The best Google Analytics WordPress plugins make it easy for you to integrate Google Analytics with your WordPress website so you can take advantage of all your website’s analytics data.
As the leading content management system with more than a 38% share of the world wide web, WordPress is visible wherever you go, and if you already have an existing website or are in the process of creating one, you’ll want to see how many visitors you get. After all, if you had a brick-and-mortar store, you’d want to know how many people enter the store and the conversion rate?
That’s where Google Analytics comes into play. Within this post, we’ll explore what Google Analytics is, along with the best Google Analytics WordPress plugins for your website. Let’s dive in!
What is Google Analytics?
Simply put, Google Analytics is the most popular method for tracking visitors to your website. Google Analytics is still the most in-depth website analytics solution available while remaining extremely usable, even if it has been hit with more than it’s fair share of privacy-related concerns that Google regularly addresses.
Google Analytics is far more than “X number of people who visited your website.” Instead, Google Analytics can do conversion tracking, in-depth demographics, and more.
Note: For those who don’t like the idea of Google tracking everything and want to offer a more privacy-focused solution, then consider Fathom Analytics, which is rapidly rising in popularity.
The Importance Of WordPress Google Analytics Plugins
Google Analytics is still one of the best tools that you can take advantage of as the owner of a small business website or blog.
Google Analytics WordPress plugins will allow you to easily analyze the traffic that is coming into your website so that way you can make changes to adapt to different market conditions.
7 Best WordPress Google Analytics Plugins
Here are five of the best WordPress Google Analytics plugins available today. We’ll focus on the plugins that use Google Analytics specifically, and also cover a few non-Google-Analytics based solutions as well. Let’s go through what each plugin offers so you can feel confident in the Google Analytics WordPress plugin you choose to install.
1: Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
About Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
You may be thinking “that branding looks familiar” and that’s because more than likely you already use another MonsterInsights plugin on your website as MonsterInsights is developed by AwesomeMotive.
AwesomeMotive is the same folks behind other great WordPress plugins like WPForms, OptinMonster, and the largest WordPress blog, WPBeginner. One-click integration and a beautifully designed dashboard gives MonsterInsights that edge over some of the competition.
MonsterInsights is the company that has developed our second choice which is another solution that makes use of the powerful features of Google analytics. They have over 2 million active users for their program and they have stated their company’s purpose is to make it effortless to integrate your WordPress page with Google analytics. They hope that this way here will be able to assist you in making decisions based upon data rather than just gut feeling. The plugin comes with a Google analytics dashboard for WordPress. This allows you to see actionable analytics reports right on your WordPress dashboard.
This allows you to see actionable analytics reports right on your WordPress dashboard.
This plugin also allows you to integrate Google Analytics with your WordPress page without the need for a developer or the knowledge of any kind of coding. In the past, this kind of process could take days and without the knowledge of coding, you would have to hire a developer. Today the process that they have developed for this plugin allows you to do all of those things in under 15 minutes worth of set up time.
Pros of Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
The most obvious pro is that because MonsterInsights connects directly to your Google Analytics account. There’s no complicated process. Just one click, and you’re ready to use it!
Apart from that, there’s a whole slew of features in the Pro version, including:
- Email summaries
- PDF Exports
- Real time reporting
- Engagement tracking
- Custom Dimensions
- WooCommerce Support
And so, so much more. Without a doubt, MonsterInsights is one of if not the most feature-rich Google Analytics plugins for WordPress.
Cons of Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
Like most plugins by AwesomeMotive, they have a very restricted free version with a tired version that requires you to buy the most expensive tier to get all the features.
In the case of this specific plugin, it’s not too bad as you may only want the standard features, but it’s definitely something to take into account when making your decision. Apart from that, there aren’t any real downsides to Google Analytics by MonsterInsights.
Google Analytics by MonsterInsights Pricing
As we’ve mentioned above, the MonsterInsights plugin follows a freemium model with a limited version available for download from WordPress.org. A more feature rich version is available on the MonsterInsights website.
MonsterInsights offer three tiers of MonsterInsights pricing which are:
- Plus — $199.
- Pro — $399.
- Agency — $799.
As the plans go up in pricing, you get more websites and more functionality. To compare the pricing plans have a look at their pricing page. It’s worth noting that MonsterInsights offers regular sales and it isn’t unusual to be able to get 30% off the price or more.
Our Opinion on Google Analytics by MonsterInsights
MonsterInsights is one of our favorite WordPress Google Analytics plugins because it is feature rich and beautifully designed. The only let down would be the rather aggressive pricing strategy for a Pro version that may not be required if you just want to track website visitors.
