Web Analytics · head-to-head
Google Analytics 4 vs Plausible Analytics
As of 30 Oct 2026, the panel rates Google Analytics 4 2.5/5 and Plausible Analytics 2.5/5 in Web Analytics. Weighted by what each judge cares about, 2 of the 6 judges pick Google Analytics 4 and 4 pick Plausible Analytics. Google Analytics 4 scores higher on 2 of 6 criteria (Data access, export & self-hosting and Goals, events, funnels & e-commerce). Plausible Analytics scores higher on 4 of 6 criteria (Installation, integrations & performance, European sovereignty, Traffic, sources & campaign reports, plus 1 more). Provenance — Google Analytics 4: Rest of world; Plausible Analytics: EU-Made. Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: how scores are made.
The short answer
Google Analytics 4's mean leads on conversions and events, 4.8 to 4.5, and data ownership, 6.0 to 5.5, where the verdict credits a daily BigQuery export under an SLA. Plausible Analytics' means lead on traffic reporting, 4.8 to 4.2; consent and privacy, 5.7 to 5.2; implementation, 5.3 to 4.0; sovereignty, 5.5 to 4.3; and pricing transparency, 3.8 to 3.0. The lean on each criterion is two judges for Google Analytics 4, four for Plausible Analytics, no ties. Four judges give Plausible Analytics the higher weighted total, 7.4 to 8.0 against 4.7 to 5.2; the public-sector and skeptic judges computed 0.0 for it on every criterion, rationales that the verdict says describe the same features and state no reason, leaving Google Analytics 4 ahead at 4.4 and 5.0. Sovereignty attributes: Irish entity, ownership unknown, US-default residency, US Cloud Act subprocessor exposure; Estonian entity, founder-held, EU-only residency, subprocessor exposure unknown.
Choose Google Analytics 4 if
- You run Google Ads campaigns and want conversion tracking, attribution models and machine-learning predictions — the features the verdict credits behind Google Analytics 4's mean of 4.8 on conversions and events against Plausible Analytics' 4.5.
- You need a daily BigQuery export covered by an SLA plus unsampled total-data reports in the paid tier — the evidence behind its data-ownership mean of 6.0 to 5.5.
- Your contract must commit to deletion of all remaining customer personal data within a maximum of 180 days after the term — the commitment stated in the data-ownership verdict.
- Your buying committee's weightings resemble the public-sector and skeptic judges, whose weighted totals read 4.4 and 5.0 for Google Analytics 4 against 0.0 for Plausible Analytics.
Choose Plausible Analytics if
- You need consent-free analytics — Plausible Analytics publishes its counting method (a daily salt hash, salt deleted every 24 hours, raw IP and User-Agent never stored) with an independent legal assessment supporting consent-free analytics under GDPR, CCPA and PECR, behind a consent-and-privacy mean of 5.7 to 5.2.
- Your requirement is that visitor data never leaves the EU — the data residency attribute reads EU-only, the verdict states visitor data is processed on servers owned by European companies and never to leave the EU, and the sovereignty mean is 5.5 to 4.3.
- You want to evaluate before committing — a 30-day trial with no credit card and documented APIs and exports back an implementation mean of 5.3 to 4.0.
- You need a published price up front — the 10k monthly pageview band is priced, Enterprise is 'Contact us', we found no public information on overage handling, VAT treatment or minimum terms, and the pricing transparency mean is 3.8 to 3.0.
- Your reporting need is mainly traffic — the traffic reporting mean reads 4.8 to Google Analytics 4's 4.2, with four judges leaning Plausible Analytics.
Read this comparison as one judge. Each weighs the same scores by what they care about.
The bench's picks
Same scores, different priorities: each judge's weighting applied to both products. The split is the finding.
- The E-Commerce Marketing Lead Google Analytics 4 Plausible Analytics picks Plausible Analytics
- The Data Protection Officer Google Analytics 4 Plausible Analytics picks Plausible Analytics
- The Agency Developer Google Analytics 4 Plausible Analytics picks Plausible Analytics
- The Growth Analyst Google Analytics 4 Plausible Analytics picks Plausible Analytics
- The Public-Sector Site Owner Google Analytics 4 Plausible Analytics picks Google Analytics 4
- The Skeptic Google Analytics 4 Plausible Analytics picks Google Analytics 4
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Google Analytics 4 | Plausible Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Traffic, sources & campaign reports | 2 of 5 | 2.5 of 5 |
| Goals, events, funnels & e-commerce | 2.5 of 5 | 2.5 of 5 |
| Consent-free operation & data minimisation | 2.5 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Data access, export & self-hosting | 3 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Installation, integrations & performance | 2 of 5 | 2.5 of 5 |
| European sovereignty | 2 of 5 | 3 of 5 |
| Criterion | Google Analytics 4 | Plausible Analytics | The bench leans |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traffic, sources & campaign reports | Plausible Analytics, 4 of 6 judges | ||
| Goals, events, funnels & e-commerce | Plausible Analytics, 4 of 6 judges | ||
| Consent-free operation & data minimisation | Plausible Analytics, 4 of 6 judges | ||
| Data access, export & self-hosting | Plausible Analytics, 4 of 6 judges | ||
| Installation, integrations & performance | Plausible Analytics, 4 of 6 judges | ||
| European sovereignty | Plausible Analytics, 4 of 6 judges | ||
| Pricing transparency | no published price | not comparable |
Stars show the bench average per criterion; the lean counts which product each judge scored higher. Open a judge's tab for their reasoning on both sides.
Sovereignty, side by side
| Dimension | Google Analytics 4 | Plausible Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | Not determined |
| Hosting location | Not determined | Not determined |
| Hosting options | Not determined | Not determined |
| Open source | Not determined | Not determined |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | Not determined |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | Not determined |
Facts, side by side
Only facts both products carry under the same definition — anything else would not be a fair row.
| Compliance · Encryption | yes1 | yes · yes · yes · yes2 |
|---|---|---|
| Data · Deletion | Inhalte aus bestimmten Google-Diensten löschen · Elemente über Meine Aktivitäten löschen · Google-Produkte samt verknüpfter Daten löschen · Gesamtes Google-Konto löschen1 | without undue delay · yes2 |
| Data · Retention | Einige Daten werden bis zur Kontolöschung gespeichert; Aktivitätsdaten können automatisch gelöscht werden1 | as long as account is active3 |
Questions about Google Analytics 4 and Plausible Analytics
Which is better, Google Analytics 4 or Plausible Analytics?
As of 30 Oct 2026, the panel rates both 2.5/5. Weighted by what each judge cares about, 2 of the 6 judges pick Google Analytics 4 and 4 pick Plausible Analytics. Which one fits depends on the criteria that matter to you; the table on this page shows both side by side, and each judge’s reading has its own page. Both were scored by the same AI bench under the same rubric, from public evidence only, as the methodology describes.
Is Google Analytics 4 or Plausible Analytics European?
Google Analytics 4 is not European by provenance (Rest of world). Plausible Analytics is European (EU-Made). Provenance is read from each company’s own legal pages: who builds it and who owns it.
Where do Google Analytics 4 and Plausible Analytics store customer data?
Per the vendors’ own pages as captured — Google Analytics 4: its pages as captured do not say. Plausible Analytics: Default not stated; pages mention the EU and Germany.