Google Analytics (GA4) vs Simple Analytics comparison

Compare pricing, deployment, product fit, integrations, and capabilities side by side.

Which platform fits your needs?

Choose Google Analytics (GA4) if

All website owners, from small businesses to enterprises

Capabilities only listed for Google Analytics (GA4)

App analytics Behavior analytics Revenue tracking Integrations Custom reports Retention analytics Cohort analysis Cross-device tracking Enterprise

Important considerations: GA4 has a steep reporting and consent-configuration learning curve; Analytics 360 pricing is not public and standard properties have lower limits.

Choose Simple Analytics if

Website owners who prioritize privacy and simplicity

Capabilities only listed for Simple Analytics

Privacy-first Cookieless GDPR compliant CCPA compliant

Important considerations: Free accounts retain only one month of history and require a public badge; paid price varies with data-point volume and extra users.

Shared capabilities

Free plan Real-time data E-commerce tracking Event tracking Funnels Audience insights User segments Goals Data export AI insights

Attribute	Google Analytics (GA4)	Simple Analytics
Overview	Google's mainstream analytics platform for web and app measurement, built around GA4 events, attribution, advertising integrations, and BigQuery-connected reporting for larger deployments.	A privacy-first analytics platform built around straightforward traffic reporting, lightweight event tracking, and GDPR-friendly measurement with minimal setup.
Pricing	GA4 standard is free; Google Analytics 360 is enterprise-priced via Google sales	Free hobby plan with one month of history; paid self-serve pricing starts at €20/month for 100K monthly pageviews; Enterprise is custom
Deployment	Vendor-hosted cloud	Vendor-hosted cloud
Best for	All website owners, from small businesses to enterprises	Website owners who prioritize privacy and simplicity
Operator	Google LLC Subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.	Simple Analytics B.V. Independent private company
Company base	Mountain View, United States · United States	Amsterdam, Netherlands · European Union
Organization scale	190,820 employees · parent company, as of 31 Dec 2025	3 team members · operator, as of 13 Aug 2026
Recent direction	marketing attribution Recent official evidence shows a focus on marketing attribution.	AI-assisted analysis Recent official evidence shows a focus on AI-assisted analysis.
Key features	Web and app event analytics Real-time reports E-commerce measurement Advertising attribution Audience building Explorations and funnels BigQuery export Google Ads integration	Cookieless traffic dashboard Real-time reporting Events and goals Ecommerce tracking AI-assisted analysis Automated reports Raw data export Lightweight tracking script
Important considerations	GA4 has a steep reporting and consent-configuration learning curve; Analytics 360 pricing is not public and standard properties have lower limits.	Free accounts retain only one month of history and require a public badge; paid price varies with data-point volume and extra users.
Integrations	Google Ads, BigQuery, Shopify	Ghost, WordPress
Fact check	We checked this information against official vendor sources on 2026-08-08.	We checked this information against official vendor sources on 2026-08-08.

Capability matrix

This matrix shows capabilities recorded in our catalog. Not listed means we have not confirmed the capability here. Check the linked vendor sources for plan, deployment, and usage limits.

Attribute	Google Analytics (GA4)	Simple Analytics
AI insights	Listed	Listed
App analytics	Listed	Not listed
Audience insights	Listed	Listed
Behavior analytics	Listed	Not listed
CCPA compliant	Not listed	Listed
Cohort analysis	Listed	Not listed
Cookieless	Not listed	Listed
Cross-device tracking	Listed	Not listed
Custom reports	Listed	Not listed
Data export	Listed	Listed
E-commerce tracking	Listed	Listed
Enterprise	Listed	Not listed
Event tracking	Listed	Listed
Free plan	Listed	Listed
Funnels	Listed	Listed
GDPR compliant	Not listed	Listed
Goals	Listed	Listed
Integrations	Listed	Not listed
Privacy-first	Not listed	Listed
Real-time data	Listed	Listed
Retention analytics	Listed	Not listed
Revenue tracking	Listed	Not listed
User segments	Listed	Listed

Full details: Google Analytics (GA4) Full details: Simple Analytics