Google Analytics is free and easier to set up for basic website traffic tracking, while Amplitude specializes in product analytics with advanced user behavior segmentation and is ideal for mobile and SaaS companies willing to pay for deeper insights.
Amplitude vs Google Analytics — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose Google Analytics if you need free, straightforward website traffic tracking with quick implementation and don't require deep product behavior insights. Choose Amplitude if you're a mobile-first company, SaaS product, or need advanced user segmentation, funnel analysis, and are willing to invest $1,000+ monthly for actionable behavioral intelligence.
Product analytics platform specializing in behavioral cohorts, funnels, and multi-touch attribution modeling.
Free, cloud-based web analytics platform with AI-powered insights and real-time reporting.
Amplitude vs Google Analytics — Comparison Data
Structured comparison data for Amplitude vs Google Analytics with 143 attributes.
Setup Time (implementation to first insights)
Average Setup Cost (Professional Services)
Amplitude vs Google Analytics — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Amplitude vs Google Analytics.
Can I use both Amplitude and Google Analytics together?
Yes, most companies use both. Google Analytics provides free website traffic insights, while Amplitude supplements it with product behavior analytics. They complement rather than compete—GA4 for traffic sources and conversion rates, Amplitude for user journey mapping and retention cohorts. Many SaaS companies send the same events to both tools.
Which is better for tracking mobile app users?
Amplitude is significantly better for mobile. It has native SDKs for iOS, Android, and React Native with automatic event tracking and offline support. Google Analytics 4 supports mobile but requires separate implementation and lacks Amplitude's behavioral segmentation depth. For mobile-first companies, Amplitude is the industry standard.
How long does historical data stay available?
Amplitude retains 12 months of historical data on the free tier, while Google Analytics GA4 keeps only 2 months. If you need to analyze year-over-year trends without paid storage, Amplitude's free tier is substantially better. Both platforms charge for extended historical data access on paid tiers.
What's the typical implementation complexity for each?
Google Analytics is fastest—typically 30 minutes using Google Tag Manager. Amplitude requires 4-8 hours because it needs custom event schemas defined upfront (what actions matter to your product). The extra setup time pays off with better insights, but it's a steeper initial investment.
Google Analytics allows exports to BigQuery (free tier) and Data Studio (limited). Amplitude provides REST APIs and limited CSV exports. For data portability and warehouse integration, Amplitude's APIs are more robust. Google's BigQuery integration is free and more generous for large-scale data warehousing.