Adobe Analytics vs Google Analytics
With an abundance of web analytics solutions on the market, it can be overwhelming deciding which tool will best suit your needs. To help make your evaluation easier, this page looks in-depth at the features, capabilities and limitations of Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics. In this article, we’ll compare Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics, two leading web analytics tools.
We’ll also introduce Matomo, a powerful, easy-to-use and compliant web analytics solution used by over 1 million sites worldwide. Discover how these tools differ and which might best meet your analytics requirements.
Adobe Analytics vs Google Analytics at a glance
Adobe Analytics is a powerful analytics tool providing a robust set of reporting capabilities, including AI and machine learning, to gather data. As part of the Adobe Cloud Suite, it’s offered as a comprehensive enterprise solution for businesses that require advanced reporting and marketing analytics.
Google Analytics is the most widely used free web analytics solution. It offers traditional web analytics and more advanced reporting capabilities through AI and machine learning. Google Analytics also seamlessly integrates with other popular tools from the Google ecosystem (e.g., Search Console and Google Ads). In the comparison table below, we’ll be specifically looking at the new Google Analytics 4.
Matomo is the leading open-source and privacy-friendly web analytics platform on more than one million websites globally. Matomo combines traditional web analytics with advanced behavioural analytics (e.g., Heatmaps, A/B Testing, Form Analytics and Session Recordings) to give users visibility into the entire customer journey and create a better user experience for website visitors. It can be hosted on Cloud or On-Premises (self-hosted) and offers 100% data ownership, consent-free tracking, and GDPR compliance.
Do yourself a favour, and don’t choose web analytics software without knowing exactly what you’re getting into. Using the chart below, you can compare each tool to see which features they have (or don’t have). We’ll then provide comparisons of each tool’s user interface alongside the pros and cons provided by user testimonials. We’ll wrap up by providing a framework for identifying what you need your web analytics tool to do and how to make an informed decision.
Please note: We aim to keep this table accurate and up to date. However, if you see any inaccuracies or outdated information, please email us at marketing@matomo.org
 MATOMO ON-PREMISE | MATOMO CLOUD |  GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 |  ADOBE ANALYTICS |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GENERAL | ||||
| Hosting Options | On-Premise (Self-hosted) | Cloud | Cloud | Cloud |
| Hosting Location | NA | Germany | Assorted | Based on customer location (US, UK, Singapore) |
| Pricing | Free forever | $ | Free | $$$ |
| Multi-Account / Multi-Site Management |  | | | |
| Segments | | | | |
| Cohorts | $ | | | |
| Custom Dimensions | | | | |
| No Data Sampling | | | Data sampling occurs in advanced reports, reports exceeding 10M events & reports that are not standard | |
| Activity Log | $ | |  | |
| Real Time Reporting | 10 sec | 10 sec | Within seconds | 30-90 sec |
| Annotations | | | | |
| PRIVACY & COMPLIANCE | ||||
| Cookieless Tracking | | | | |
| GDPR Manager | | | | |
| Advance Privacy Controls | | | | |
| Consent-free tracking | | | | |
| TECHNICAL SET UP | ||||
| Google Analytics data importer | | | (GA4 does not accept data imports from UA) | |
| API raw data access | | | | |
| Built-in Tag Manager | | | | |
| SQL raw data access | | | | |
| SAML integration | From 579USD/year | | | |
| Mobile App SDK | | | | |
| ANALYTICS COVERAGE | ||||
| Website Analytics | | | | |
| App Analytics | | | | |
| Intranet Analytics | | | | |
| REPORTING CATEGORIES | ||||
| Custom Reports | $ | | | |
| Customizable Dashboard | | | | |
| Roll-up Reporting | $ | | | |
| User Funnel Analysis | $ | | | |
| User Flows Analysis | $ | | | |
| Event Tracking | | | | |
| Heatmaps | $ | | | |
| Session Recordings | $ | | | |
| Form Reporting | $ | | | |
| Media Analytics | $ | | | |
| A/B Testing | $ | | | |
| SEO Keyword Performance Metrics | $ | | | |
| Multi-Channel Conversion Attribution | $ | | | |
| E-Commerce Reporting | | | | |
| Campaign Tracking | | | | |
| Site Search | | | | |
| Log Analytics | | | | |
| METRIC CATEGORIES | ||||
| Site Speed | | | | |
| Geo Location - Country | | | | |
| Geo Location - City | | | | |
| Visitor Maps | | | | |
| Engagement Metrics (entrances, exits, pageviews, etc) | | | | |
| Page Scroll | | | | |
| User / Visitor Tracking | | | | |
| Time Period Comparison | | | | |
| New Visitor vs. Returning Visitor | | | | |
| Predictive Analytics | | | | |
| Integrations | ||||
| Google Search Console | | | | |
| Integration with Bing and Yahoo Search Consoles | | | | |
| Integration with the full Google Marketing Platform | | | | |
| Integration with Google Ads | | | | |
Battle of the user interfaces: Matomo vs. Google Analytics vs. Adobe Analytics
As marketers and web analysts know all too well, a user-friendly interface can flatten the learning curve when adopting and implementing a new tool. An intuitive user interface (UI) will save you time and money in training your team and reducing technical support costs. Not all user interfaces are created equal. So let’s compare these leading web analytics tools’ user interfaces.