2: Analytify
About Analytify
Despite the rather SEO keyword-focused repository name of Google Analytics Dashboard Plugin for WordPress by Analytify (and breathe) the plugin is actually just called “Analytify,” which is much easier to say.
Just like MonsterInsights, Analytify adds a Google Analytics dashboard to your WordPress dashboard with real-time stats, campaign rates, top countries, and more.
Analytify is simple to install and easy to get started just like MonsterInsights, although the dashboard isn’t as aesthetically pleasing as the dashboard design of MonsterInsights.
This is a great option if you are looking for a solution that is free but will also allow you to take advantage of the powerful features that Google Analytics provides to WordPress users. They have over 250,000 downloads and have been quickly growing. The setup process is incredibly straightforward and contrary to other Google analytics plugins you will not have to copy any code manually.
The free version of the software allows you to monitor the status of your sites and will give you access to a basic suite of general reports such as social media statistics and page views. If you are looking for something a little more comprehensive then you can upgrade to the Pro version. With the paid version of the software it adds various types of features such as real-time statistics and tracking. Both versions also support 1-Click authentication so it is incredibly intuitive and easy-to-use.
Pros of Analytify
The free version of Analytify has the majority of the functionality you’d want or need, perhaps with the exception of WooCommerce integration, which is available separately.
While real-time stats are also restricted to premium, you can still get that data from Google Analytics directly and instead just review the stats in your dashboard in Analytify as more of a time-saving task to prevent you having to keep visiting Google Analytics.
Cons of Analytify
There are no real cons to Analytify, just like there aren’t many with MonsterInsights. Instead, the main cons of Analytify surround the pricing model, which we’ll explore more of below. Buying the premium version of Analytify can get very expensive very quickly.
Analytify Pricing
The pricing of Analytify is both confusing and can get expensive. For instance, the pricing model is a freemium one with add-ons (such as for WooCommerce), however for WooCommerce, it makes sense as there are so many add-ons that can be made but there’s only so much you can do with Analytics and it seems like an odd model.
So the pricing breaks down like this:
- Free download available on WordPress.org
- Analytify Premium (but it doesn’t include all features) — $39
- Add-ons for WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, Campaigns, and Emails notifications ranging from $19 to $49 (yes one of the extensions is more expensive than the premium plugin).
- Bundles — Ranging from $49 to $129.
Then you can also have different plans which varies the number of sites the add-ons can be used on and those plans are:
- Personal
- Small Business
- Agency
- Developer
And then just to add another dimension to the pricing structure you the bundles are also available on the same pricing plans.
In essence it’s a rather messy and confusing structure that leaves you wondering what plan you actually need.
Our Opinion on Analytify
While the free plugin is good and there’s nothing wrong with the plugin itself if you need more features the confusing and expensive pricing structure makes it difficult to recommend when MonsterInsights is more straightforward and offers more functionality.
3: GA Google Analytics
About GA Google Analytics
Unlike the other plugins we’ve mentioned here GA Google Analytics is a more pure affair it feels like the old days of WordPress where plugins were often created for the community by the community without little in the way of commercialization. It’s a lightweight pure plugin focused on doing one thing and doing it well.
Pros of GA Google Analytics
The main pro is there’s no fluff this is exactly what you want from a plugin it does what it needs to — no more, no less. It’s incredibly easy to use and supports all the tracking script types.
It also includes the ability to exclude WordPress admins from tracking.
Cons of GA Google Analytics
It’s more simplified than other solutions we’ve mentioned here but that can be a positive or a negative depending on your point of view (for us it’s a positive).
Apart from that the only slight shame is that disabling tracking for all logged-in users is limited to the premium version although most other Google analytics plugins are the same.
GA Google Analytics Pricing
Compared to all the other Google Analytics solutions GA Google Analytics is what can only be described as a bargain.
Lifetime supports and updates are included with all purchases meaning that the purchases are one time only and aren’t recurring annually like most other solutions.
The pricing itself is also more than reasonable:
- Personal — 1 site: $15 as a one time payment.
- Business — 3 sites: $30 as a one time payment.
- Advanced — 10 sites: $60 as a one time payment.
- Developer — Unlimited sites: $120 as a one time payment.
As you can see if you compare that to something like MonsterInsights you could be saving literally thousands of dollars over a 2 year period for something that is not mission critical in the sense that a simpler solution will work just fine.
