Google Analytics 4 vs 
Amplitude (2026 Comparison)
GA4 owns free marketing and acquisition analytics; Amplitude owns deep product behavior and experimentation.
Google Analytics 4 is the free, ubiquitous choice for marketing attribution, campaign tracking, and cross-channel reporting inside Google's ecosystem. Amplitude is the stronger product analytics platform, making funnels, retention, behavioral cohorts, and experimentation self-serve for product teams, and many companies run both side by side.
- Best pick
- It depends on your team
- Integration
- Coexistence / dual instrumentation
- Setup
- 1-3 weeks
Ready to try them?
We may earn a commission if you sign up through these links — it never changes your price.
Team Fit — who should build on what
Before pricing or features, get the fit right. Here's how Google Analytics 4 and Amplitude map to real team profiles.
| Dimension | Google Analytics 4 | Amplitude |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use | Marketing & acquisition analytics | Product & behavioral analyticsEven |
| Cost | Free for most; 360 is 6-figureEdge | Free tier then MTU-based paid |
| Behavioral cohorts | Basic | First-class behavioral cohortsEdge |
| Funnel & retention analysis | Workable but rigid | Flexible, self-serve breakdownsEdge |
| Ad ecosystem integration | Deep Google Ads tiesEdge | Limited ad integrations |
| Ease for product managers | Steep learning curve | PM-friendly, no engineer neededEdge |
Who is Google Analytics 4 best for?
Web & Product Analytics
Any team wanting free, comprehensive web and app analytics tied to Google Ads.
- Sites already in Google's ad ecosystem
- Teams wanting free cross-platform tracking
- Marketers tracking campaigns and conversions
Who is Amplitude best for?
Web & Product Analytics
Mid-market to enterprise product teams building data-informed roadmaps.
- Product managers
- Growth and experimentation teams
- Data-driven SaaS companies
Pricing & Features — what you actually pay for
Side-by-side plans with the fine print most comparison pages skip, plus a filterable feature matrix.
Google Analytics 4
Google's free, event-based analytics for websites and apps used everywhere.
Google Analytics 4
$0
- Unlimited event-based tracking
- Google Ads & BigQuery export
- Standard reports and Explorations
Analytics 360
Custom
- Higher data limits and SLAs
- Advanced sub-properties
- Enterprise support
Hidden costs to watch
- Data sampling kicks in on large free-tier reports
- Analytics 360 enterprise pricing starts around six figures per year
- Steep learning curve; BigQuery incurs its own costs for raw data
Amplitude
Digital analytics platform for product behavior, experimentation, and growth.
Starter
$0
- Up to 50k monthly tracked users
- Core product analytics
- Unlimited seats
Plus
$49/flat / mo
- From 1,000 monthly tracked users
- Advanced charts and retention
Growth
Custom
- Custom MTU volume
- Experimentation and CDP add-ons
- Enterprise governance
Hidden costs to watch
- Priced on monthly tracked users (MTUs)
- Median enterprise deals reach tens of thousands per year
- Experiment and CDP modules cost extra
Feature specs
3 of 9 features differ between these tools.
| Feature | Google Analytics 4 | Amplitude |
|---|---|---|
| Event-based tracking | NativeNative | NativeNative |
| Free tierGA4 free to 10M hits/mo; Amplitude free to 50k MTU | NativeNative | NativeNative |
| Funnel analysisAmplitude funnels are more flexible and segmentable | NativeNative | NativeNative |
| Behavioral cohortsGA4 cohorts are limited vs Amplitude's dynamic behavioral cohorts | Paid Add-onPaid Add-on | NativeNative |
| Retention analysis | NativeNative | NativeNative |
| Path / journey analysis | NativeNative | NativeNative |
| A/B testing & experimentationAmplitude Experiment is a paid add-on; GA4 relies on Optimize's sunset/third parties | Not SupportedNot Supported | Paid Add-onPaid Add-on |
| Raw data export to warehouseGA4 exports to BigQuery; Amplitude to Snowflake/warehouses | NativeNative | NativeNative |
| Google Ads integration | NativeNative | Not SupportedNot Supported |
Automation Blueprints — make them work together
The real payoff is the stack. These are concrete Google Analytics 4 ↔ Amplitude workflows worth building.
Sync GA4 conversions to your ad platform
Conversion event recorded
From a paid campaign
Import conversion for bidding
Keeps ad optimization fed by the same events product teams analyze in Amplitude.
Alert product team on activation drop
Cohort activation rate falls
Drop over 10% week-over-week
Notify product channel
Surfaces behavioral regressions faster than waiting for a GA4 report review.
Unify data in the warehouse
Daily BigQuery export
New day partition available
Ingest events via warehouse sync
Lets teams reconcile marketing and product analytics on one dataset when running both tools.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about choosing between and combining Google Analytics 4 and Amplitude.
Should I use GA4 or Amplitude?
Is Amplitude worth paying for when GA4 is free?
Can I run GA4 and Amplitude together?
Which has better funnel analysis?
How much does Amplitude cost versus GA4?
Ready to build your stack?
Start a free trial and see which fits your team. No credit card needed to explore either tool.
BuildStackFlow may earn a commission when you sign up through these links — it never changes your price.