Adobe Analytics is a widely used data analysis platform — but it’s expensive, complex, and, for very large datasets, reliant on data sampling.
Fortunately, there are a number of more affordable, accurate and user-centric analytics solutions that address these concerns.
This guide explores six top Adobe Analytics alternatives, compares their key features and capabilities and explains how to find the best fit for your analytics needs.
What is Adobe Analytics?
Adobe Analytics is a popular digital analytics platform. It’s known for its enterprise-grade capabilities, which are aimed at larger organisations with complex data needs.
It offers detailed insights into website traffic, customer behaviour and conversion performance. It can segment audiences, track activity and compare key metrics like page views, traffic sources and customer journeys.
Its AI-powered tools, like anomaly detection and predictive analysis, help spot trends and optimise marketing strategies.
Despite its sophisticated capabilities, it does come with challenges.
What’s the problem with Adobe Analytics? Why switch?
One of many common struggles among Adobe Analytics users is the platform’s setup.
The UI is complex and overwhelming for non-technical users, and the platform has a steep learning curve.
Adobe Analytics also has some problematic features. Manual tagging, for instance, is extremely time-consuming. Updating and keeping track of tags “by hand” like this makes it hard to scale along with your business.
The manual tagging feature is also error-prone and requires technical expertise to tag appropriate actions and extract valid insights.
Even if you tag everything correctly, these insights are limited to a certain number of pre-set interaction types, which may not reflect the full spectrum of customer behaviour.
Users also complain about latency issues with Adobe Analytics. Delays in reporting make it hard to get instant insights, leading to slower decision-making.
Pricing is another issue. The higher tiers can get quite expensive. And there’s no free option beyond a product demo, so there’s no real way to try it before committing.
6 Adobe Analytics alternatives and who they work best for
Clearly, Adobe Analytics isn’t for everyone. Let’s explore some of the top alternatives for website analytics.
1. Matomo – Best for privacy-focused companies that need all-in-one analytics
For organisations that must comply with stringent regulations like GDPR or CCPA, privacy features are critical factors in a web analytics solution.
Matomo offers an ethical, privacy-first approach to analytics. It gives businesses deeper control over customer data to ensure its accuracy, security and integrity.
One of Matomo’s key benefits that sets it apart from other analytics solutions is its capability for users to self-host data. This offers unparalleled security and compliance.
It’s also one of the few platforms that combines traditional web analytics with behavioural analytics. Users can access features like heatmaps, A/B testing and session recordings, all under one roof.
Matomo can track everything from technical site performance to customer experiences and show the results on custom dashboards or automatic email reports.
Plus, with cookieless tracking and no data sampling, organisations know they’re getting 100% accurate insights without sacrificing user privacy.
Matomo dashboard with visits log, visits over time, visitor map, combined keywords and traffic sources
(Image Source)
Key Features
- Advanced multi-channel reporting for websites, mobile apps and ecommerce
- Heatmaps and session recordings
- A/B testing platform
- Multi-channel conversion attribution
- User flow to visualise customer journeys
- IP anonymisation
- Cookie-free tracking
- Search engine keyword performance reports
- Customisable dashboards and reports
- Integration with over 100 platforms, including Google Ads, WordPress and Magento
Matomo was designed with the strictest data privacy and compliance requirements in mind: no third-party access and no data sold to advertisers. Instead, users can anonymise IP addresses and configure “DoNotTrack” settings.
All data is accurate. There’s no AI filling in gaps or skewed samples, just 100% factual data that drives better decision-making.
Strengths
- Fully GDPR compliant with advanced privacy features
- Full data ownership with no third-party interference
- Comprehensive analytics tools that don’t rely on data sampling
- Cookieless tracking for more accurate, compliant insights
- Self-hosting and cloud options available
- Supports 100 currencies and multiple time zones
- Strong integration with other tools via API
Common community critiques
- Short learning curve for beginners
- Some premium features come at an extra cost
Pricing
- Matomo On-Premise is free.
- Matomo Cloud starts at just under $22 a month if paid annually.
Matomo vs. Adobe Analytics – The verdict
Adobe Analytics offers a diverse set of enterprise-level tools. But it comes at a much higher cost and doesn’t have the same emphasis on privacy. It’s also missing some of the key advanced features that Matomo offers, such as search engine keyword reports, cookie-less analytics and full GDPR compliance.
