Wondering if Google Analytics is free? Yes—with limits. Below the surface you’ll find usage caps, compliance chores, and privacy headaches. In this article, you’ll see why cookie-free analytics can spare you those pains while still unlocking deep insights.
What “free” really means#
Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is advertised as a free product, but the standard tier comes with strict quotas and capped functionality:
- Sampling after 500 k sessions and a 10 M monthly-event ceiling
- 14-month data retention (or shorter, unless you upgrade)
- No BigQuery export beyond 1 M events / day without GA4 360
- GA4 360 starts around $50 k / year—often much more
Hidden costs you still pay
- Compliance & legal – consent banners, GDPR documentation, potential data-transfer risks
- Engineering time – tag migration, server-side tracking, schema maintenance
- Accuracy gaps – sampling blurs metrics once you exceed free-tier thresholds
- Data-portability fees – exporting large event streams to BigQuery can rack up cloud costs
The privacy problem with cookie-based analytics#
GA4 relies on third-party cookies and cross-site identifiers—exactly what browsers and privacy laws are phasing out. That means:
- Incomplete data as Safari, Firefox, and soon Chrome block tracking cookies
- User-consent friction—every page waits for banner approval
- Regulatory exposure if personal data crosses borders without adequate safeguards
Why cookie-free analytics changes the game#
Cookie-free analytics tools like Glass Analytics generate anonymous, hash-based IDs or first-party event streams—no cookies, no fingerprints.
Key advantages
- Instant, real-time dashboards – see our Realtime guide
- Automatic event tracking – powered by LLMs (no manual tag fiddling) – Event Tracking docs
- Built-in heatmaps & session replays – Heatmaps overview
- GDPR compliance by design – see Glass Data Security
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Metric | GA4 (Free) | Glass Analytics (Cookie-Free) |
|---|---|---|
| Cookie consent required | Yes | No |
| Data retention | 2–14 months | Unlimited |
| BigQuery-export limits | 1 M events / day | Full raw export (CSV / JSON) |
| Heatmaps & replays | Requires extra tool | Built-in |
| Price | $0 – $150 k+ | Simple, page-view-based pricing |
See the full list of features.
Switching from GA to cookie-free analytics in 4 steps#
- Map events – use Glass’s AI auto-tracking or import your GA schema.
- Install the lightweight script – < 1 kB, served from your domain.
- Verify data quality in the dashboard while GA runs in parallel.
- Retire cookies & consent pop-ups – faster pages, cleaner UX.
Conclusion#
Google Analytics may be “free” in dollars, but it can cost you in compliance risk, data gaps, and engineering overhead. Looking for privacy-first, cookie-free analytics that just works?