Our Opinion on GA Google Analytics
An easy to use lightweight plugin that is perfect if you like no-frills simple plugins that are great value with tall the core features you need.
If you want something fancy go for MonsterInsights. If you just want something that does the job then GA Google Analytics is the perfect solution.
4: ExactMetrics
About ExactMetrics
Now where do we begin with ExactMetrics. It used to be called GADWP and was then acquired by AwesomeMotive (yes the same team behind MonsterInsights).
AwesomeMotive proceeded to move most of the functionality users loved behind a paywall incurring the wrath of the user base ressulting in hundreds of 1 star reviews within 24 hrs and to this day the ratings still haven’t recovered.
In fact at the time of writing it has 876 1 star reviews a phenomenal number for what used to be one of the most popular Google Analytics plugins for WordPress. It is stil a good plugin but everything you want is behind a paywall.
Pros of ExactMetrics
A well designed Googlle Analytics plugin that offers all the features you could want in the premium version along with advanced targeting and data sets which the plugin helps you set up whereas if you went with a consultant you could be looking at thousands spent.
Cons of ExactMetrics
How the change was introduced wasn’t done in the best way and the reputation of the plugin is now permanently damaged.
The only other main con is literally everything you want from the plugin seems to be locked behind a paywall making it freemium still but with the push towards needing the premium solution.
ExactMetrics Pricing
Like nearly all other AwesomeMotive products the pricing looks very familiar offering the following plans:
- Plus — $200 a year and the basic features along with 1 site.
- Pro — $399 a year and midweight features along with 5 sites.
- Agency — $799 a year with all features including multisite support and premium support along with 25 sites.
- A more sites package — all features and starting at 100 sites for $1,400.
Just like MonsterInsights if you wait or look around for a coupon you should be able to get at least 30% off those prices.
Our Opinion on ExactMetrics
ExactMetrics is undoubdtfuly a feature rich plugin that does everything you need and more along with the best custom targeting and audiences features available.
The 1 star ratings shouldn’t let you be put off providing yu understand for the best features you need to buy the premium version.
If you don’t need the fancy features of the premium versin then go for GA Google Analytics.
5: Site Kit by Google
About Site Kit by Google
What Google Analytics plugin list would be complete without the official Site Kit plugin by Google?
Offering far more than just the analytics functionality found in other plugins Site Kit also offers:
- Search Console — Helps you understand how Google discovers and understands your pages.
- AdSense — See how much your site is earning you without leaving your WordPress admin area.
- PageSpeed Insights — Compare how your site loads with other real-world websites and get actionable tips.
- Tag Manager — Quickly and easily setup Google Tag Manager on your site.
- Optimize — Use Site Kit to edit and set up A/B tests without any coding required.
Pros of Site Kit by Google
The primary Pro is that it’s the official plugin by Google so it should in theory be maintained and kept up to date (although we all know Google has a history of closing down old projects).
But apart from that the extra functionality offered over other Google Analytics plugins can make a real difference to your site helping you get everything you need setup painlessly and without 5 separate plugins.
Cons of Site Kit by Google
It’s not as fancy as something like MonsterInsights which for the majority of people won’t be a problem but if all the bells and whistles offered by MonsterInsights is more your things then you won’t like this plugin.
Site Kit by Google Pricing
Site Kit is entirely free! There’s no Pro version and the plugin is fully open sourced and will remain so making it the perfect choice for those on a budget.
Our Opinion on Site Kit by Google
Site Kit by Google is the perfect option for those that need basic analytics features along with all the other Google tools such as AdSense, PageSpeed Insights and Optimize offered within the one plugin.
6. Google Analytics Dashboard for WP by ExactMetrics (formerly GADWP)
Our first choice is produced by ExactMetrics a software company that has built an elegant analytics solution on top of Google analytics. This plugin will allow you to easily take advantage of all of the data that is collected through Google and properly set up all of the included Google analytics tracking features without needing to understand code. To date over 1 million individuals have used this plugin to help better their website’s performance. The company stated the goal is to provide the same level of accessibility to small business owners as the large Enterprises have for their websites.
What sets them apart from other competitors is their ability to provide you real-time stats as well as the various tracking features that allow you to have an advanced look at the type of traffic that is coming into your website. You are able to set numerous custom settings so that way you can find exactly the information you are looking for about your website traffic. They can even give you customized analytics reports so you will be able to see in clear visualizations what the data is telling you all without the need to hire a developer.
