These Google Analytics alternatives offer options for getting the most data about your website so you can make the most informed decisions!
While Google Analytics is the standard for learning about the metrics and data that your website is producing – there are so many other amazing Google Analytics alternatives to be considered.
Why Do You Need An Analytics Tool?
Understanding how users are using your site is the only way you can grow and improve.
If you are an e-commerce store then understanding the funnel to sales or loss of sales can help you implement changes to improve the funnel.
If you are a blogger you can see what content is resonating best with your readers by seeing time on page and whether they are clicking through to other pages on your website.
For small businesses – you can tackle the struggles you may be having in converting leads or gaining new business.
This is not a want – having analytics is a need. But choosing the right analytical tool is really personal preference. Below are some of the more popular – and affordable options to consider.
Google Analytics
COST: Free
TYPE: Hosted
PROS: Free and immense amount of available features for dissecting and analyzing data, conversions, funnels and more
CONS: Bounce rate can be misleading, referral spam is a big issue as is privacy
Google Analytics Alternatives
Clicky
Clicky is the one we use and love. It is not as glamorous in terms of looks as some of the other options, but the data is solid and the interface is easy to use.
The real time traffic tool is one of the features I enjoy the most, but the heatmap is also a great option that is available in the larger plans.
COST: Free – $37.99 per month
TYPE: Hosted
PROS: Free and immense amount of available features for dissecting and analyzing data, conversions, funnels and more
CONS: Cost for more advanced features
Open Web Analytics
COST: Free
TYPE: Open Source – self hosted with a WordPress plugin available
PROS: Free, real time statistics, conversion tracking, funnel data, heat maps, mouse tracking
CONS: Will use lots of resources for some features – may not play well with shared hosting environments and is not updated often since it is open source.
Heap
Heap is an analytics tool that focuses on data collection to help product managers better understand their site visitors and how they are interacting with their products.
COST: Free limited plan – other plans on a per monthly fee
TYPE: Hosted
PROS: Easy set up and ability to do all standard analytics reporting
CONS: Cost
W3 Counter
COST: Free – $10 per month
TYPE: Hosted
PROS: Real time stats, time on site tracking visitor data
CONS: Free version requires a badge on your website and is limited in features and logging
StatCounter
StatCounter is a great affordable option that gives you all the data you need to understand user metrics.
COST: Free limited plan then monthly based on page view volume
TYPE: Hosted
PROS: Get data regarding visitors, pages, entrance and exit pages etc.
CONS: No advanced reporting for funnels, conversions or even time on site – very limited functionality
Final Thoughts
The only way to know which of these Google Analytics alternatives is right for you is to give them a try! Most of have free trials so you can test them out. A lot of these tools do very similar things, but you may find the way the data is delivered may be better for you visually than others – that is a personal preference that no one can make for you!
While most analytics offer many pros and cons, we really do encourage every website to use Google Analytics at the least! We created an easy tutorial to install Google Analytics if you are not sure how to do it!
Although there are a few flaws with Google Analytics – it still serves us well for so many reasons.