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Privatus Analytics vs Google Analytics 4
GA4 is free and deeply integrated with Google's advertising products. It identifies users with cookies, so in much of the world it needs consent first. Privatus Analytics measures without cookies or user IDs.
Watch: Google Analytics alternative: private, no cookie banner (2:30)
A Google Analytics alternative that doesn't spy on your visitors: no cookies, no banner, every visitor counted, and your data never sold or used for ads.
Transcript
Google Analytics is free. You pay with your visitors. Here's what I'd use instead, and the honest reasons why.
I'm James, founder of Privatus Analytics. I built it because I didn't want to be the reason Google knew my customers.
Here's what actually happens when someone opens your site with Google Analytics on it. A cookie goes onto their device. Their visit, their pages and their device are sent to Google. Google is an advertising company. Its business is knowing what people do, and your site just helped. Your visitors never agreed to that. They came to you. Then there's what you get in return. A tool built for analysts, where the one number you want is buried under reports you never asked for. You open it less and less. Decisions go back to gut feeling. In much of the world it needs a consent banner, so a chunk of your traffic says no and disappears. And some of what's left isn't human. You can't tell how much. Free, it turns out, is the most expensive option you have.
Privatus Analytics uses no cookies, no fingerprinting, and never stores anyone's IP address. Your visitors' data is used to show you your analytics, and for nothing else. Never sold, never shared, never used for ads. The tracker is open source, so you can check. One line on your site, and everything is on one screen. Who came, where from, what they read, what they did. Click anything to filter. Every visitor is counted, and machine learning sorts the real people from the bots. Your Google Analytics history imports in a few clicks and sits on the same chart, so you lose nothing by leaving. Now the honest part. If you run Google Ads and want audiences and remarketing, Google Analytics does that, and we never will. If you want to understand your website and keep your visitors out of an advertising business, this is the one.
You see your whole audience, on one screen, and nobody else does. Your customers get to visit you without being followed home. And you stop paying for free analytics with other people's privacy.
See your whole audience without handing it to Google. Start free at privatusanalytics.com.
Last verified September 29, 2026 against GA4’s public website
Where Privatus Analytics differs
- No cookies and no user identifiers, so no consent banner is needed for measurement in most setups
- You see all your traffic, not only visitors who accepted cookies
- One screen with clear definitions instead of configurable reports
- Data is used only to provide your analytics, never for advertising
Where GA4 may suit you better
- Free at any volume on the standard version
- Deep integration with Google Ads and other Google products
- User-level analysis and audiences, where you have a legal basis
Side by side
| Privatus Analytics | Google Analytics 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free up to 10k events a month, Pro from $9 a month for up to 250k | Free standard version, paid GA4 360 for enterprises |
| Cookies | None | Sets first-party cookies to recognize returning browsers |
| Consent in the EU/UK | Designed for measurement without consent. Each site owner assesses their own position | Generally requires consent where cookies need it. Consent Mode can model some missing data |
| User identifiers | None. Visits last at most one day | Client ID cookie, optional User-ID and Google signals |
| Data retention | 3 months on Free, unlimited while subscribed on paid plans | User- and event-level data kept 2 or 14 months on the standard version (aggregate reports persist) |
| Advertising integration | None, by design | Extensive (Google Ads, audiences, remarketing) |
| Data processor | Privatus Analytics (stored and processed in the US, IPs never stored) |
Sources
- Google Analytics Help, data retention (support.google.com)
- Google Analytics developer docs, cookie usage (developers.google.com)
- Google Marketing Platform, Analytics (marketingplatform.google.com)
Privatus Analytics is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Google Analytics 4. Product names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the products compared. Facts about Google Analytics 4 come from its public website on the date shown and may have changed since. If you spot an error, tell us and we'll fix it.
Switching? Read the migration guide for GA4.
Start measuring without cookies
No cookies, no fingerprinting and no consent banner needed for measurement.
Your first workspace starts with 14 days of Pro, free. After that it moves to the free plan, with 10k events a month, 3 sites and 3 months of history. No card required.