With the recent rollout of Google Analytics 4 (GA4), many website owners are looking for alternatives to Google’s analytics platform. In a recent Facebook post, website owners discussed the options they have switched to after Google Analytics.

Matomo: The Open-Source Analytics Contender

The most popular alternative mentioned is Matomo, an open source analytics platform that can be self-hosted. Matomo provides many of the key features of Google Analytics, including tracking website visitors, traffic sources, geography, technology used, and more. It also allows for custom goal and event tracking. Those using Matomo self-hosted appreciate the ability to fully own and control their website data, rather than having it stored on Google’s servers.

Plausible Analytics: Prioritizing Simplicity and Privacy

Others are using Plausible Analytics as a simpler and more privacy-focused alternative. Plausible is a lightweight analytics tool that doesn’t require the use of cookies and limits the amount of personal data collected. It provides website owners with high-level traffic insights without the complexity and data collection concerns of Google Analytics. Plausible’s dashboard gives an overview of key metrics like pageviews, unique visitors, bounce rate and more.

Google Data Studio: Enhanced Reporting with Familiar Data

Some website owners are still utilizing Google Analytics but are focusing more on Google Data Studio for reporting and analyzing their data. Data Studio integrates directly with Google Analytics but provides more flexibility for visualizing and analyzing website data through customized dashboards. This allows granular analysis while still leveraging the power of the Google Analytics dataset.

While Google Analytics still dominates the website analytics space with over 80% market share, many are migrating to alternatives like Matomo and Plausible for their website analytics needs. The key drivers seem to be more transparency, control, and privacy over website user data collection versus reliance on external platforms like Google Analytics. However, Google Analytics remains a potent force with the resources of Google behind it. The choice comes down to a website owner’s specific needs and priorities.