7. WP Statistics
This is one of the first entirely free Google analytics plugins for WordPress on our list so far. It is one of the more lightweight options but it is also incredibly easy to use. It comes right out of the box with compatibility and solutions for your WordPress dashboard. This plugin allows you to easily track incoming traffic from all of the largest search engines. It will even identify the traffic by their IP address and tag them with their country. You will also be able to use this plugin in order to track email statistics that you will be able to export into other programs for email campaigns. It is a great solution for the blogger that is looking for help with tracking where the traffic is coming from and the blogger that is looking to collect email addresses in order to start their own marketing campaign.
Jetpack’s WordPress.com Stats
This plugin was developed by the WordPress team and is fully compatible with all major WordPress features. Using this will allow you to easily keep track of numerous types of data that will be critical for the function of your business and the success of your blog. Overall it is not nearly as comprehensive as Google Analytics but for the beginning blogger, it will give you more than enough insight to take some actionable steps towards improving your website. This is a solution for the blogger that is not interested in working with more than the very basics of statistics.
Matomo
This has been one of the most reputable open-source Google analytics alternatives on the market in recent years. It will give you access to a suite of features that will help you to deftly manage your blogging business. It will allow you to easily track user interactions on your website of choice and that even includes integration with e-commerce and numerous other features. You will be able to choose between a self-hosted or a cloud-hosted version of this plugin. The cloud-hosted version will allow you to bypass the need to set up your own server. The self-hosted version will allow you to avoid paying for use of the service. The version that will be the most beneficial for you will depend upon what kind of computer equipment that you already have access to you and your level of expertise when it comes to hosting your own websites.
If you are the type of blogger that could easily take care of the steps then it will probably be beneficial for you to simply go for the self-hosted version in order to save on the monthly fee. If you are the type of blogger who has a ton of content but they may not know exactly every single detail about how to set up their own web hosting service then it would probably be a wise decision to simply go for the cloud-hosted version as the monthly fee is really not that expensive in the long run.
Parse.ly
This is one of those rare types of products that will be attractive to both beginning and advanced users. It is composed of three primary pieces. These pieces are the content dashboard, API, and the data pipeline. These three components can be purchased à la carte or as a bundle. The content dashboard will allow you to have a clear picture of the real-time user statistics for your website. You will be able to look at historical trends and utilized data in order to make decisions that will boost the revenue of your websites.
The API will allow you to easily generate new great user experiences based upon the analytics of your audience. It comes included with a recommendation engine that claims to be capable of doubling your page views while simultaneously increasing the amount of time that each unique page view spends on your site.
Finally, the data pipeline allows you to access to 100% of the data that is pulled into your website and turn it into easy to read infographics that will allow you to enhance your data-driven decision-making skills.
Heap
This is one of the first true Google Analytics alternatives on our list. Heap will allow you to keep a record of every single event that happens on both your website and your mobile application if you have one.
On the website, it will be able to keep track of clicks, form submissions, and numerous other types of data without any input from your part. It will track every single input from a mobile application as well. The biggest difference in Google analytics and this plugin is that this plugin is primarily devoted to tracking automatic events. Google Analytics is only capable of tracking page views automatically. Heap will allow you to keep tabs on individual users even across multiple devices.
Heap also has built-in features that will allow you to easily visualize the data to create new sales leads. The plugin itself is free but there are a limited number of uses that come with it each month in the free version. If you are a larger business that will require more use than the free version comes with you will need to contact the company to discuss specialized pricing for enterprises.
Mixpanel
Mixpanel gives you the ability to understand with greater detail exactly how the users of your website are actually engaging and interacting with the content on your website or mobile app. You will be able to learn who the users are and you will also be able to see data on how your users are making use of your products. These two factors together should allow you to make better decisions when it comes to enhancing the revenue of your company. The product itself has two pricing options. Their first option allows you to gain the data from 1000 users each month for free while you can pay a service charge to gather up to 20 million data points each month.
Adobe Analytics
Adobe Analytics is from the same company that made the famous PDF software. They have created an elegant solution here that will allow you to gain a deep insight into enterprise-level websites that make use of Adobe Systems. It will allow you to make visualizations that can show how users are interacting with elements on your website and where the traffic is coming from. It will even highlight the most valuable customer segments for you.
Wrapping Up
The best WordPress Google Analytics plugins are aplenty in the WordPress.org Repository. Hopefully with the help of this article you’ve found the best Google Analytics plugin for your use case.
Do you already have a favorite WordPress Google Analytics plugin? Or have you used any from our list? Then let us know in the comments below.