Matomo, on the other hand, stands out for privacy-focused companies. Not only is it a budget-friendly solution, but it also provides 100% data ownership.
In contrast, Adobe’s platform relies on data sampling and third-party tracking. If privacy and customisability are top priorities for your company, choose Matomo over Adobe Analytics.
Ready to learn more? Try Matomo for free now.
2. Google Analytics – Best for budget-conscious businesses that track with cookies
Google Analytics is a household name in web analytics. It’s a free tool that allows businesses to track website traffic and user behaviour.
It provides basic insights into digital performance without the high pricing plans of more advanced tools, making it great for small companies and startups with limited budgets.
It’s a natural choice for marketers using Google Ads who want to measure ad performance.
GA isn’t the most accurate tool as it relies on data sampling, meaning the results don’t consider 100% of website visitors.
Unfortunately, Google Analytics also lacks advanced privacy controls and relies on cookies for tracking.
However, if you prioritise price over privacy, Google Analytics delivers strong foundational analytics.
GA reporting dashboard with active visitors, traffic type, average visit duration and bounce rates
(Image Source)
Key Features
- Visits by traffic type (organic, social and direct)
- User behaviour tracking (clicks, scrolls and time on page)
- Demographic and interest data
- Conversion and ecommerce tracking
Strengths
- Easy to track behaviour across multiple devices
- Integrates easily with Google Ads for ad tracking
Common community critiques
- Limited privacy controls
- Data sampling
Pricing:
- Google Analytics is free to use.
- Advanced features are available through Google Analytics 360 for an additional cost.
Google Analytics vs. Adobe Analytics – The verdict
Google Analytics offers good value for budget-conscious businesses. However, it falls short when it comes to enterprise-level depth and privacy. While easy to set up, it lacks the custom dashboards Adobe offers.
3. Mixpanel – Best for product-led companies identifying audiences
Mixpanel is a product analytics platform. It’s designed to show companies how users interact with their products.
It excels at uncovering high-value audiences by tracking customer actions and analysing user journeys. Its strong behavioural analytics and segmentation tools help businesses see how to make products more engaging for specific groups.
However, the free plan limits historical data retention. This restricts long-term trend analysis.
Mixpanel boasts an intuitive interface for basic tasks, which is ideal for less experienced teams. However, you’ll need technical expertise to use advanced features like SQL queries and custom events.
Its reliance on third-party storage also raises privacy concerns.
While Mixpanel is great for tailoring product experiences to target audiences, it’s not ideal for teams that prioritise data ethics or lack technical expertise.
Mixpanel product metrics dashboard with channels by plan, channel stickiness, annual spend, new user accounts and more
(Image Source)
Key features
- Custom event tracking for specific user actions
- Detailed reporting for immediate insights
- User behaviour funnels to track conversion steps
Strengths:
- Self-serve support interface for non-technical users
- Advanced segmentation for detailed audience analysis
Common community critiques
- Restricted historical data retention in free tiers
- Limited performance metric tracking
Pricing:
- The free plan includes basic analytics for up to 1M monthly events
- Beyond that, pricing scales with usage — 1.5M events is ~$140/month (or $100 with annual billing), 3M events is ~$378/month ($270 with annual billing). For exact estimates, use their Growth plan price calculator.
Mixpanel vs. Adobe Analytics – The verdict
Mixpanel excels in product analytics but doesn’t provide the same depth of web analytics as Adobe Analytics.
Adobe also offers better custom reports and audience segmentation to help with marketing and traffic analysis.
4. Amplitude Analytics – Best for growth-stage companies focused on product customer journeys
Similar to Mixpanel, Amplitude Analytics is also a product analytics platform. It focuses on optimising customer journeys for digital products.
It excels in user segmentation. You can create detailed cohorts to track drop-offs throughout your funnels. Its A/B testing feature lets product teams compare conversion strategies and identify effective solutions.
However, its session-based tracking is restrictive. It analyses discrete visits but doesn’t track multiple visits or visitor origins, making it challenging to draw long-term insights.
Amplitude is ideal for growth-stage companies seeking deep insights into user interactions, but it is not suitable for businesses that need comprehensive, long-term customer journey tracking.
