
The tool helps your editorial to see which authors/categories are your best performing. Good writers and editors then know to produce more content like the top performing posts and pieces.
Its servers are hosted in Finland and Germany, so their pricing plans start at €5 per month. The best part? The total monthly fee is based on monthly page views, so this works for startups and established news sources.
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Clicky
Clicky is best known for their free web analytics platform. But they do offer advanced versions, including a Pro version for $9.99 per month, a Pro Plus version at $14.99 per month, a Pro Platinum version at $19.99 per month, and a Custom version that the company will quote for you.
Clicky says they have the best bot detection tools – a vital selling point for anyone in the social media space, political space, or ad world. They also promise to automate spam clean ups. And who couldn’t use help with that?
One advantage – their simple homepage shows you what reports look like.
Not sure which to use? Reach out to us for a consultation. We’ll explain when you should pay for one of these services and when and if Google Analytics 4 will suit you just fine.
Contact Us Today!