Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Google Analytics VS Countly

Compare Google Analytics VS Countly and see what are their differences

Google Analytics logo Google Analytics

Improve your website to increase conversions, improve the user experience, and make more money using Google Analytics. Measure, understand and quantify engagement on your site with customized and in-depth reports.

Countly logo Countly

Product Analytics and Innovation. Build better customer journeys.
  • Google Analytics Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-26
  • Countly Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-30

Countly is a product analytics solution and innovation enabler that helps organizations track product performance and user journey and behavior across mobile, web, and desktop applications. Ensuring privacy by design, it allows organizations to innovate and enhance their products to provide personalized and customized customer experiences, and meet key business and revenue goals.

Track, measure, and take action - all without leaving Countly.

Google Analytics features and specs

  • Comprehensive Data Collection
    Google Analytics offers extensive data collection capabilities, allowing you to track various metrics and derive insights on user behavior, traffic sources, and more.
  • Integration with Other Google Services
    It easily integrates with other Google services like Google Ads, Google Search Console, and Google Tag Manager, providing a cohesive ecosystem.
  • Free Tier Available
    A robust free tier is available that meets the needs of many small- to medium-sized businesses, making it accessible without financial investment.
  • Customizable Reports and Dashboards
    Users can create customized reports and dashboards to focus on the specific metrics and KPIs important to their business.
  • Advanced Segmentation
    The platform allows for advanced segmentation of user data, enabling detailed analysis of different user groups and behaviors.
  • Real-Time Data
    Google Analytics provides real-time reports, facilitating immediate analysis and quicker decision-making.
  • E-commerce Tracking
    Special features for e-commerce websites allow you to track transactions, revenue, and other e-commerce-related metrics effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Google Analytics

  • Complex Interface
    The interface can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate for beginners, requiring a steep learning curve.
  • Data Sampling
    For large datasets, Google Analytics may use data sampling, which can compromise the accuracy and precision of your reports.
  • Privacy Concerns
    There are ongoing privacy concerns about data sharing and user tracking, which have led to legal scrutiny in some regions.
  • Limited Free Tier
    While the free tier is powerful, it has limitations on data collection and features, which may require upgrading to the paid tier for larger businesses.
  • Dependence on Third-Party Cookies
    Google Analytics heavily relies on third-party cookies, which are increasingly being restricted by browsers and privacy regulations.
  • Lag in Data Processing
    There can be a delay in data processing and updates, which may hinder timely decision-making.
  • Limited Customer Support
    Customer support for the free tier is limited, often requiring users to rely on community forums and online resources for assistance.

Countly features and specs

  • Open-Source
    Countly offers an open-source version, enabling organizations to host the analytics platform on their own servers, ensuring full control over their data and customization.
  • Data Privacy
    With sensitive data handled in-house, Countly provides high data privacy and security, reducing the risk of data breaches compared to cloud-hosted analytics solutions.
  • Real-Time Analytics
    Countly provides real-time analytics, allowing businesses to get immediate insights into user behavior and make timely, data-driven decisions.
  • Customizable
    Countly is highly customizable with a wide range of plugins, enabling users to add or remove features based on their specific needs.
  • Multi-Platform Support
    Countly supports multiple platforms including web, mobile, and desktop, providing comprehensive insights across different user environments.
  • Extensive Reporting
    Countly offers detailed reporting features, allowing users to generate and analyze a variety of reports to better understand user engagement and app performance.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform has an intuitive and user-friendly interface, making it easy for non-technical users to navigate and use the tool effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Countly

  • Self-Hosting Complexity
    The open-source version requires self-hosting, which can be complex and resource-intensive, requiring technical expertise and additional hardware.
  • Cost
    While the open-source version is free, the enterprise version with additional features can be expensive, potentially limiting accessibility for smaller organizations.
  • Limited Plugin Availability
    Some advanced features are only available through paid plugins, which may not be accessible to all users or could become costly over time.
  • Learning Curve
    For those new to self-hosted solutions or analytics platforms, there could be a steep learning curve to effectively utilize and manage Countly.
  • Reliance on Community Support
    Users of the open-source version may have to rely on community support for troubleshooting and assistance, which may not always be timely or sufficient compared to dedicated support.
  • Integration Complexity
    Integrating Countly with other third-party tools or services might be more complex compared to cloud-based solutions that often offer seamless integrations.
  • Scalability Issues
    For very large-scale deployments, users might encounter scalability issues that require additional infrastructure and optimization efforts.