Amplitude Analytics dashboard snapshot showing average revenue per user for a specific product
(Image Source)
Key features:
- User path tracking
- Custom event tracking for product usage
- Behavioural cohort analysis for targeted insights
- A/B testing to optimise product experiences
Strengths:
- Detailed segmentation of user behaviour
- Strong focus on product metrics
Common community critiques
- Limited support for traditional web analytics
- Session-based tracking isn’t very comprehensive
Pricing: A free starter plan is available. Paid plans are custom-built and pay-as-you-go.
Amplitude vs. Adobe Analytics – The verdict
Amplitude helps companies understand customer journeys around product usage, concentrating on detailed behavioural analysis. Web analytics are product-focused rather than sales-focused.
For more traditional web analytics, Adobe Analytics provides traffic source tracking, conversion optimisation and insightful reporting.
5. Heap – Best for lean startups that want code-free analytics
Heap is a code-free analytics platform. It’s for tracking and enhancing user behaviour across digital experiences. It offers behavioural analytics and session replays to pinpoint friction points in the user journey.
Its standout feature is automatic event tracking, which helps you capture user interactions without manual setup. This makes it particularly appealing for lean teams and those without technical expertise.
Unfortunately, Heap has limited customisation options, restricting advanced users with complex analytics requirements.
It also lacks GDPR compliance support. This is an issue for privacy-conscious organisations.
Heap is excellent for startups that want user-friendly analytics with automated tracking, but it won’t fit businesses that need extensive customisation or strict privacy compliance.
Heap marketing KPI dashboard
(Image Source)
Key features:
- Automatic event tracking
- Session replays
- Customisable dashboards for quick insights
- Behavioural analytics for deep user understanding
Strengths:
- Simple setup
- Supports cross-device user journeys
- Codeless event tracking
Common community critiques:
- Limited customisation for advanced users
- Events can pile up quickly without dedicated monitoring
Pricing: It’s free for up to 10k sessions. Paid plans have custom pricing.
Heap vs. Adobe Analytics – The verdict
Thanks to its code-free setup, Heap is far easier to implement than Adobe Analytics, even without technical expertise.
That said, Adobe offers more advanced features to monitor site traffic and marketing performance.
6. Open Web Analytics – Best for developers seeking analytics customisation
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a free, open-source analytics platform for developers who need customisable tracking solutions.
It’s highly flexible, offering users full control over their data. Features like heatmaps, clickstream tracking and API support are some of its main strengths.
But OWA is not for inexperienced teams. It requires extensive technical expertise to set up and maintain, and it relies on community support. If you need timely assistance, you might struggle.
OWA doesn’t rely on third-party storage, which is good for privacy-focused teams. However, it’s best for technically skilled teams, not those needing out-of-the-box solutions.
OWA developer dashboard with site metrics, top content, actions and traffic sources
(Image Source)
Key features:
- Customisable web analytics with Javascript and PHP APIs
- Heatmaps and clickstream tracking
- Integration with WordPress and MediaWiki
- Conversion goal and funnel tracking
Strengths:
- Full data control
- Custom tracking
Common community critiques:
- Limited support
- Requires significant setup and deep technical knowledge
Pricing: Free
OWA vs. Adobe Analytics – The verdict
Firstly, OWA is free, while Adobe Analytics comes with a steep price tag.
However, Adobe Analytics gives users an enterprise-grade packaged solution with AI-driven insights. Customising OWA is hands-on and meant for developers.
What to look for when picking a web analytics tool
Here are the key factors to consider when picking an Adobe Analytics alternative.
1. Comprehensive features
Look for analytics tools that offer detailed analysis through heat maps, session recordings and interactive dashboards.
All-in-one solutions like Matomo provide in-depth feedback, analysis and reporting on user behaviour patterns. Teams only need one tool to understand user experiences and optimise web performance.
2. Privacy and compliance
Tools that handle sensitive customer behavioural data need to prioritise privacy and compliance.
That means full compliance with privacy features like IP anonymisation, cookie-less tracking and total data ownership. This ensures data is secure, private and compliant.
3. 100% data accuracy
Many tools claim to provide accurate data while using data sampling to speed up data processing and analysis.
These samples aren’t always representative of the entire dataset. So, conclusions can be skewed or inaccurate.
Matomo doesn’t use data sampling, meaning 100% data accuracy and more reliable insights.
Choose analytics that don’t compromise data privacy
Choosing the right analytics software can preserve user privacy and build customer trust.
Remember, not all tools offer the same protection and control over data.
Choose Matomo for 100% data ownership, full privacy and completely accurate analytics. Keep your data in your hands. Try Matomo for free now.
