Product & Web Analytics
Google Analytics Pricing Explained: Tiers, Limits & Hidden Costs
Proprietary
- Starting price
- Free (Ad-supported / Data-harvested)
- Pricing model
- Free standard / $50k+ year (GA360)
- Free tier
- Free for most standard websites
Google Analytics plans and limits
| Tier | What you get |
|---|---|
| Free | Free for most standard websites |
| Paid entry point | Free (Ad-supported / Data-harvested) |
| How the bill grows | Free standard / $50k+ year (GA360) |
| Self-hosted | Not available |
Hidden costs to budget for
- Horrible, unintuitive GA4 UI compared to legacy Universal Analytics
- Aggressive cookie banner requirements and EU GDPR privacy scrutiny
- Heavy script payload slows down Core Web Vitals
What Google Analytics costs as you grow
While GA4 is ostensibly free (trading user data), Plausible starts at $9/mo for managed cloud or $0 forever when self-hosted, keeping your website blazing fast.
Google Analytics vs PlausibleCheaper alternatives to Google Analytics
PostHogANALYTICSOpen SourceSelf-HostableFrom $0 (1M events/mo free) then usage-basedUmamiANALYTICSOpen SourceSelf-HostableFrom $0 (self-hosted) or ~$9/mo (Cloud Pro)Plausible AnalyticsANALYTICSOpen SourceSelf-HostableFrom $9/mo or Free Self-HostedMixpanelANALYTICSProprietaryFrom $28/mo (Growth)AmplitudeANALYTICSProprietaryFrom $61/mo (Plus)
Compare all Google Analytics alternatives Google Analytics pricing: FAQ
How much does Google Analytics cost?
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) uses free standard / $50k+ year (GA360) pricing. Paid usage starts at Free (Ad-supported / Data-harvested).
Does Google Analytics have a free tier?
Free for most standard websites.
What are the hidden costs of Google Analytics?
Horrible, unintuitive GA4 UI compared to legacy Universal Analytics. Aggressive cookie banner requirements and EU GDPR privacy scrutiny. Heavy script payload slows down Core Web Vitals.
What are cheaper alternatives to Google Analytics?
PostHog ($0 (1M events/mo free) then usage-based), Umami ($0 (self-hosted) or ~$9/mo (Cloud Pro)), Plausible Analytics ($9/mo or Free Self-Hosted), Mixpanel ($28/mo (Growth)), Amplitude ($61/mo (Plus)).