Analysis of Google Analytics

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Google Analytics is considered a good tool for web analytics. It offers comprehensive features and is widely used due to its reliability, scalability, and extensive documentation. However, it can have a steep learning curve for beginners and poses privacy concerns depending on data handling and regulatory compliance needs.

Why this product is good

  • Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics tool that offers in-depth insights into website traffic and user behavior. It provides a wide range of features such as real-time data, conversion tracking, audience segmentation, and customizable reports. Additionally, its integration with other Google services and platforms makes it a versatile choice for digital marketers and businesses looking to optimize their online presence.

Recommended for

  • Digital marketers looking to optimize ad campaigns and website performance.
  • Website owners who need insights into user behavior and traffic sources.
  • Data analysts and business intelligence teams requiring detailed reporting and analysis.
  • Small to large enterprises seeking a scalable analytics solution with a robust feature set.

Analysis of Countly

Overall verdict

  • Countly is generally regarded as a good choice for businesses seeking an analytics platform that prioritizes privacy, customization, and cross-platform insights. Its rich feature set and flexibility make it a strong contender in the analytics market.

Why this product is good

  • Countly is considered a robust analytics platform because it offers real-time tracking, a comprehensive set of features for analytics and A/B testing, and supports multiple platforms such as web, mobile, and desktop applications. Additionally, it provides detailed insights into user behavior, which helps businesses make informed decisions. Countly has a user-friendly interface and can be customized based on enterprise needs. Another significant advantage is its focus on data privacy, offering both cloud and on-premise deployment options.

Recommended for

  • Businesses that require detailed user analytics for web, mobile, and desktop platforms.
  • Organizations that prioritize data privacy and security, looking for on-premise solutions.
  • Companies interested in real-time data insights and advanced segmentation.
  • Enterprises needing a flexible and customizable analytics solution to fit specific operational needs.

Google Analytics videos

Google Analytics Review

More videos:

  • Review - Google Analytics, Ultimate Beginner’s Guide
  • Review - Google Analytics Review

Countly videos

Countly Community Edition

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Google Analytics and Countly)
Analytics
92 92%
8% 8
Web Analytics
95 95%
5% 5
Mobile Analytics
86 86%
14% 14
Marketing Analytics
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Google Analytics and Countly

Google Analytics Reviews

10 Best Mixpanel Alternatives for Product Analytics in 2024
Google Analytics is a popular digital insights platform that allows website owners to monitor multiple aspects of their user analytics, online performance, and more. Use the paid or free plan to optimize your website with user behavior insights to get higher conversion rates.
Source: clickup.com
Best Mixpanel Alternatives for SaaS
GA 360 (now GA4) provides higher data limits, BigQuery integration, service level agreements, custom variables, and a dedicated support team. The cost of Google Analytics 360 starts from $12,500 per month and $150,000 per year. Google suggests that the cost of Google Analytics 4 360 starts at a retail price of USD $50,000/year, which entitles customers to 25 million events...
Source: userpilot.com
Top 5 Plausible Analytics Alternatives in 2024
It allows you to bring in data from 17+ sources including multiple shopping carts, payment gateways, Google Analytics, and email marketing platforms.
Source: www.putler.com
Top 9 Plausible Analytics alternatives in 2024
Google Analytics, a prominent player, offers extensive functionalities, making it suitable for businesses needing comprehensive data analysis. Its versatility spans from tracking website traffic, user demographics, and behavior to providing insights on conversion rates and traffic sources.
Source: usermaven.com
Top 5 Self-Hosted, Open Source Alternatives to Google Analytics
Choosing the right open source, self-hosted alternative to Google Analytics depends on your specific needs, whether it's for enhanced privacy, detailed data insights, or ease of use. Each of these tools offers unique strengths, empowering website owners with the flexibility and control needed in today's digital landscape.
Source: zeabur.com

