GA4 or alternatives? How to choose your data analytics tracking tool

Choosing the right analytics tool is key in this fast-evolving area of data analytics. No doubt that Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has taken its place as number one on the market, but to many people, it raises the question of whether it is the best fit for their needs or whether there are alternatives that offer a better solution. In this article we will take you through how to choose the right tool for your own use case and compare the features of GA4 and its main competitors. and compare the features of GA4 and its competitors.

Making the most of GA4

Google Analytics 4 has introduced a major shift from the old Universal Analytics. It came with a new focus on tracking that is user-centric, not only towards the customer behavior through devices and platforms but also a new data model based on events. GA4 is free at its core and is part of the Google ecosystem, making linking of other Google tools easy, such as Google Ads and Google Tag Manager. All this, in combination with the advanced analytics tracking. Some of its key features are as follows:

• Event-based tracking: GA4 uses event-based tracking for a more flexible and customizable way of tracking user interactions
• Enhanced reporting: GA4 provides advanced insights into user behavior, including predictive metrics and churn probabilities using machine learning at its core.
• Cross-platform tracking: GA4 offers seamless tracking across websites, apps, and other digital platforms, providing a unified view of user activity.
• Data privacy: GA4 focuses more on data privacy and allows more granular controls over data collection and processing

Pros:

• Free to use (unless you need the paid 360 version, due to too much traffic)
• Easy integration with other Google tools
• Comprehensive cross-platform tracking
• Advanced machine learning capabilities

Cons:

• Limited customization options
• Data hosted on Google servers

Best for: Small and medium-sized organizations that are already using Google products and seek a cost-efficient integrated analytics solution.

How to choose your data analytics tracking tool for your organization’s use case

Selecting the right data analytics tool depends on various factors, including the size of your organization, the complexity of your data requirements, and your budget limitations. To help you in your decision-making process, let’s compare GA4 against four alternative analytics tools.

While GA4 has a robust set of features for free (depending on the size of your organization), alternatives may be more suitable to companies who want to have more possibilities when it comes to customization or are sensitive to the amount of control over their data. Let us take a closer look at a few popular alternatives to GA4:

Matomo Analytics

Matomo Analytics formerly known as Piwik is an open-source analytics solution. It offers wide customization capabilities. It also allows for a self-hosted choice where large enterprises are able to have complete data ownership and full control over your data.

Pros:

• Complete data ownership
• Highly customizable
• Self-hosted and cloud options
• Strong privacy features
• Basic version is free to use

Cons:

• Requires high technical knowledge for self-hosting
• Premium features might add to the price, depending on your requirements

Best for: Businesses that prioritize data privacy, require customization, and have the required technical expertise.

Piwik PRO Analytics

Piwik Pro Analytics Suite offers an advanced suite of modules centered around analytics and privacy. It consists of the modules Analytics, Tag Manager, Consent Manager, and Customer Data Platform. It’s available in a freemium Core version and an Enterprise version for larger organizations. It offers advanced analytical features like heat maps and can be setup to respect strict security protocols and privacy regulations. 

Pros:

• Enterprise-level functionality
• Highly customizable
• Full control over analytics infrastructure
• Strong privacy compliance

Cons:

• Paid Enterprise version has higher costs compared to GA4 / Matomo
• Requires technical expertise for full utilization

Best for: Large organizations that require advanced analytics features and highly robust data privacy controls

Snowplow Analytics

Snowplow Analytics is an open-source event data platform developed to collect, validate, enrich, and load various event data into any data warehouse. Snowplow is interesting because instead of other traditional analytics tools, it allows for completely customizable tracking schema and data processing pipelines. It comes with integrations to the leading data warehousing and visualization tools, which makes it scalable and flexible to accommodate complicated data handling with granularity.

Pros:

• Fully customizable on tracking and data processing
• Scalability for large datasets
• Integration with leading data warehousing tools
• Open-source flexibility

Cons:

• Requires significant technical expertise to set up and maintain
• Higher implementation efforts

Best for: Organizations with complex data needs and sturdy technical resources.

Adobe Analytics

Adobe Analytics is an enterprise-level analytics solution that provides insight into what customers in a web environment are doing. It comes with advanced reporting features including real-time analytics, attribution modeling, segmentation, and more. Enterprise companies trust Adobe Analytics because it is designed to be scalable for large organizations, allowing integration with other Adobe marketing solutions like Adobe Experience Cloud

Pros:

• Advanced reporting and segmentation capabilities
• Easy integration with Adobe Experience Cloud
• Scalable for large organizations

Cons:

• High costs
• Steep learning curve
• Data hosted on Adobe servers

Best for: Large organizations that use Adobe Experience Cloud or other Adobe marketing tools

Conclusion/closing remarks

Choosing the right data analytics tracking tool is essential for organizations looking to gain actionable insights into user behavior and preferences. While GA4 is well-equipped with its advanced features and cross-platform tracking capabilities, alternatives such as Matomo Analytics, Piwik Pro Analytics, Snowplow Analytics and Adobe Analytics give you more customization features and more control over data privacy.

The choice between GA4 and its alternatives should be made based on the specific use-cases required by your company, the extent of the complexity of your data, your prioritization of data privacy, and your budget constraints. By thoroughly evaluating these options, you can select the solution that matches your company’s goals and objectives.