1. Google Analytics 4 UI
Pros:
- Simple and clean layout
- Adapts to different screen sizes
Cons:
- Confusing and not intuitive interface
- Challenging to navigate
- No custom channel grouping
- Requires a lot of training
2. Adobe Analytics UI
Pros:
- Extensive support documentation and resources to help get up to speed
- Fast view generation
Cons:
- Cluttered UI
- Steep learning curve
- Non-standard naming conventions
3. Matomo UI
Pros:
- Intuitive, easy-to-use (especially for former Universal Analytics users)
- Extensive support documentation, resources and an active community forum
- Customer support available
Cons:
- Additional themes for customising the look and feel are only accessible for Matomo On-Premise
Which web analytics tool should you choose?
Hopefully, by now, you have a better idea of the offerings and usability of Matomo, Google Analytics 4 and Adobe Analytics. While we can’t tell you which web analytics tool you should pick, we can provide a framework for how you can identify your goals and needs so you can make an informed choice.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to make your choice (a bit) easier:
- How scalable do you need the tool to be?
- Consider if you need a tool that can quickly process large amounts of data.
- Some tools have scalable, enterprise-tailored features available with an upgrade.
- What do you need your web analytics tool to do? What is your current web analytics tool *not* doing?
- What is your budget?
- Many tools offer free versions with upgrades for more advanced features. Based on the goals you defined, you can compare prices for the specific features you need.
- What data privacy and compliance requirements do you need to consider?
- If you’re servicing users in the EU, you must be GDPR compliant.
- What level of customisation will you need?
- What are your integration needs with your existing tools?
- Which user interface was most intuitive and easy to use?
- Think about the tools your team is used to and how easy it would be for them to adopt a new tool.
- Don’t forget to consider the type of technical support, user feedback processes and support resources available.
Final thoughts
Now that you’ve seen how these leading web analytics solutions compare, hopefully, you’ve gotten a better understanding of which solution will best suit your business needs.
If you’d like extensive reporting, Adobe Analytics could work best for you. As a solution aimed at large enterprises, it boasts a range of reporting capabilities and predictive analytics to help your marketing team improve campaign ROIs, ad spend and user experiences. But this does come at a high price.
Google Analytics can help you get a better understanding of your website visitors out of the box. Being a free tool and the most-used web analytics solution, it’s undoubtedly a convenient option – though it does come with a few major caveats, including privacy concerns and GDPR breaches. Additionally, Google Analytics samples data, providing an aggregated view that may not offer precise insights into visitor behavior. This sampling can lead to a lack of accuracy in interpreting website traffic, making marketing decisions a bit of a gamble at best.
Matomo is a great option for organisations that must be data-driven and compliant. As an all-in-one analytics solution, it’s designed to help organisations make more informed decisions and enhance customer experience while ensuring compliance and privacy at a cost-effective price.
Being a privacy-friendly solution, Matomo enables the tracking of 100% of your website visitors. This comprehensive tracking capability significantly enhances the accuracy of marketing decisions, empowering organisations to craft impactful strategies.
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