Countly Reviews

Top 5 Self-Hosted, Open Source Alternatives to Google Analytics
Use Case Example: A mobile app development company uses Countly to track user engagement across their portfolio of apps and websites, streamlining their marketing and development efforts.
Source: zeabur.com
Top 5 open source alternatives to Google Analytics
Heavily targeting marketing organizations, Countly tracks data that is important to marketers. That information includes site visitors' transactions, as well as which campaigns and sources led visitors to your site. You can also create metrics that are specific to your business. Countly doesn't forgo basic web analytics; it also keeps track of the number of visitors on your...
Source: opensource.com
Find the Best Mixpanel Alternatives for Your Product Team
While Countly is a great option for security-conscious product teams, it still requires manual event setup. Pricing starts with an open source, free-forever plan that’s extensible with the right engineering resources. However, Countly doesn’t have a way for less technical users to easily get started.
Source: heap.io
On Migrating from Google Analytics
The initial installation of Countly isn't too difficult. They offer a pretty convenient One-Liner Countly Installation script. According to the documentation they suggest a server with 2GB of RAM. I ran Countly on such a server for several months, but eventually downgraded to a server with 1GB of RAM, and haven't encountered any issues so far.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Google Analytics should be more popular than Countly. It has been mentiond 36 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Google Analytics mentions (36)

  • Navigating the Digital Landscape: The Role of Website Analytics in Measuring Performance
    Let’s discuss Google Analytics in particular and other tools in general, which are available online to measure the website performance. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • 10 BEST FREE SEO REPORTING TOOLS
    Google Analytics: A free tool from Google that provides in-depth website analytics and performance metrics, including traffic sources, user behavior, and conversions. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Affiliate Marketing Automation: How to Save Time and Improve Your Results?
    Automating your affiliate marketing has a clear advantage: scalability. As your affiliate network grows, manual management becomes difficult. Automation makes it easier to handle a larger volume of affiliates, communicate with them, and monitor their performance. This means that your affiliate program can grow without sacrificing efficiency. You can also use automation tools to track and report affiliate... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Which tool do you use the most for SEO?
    Google Analytics: It provides in-depth insights into website traffic, user behavior, conversions, and other important metrics. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • The dos and don'ts of website redesigns and migrations
    Implement a robust website analytics tool, such as Google Analytics, to track key metrics and gather insights about user behavior. Set up goals and conversion tracking to measure the impact of your website redesign or migration on your business objectives. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Countly mentions (6)

  • Want your dedicated (and managed) product analytics server?
    Hello HN, founder of Countly (https://count.ly) here. As you might know, we are the creators of one of the first open-source product analytics platforms that has 10+ SDKs for mobile, desktop and web applications. We've been working on a new SaaS, myCountly, to help you launch your own Countly servers in any location, so your user data stays close to home. We are going to do an alpha launch soon, and looking for... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Which crash reporting platform do you use for your Vue apps?
    Is countly still operational? Can't connect to their website https://count.ly/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Best alternatives to Google Analytics in 2021?
    Always surprised more people don’t use countly. Runs nice in docker or digital ocean. https://count.ly. Been self hosting it for years with few issues. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • Open Source Analytics Stack: Bringing Control, Flexibility, and Data-Privacy to Your Analytics
    Countly (website, GitHub) is also an open-source product analytics platform that is designed primarily for marketing organizations. It helps marketers track website information (website transactions, campaigns, and sources that led visitors to the website, etc.). Countly also collects real-time mobile analytics metrics like active users, time spent in-app, customer location, etc., in a unified view on your dashboard. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Google Analytics deleted my entire account because I didn't log in for 60 days
    Self-hosted alternatives to Google Analytics include: Matomo, open core with a broad feature set: https://matomo.org Countly, open core with desktop and mobile tracking: https://count.ly/ Plausible, open source with a simple feature set: https://plausible.io. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Google Analytics and Countly, you can also consider the following products

Matomo - Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform

Mixpanel - Mixpanel is the most advanced analytics platform in the world for mobile & web.

Heap - Analytics for web and iOS. Heap automatically captures every user action in your app and lets you measure it all. Clicks, taps, swipes, form submissions, page views, and more.

Adobe Analytics - Adobe Analytics is an industry-leading solution that empowers you to understand your customers as people and steer your business with customer intelligence.

Amplitude - Chart Your Path to Growth with Digital Analytics

Plausible.io - Plausible Analytics is a simple, open-source, lightweight (< 1 KB) and privacy-friendly web analytics alternative to Google Analytics. Made and hosted in the EU, powered by European-owned cloud infrastructure 🇪🇺