We tested three GDPR-compliant website analytics platforms to find out how they compare to GA4
Gone are the days of Google Analytics having a monopoly on website performance tracking. As data privacy worries loom and Google’s interface feels like a never-ending game of hide-and-seek, you may be hungry for alternatives to bring the excitement back into your analytics adventure.
Well, fasten your seatbelts folks! Beacon Digital’s expert analyst, Fraser Colmer, has been experimenting with top-tier alternatives to Google. He’s got expert guidance on three professional applications that not only spark joy, but also provide an added layer of security and privacy for all your data tracking needs.
Why ditch Google Analytics?
Fraser: “Google Analytics has been the free go-to solution for website traffic analysis for years, but with growing concerns with data privacy and a complex user interface, many are craving a platform that boasts simplicity, transparency, and accessibility.”
Read on to learn Fraser’s top three alternatives to Google Analytics hand-picked just for you:
1. Plausible Analytics: No-Nonsense Analytics for Beginners
If you’re new to the analytics game and are looking for a streamlined privacy-forward solution, Plausible Analytics has got your back. It has a lightweight and minimalistic design that strips away the bells and whistles, allowing beginners to drill down on the essential metrics that matter most. With an intuitive dashboard, Plausible Analytics empowers users to track their website’s performance without getting bogged down in the minutiae.
Key Stats
- Lightweight script that keeps your site speed fast.
- Transparent and fully open source software (FOSS).
- No cookies and fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA and PECR.
- Website: https://plausible.io/
- Starting Price: 30-day unlimited trial. Traffic-based pricing. Can start as low as $19 a month. See breakdown here.
Fraser says: “The Plausible Analytics platform is perfect for those who are at the starting line and want basic movement tracking to improve your site. As an added bonus, this doesn’t use cookies or track any identifiable information, so you can stop bombarding your users with permission requests for processing their data and also be reassured that you are in compliance with privacy laws.
2. Matomo: Analytics Made Easy
Tired of Google-level confusion? Matomo is here to save the day with a user-friendly interface that never skimps on powerful insights. It’s ideal for those who want a comprehensive understanding of their websites’ performance, without getting lost in a maze of data. Matomo provides an easy-to-navigate platform that delivers actionable insights to help you make quick and informed decisions. You’ll feel secure with its GDPR-compliant approach and the open-source foundation is a refreshing alternative to Google’s data-heavy world.
Key Stats
- Full control with 100% data ownership.
- Privacy protection and fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA and PECR.
- Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS).
- Website: https://matomo.org/
- Starting Price: 21 day free trial. Depending if you are hosting On-Premise or Cloud the pricing varies. The price takes into account your monthly traffic. It can start as low as $20 a month. See here the pricing breakdown.
Fraser says: “Matomo is easy to use when creating your conversion goals on the website. You don’t need much of a technical background to catch onto the Matomo interface. If you have been using Google Analytics and want an easy technical transition, this one is definitely for you.”
3. Piwik Pro: Power Up your Analytics Game
For those looking to supercharge their analytics experience, Piwik offers advanced data-tracking capabilities with a smorgasbord of customizable add-ons. This is in compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and data protection regulations, so you can rest assured that your data is handled securely and you’re in compliance with privacy laws. Not to mention, the platform is highly customizable and flexible, making it perfect for managing multiple websites or for diving deeper into user behavior. Piwik’s robust feature set will help take your analytics game to new heights.
Key Stats
- Full analytics suite for key optimization.
- Fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA and PECR.
- Complete and accurate data.
- Website: https://piwik.pro/
- Starting Price: There are 2 types of plans where the differences can be seen here. Core and Enterprise. Core is free forever, but a user is limited to 500,000 actions a month. Enterprise you need to Get a Quote.
Fraser says: “A key highlight for Piwik is that it has a self-hosted Tag Management System (TMS) that lets you create, set up, and run tags (pieces of code) on your website without engaging web developers, similar to what Google Tag Manager offers for Google Analytics users. Everything on Piwik is centralized, so that you do not need two different tools for Tag Management and Analytics.
With these great alternatives, you can feel good about breaking free from the complex constraints of Google Analytics. All three of these solutions boast an added benefit of integrating with Google’s Data Studio, so if you want to customize your data views even more, all three of these platforms can be used.
Stay tuned as Fraser and his team dive deeper into the world of marketing analytics, sharing their latest experiments and discoveries along the way.
Keep an eye on our blog for future posts + follow along with us on social to see what else is brewing here at Beacon Digital.
Posted In: Marketing Analytics, Google Analytics 4, KPIs, gdpr
Fraser Colmer
Fraser serves as a manager of demand generation at Beacon Digital Marketing, where he focuses on reporting, analysis, and marketing automation for clients, providing them with insights for their sales and marketing activities.