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Highseat vs Google Analytics 4

A Google Analytics alternativewithout cookies.

Highseat sets no cookies, loads under 3 KB, and shows revenue by source from Stripe or Polar. Google Analytics 4 sets two cookies that last 2 years and loads a tag of about 158 KB.

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14 days free, no card required.

The short answer

Pick Highseat if your visitors' privacy and your page speed matter. Stay on Google Analytics only if Google Ads audiences run your marketing.

FactHighseatGoogle Analytics
100k events a month$29Free
CookiesNoneTwo, for 2 years
Script sizeUnder 3 KBAbout 158 KB

Fit

Which one fits you?Only one keeps your data from Google.

Google Analytics feeds Google Ads. Highseat keeps your visitors' data in the EU, away from any ad network, and shows what your site earns.

Choose Highseat if

  • YesYou want analytics without cookies.
  • YesYou sell through Stripe or Polar and want revenue by source.
  • YesYou want reports without sampling, kept forever.
  • YesYou want your data stored in the EU.

Stay on Google Analytics if

  • Your marketing runs on Google Ads audiences.
  • You are fine with your visitors' data going to Google and the US.
  • A free tool matters more to you than a fast page.

Gaps

Google Analytics is free.Your visitors pay instead.

Three costs show up on a site with European visitors or a site that wants to stay fast. Each one comes from Google's own help pages.

  1. 01

    Consent first in the EEA

    Google's policy requires consent from visitors in the EEA. A visitor who declines under basic consent mode sends nothing.

  2. 02

    A heavy tag

    The Google tag weighs about 158 KB gzipped. The Highseat script is under 3 KB.

  3. 03

    Visits drop out

    Thresholds hide rows with too few users, and Explorations keep event-level data for 2 or 14 months.

Side by side

Highseat and Google Analytics,row by row.

Where Google Analytics wins a row, the table says so.

FeatureHighseatGoogle Analytics
Price and plans
Price at 100k events a month$29, every featureYesFree
Enterprise tierOne plan per volumeAnalytics 360, price on request
Reports
FunnelsYesEvery planYesExplorations, up to 10 steps
Revenue attributionYesStripe and Polar, net of refundsWith a conditionPurchase events you send
Sampling and thresholdsYesNoneWith a conditionThresholds hide rows, sampling past 10M events
Google Ads audiences and conversionsNoNoYesBuilt in
Predictive metricsNoNoWith a conditionWith 1,000 returning users
Collection
CookiesYesNoneNoTwo, kept 2 years
Script sizeYesUnder 3 KB gzippedWith a conditionAbout 158 KB gzipped
Collection on your own domainYesGenerated handler, every planWith a conditionGoogle tag gateway, set up yourself
Where data is storedYesFinland, EUWith a conditionGoogle's data centres, region not named
Your data
Event-level dataYesForever, every planWith a condition2 or 14 months
Stats APIYesEvery planYesData API
MCP serverYesEvery planWith a conditionExperimental, runs on your machine
Raw event exportYesCSV of every eventYesBigQuery, free to 1M events a day
HighseatGoogle Analytics
Price and plans
Price at 100k events a month
$29, every featureYesFree
Enterprise tier
One plan per volumeAnalytics 360, price on request
Reports
Funnels
YesEvery planYesExplorations, up to 10 steps
Revenue attribution
YesStripe and Polar, net of refundsWith a conditionPurchase events you send
Sampling and thresholds
YesNoneWith a conditionThresholds hide rows, sampling past 10M events
Google Ads audiences and conversions
NoNoYesBuilt in
Predictive metrics
NoNoWith a conditionWith 1,000 returning users
Collection
Cookies
YesNoneNoTwo, kept 2 years
Script size
YesUnder 3 KB gzippedWith a conditionAbout 158 KB gzipped
Collection on your own domain
YesGenerated handler, every planWith a conditionGoogle tag gateway, set up yourself
Where data is stored
YesFinland, EUWith a conditionGoogle's data centres, region not named
Your data
Event-level data
YesForever, every planWith a condition2 or 14 months
Stats API
YesEvery planYesData API
MCP server
YesEvery planWith a conditionExperimental, runs on your machine
Raw event export
YesCSV of every eventYesBigQuery, free to 1M events a day

Google Analytics figures from Google's help pages, read 31 October 2026, for a standard GA4 property. The tag size is measured. Spot a mistake? Write to support@highseat.com.

Credit

Where Google Analytics still wins.The short list.

If none of these is a must for you, there is little reason to stay on Google Analytics.

  1. 01

    It is free

    A standard GA4 property costs nothing at any traffic. Highseat starts at a paid plan after the trial.

  2. 02

    Google Ads in the same place

    Conversions, audiences and ad costs flow between Analytics and Ads, with predictive audiences on top.

  3. 03

    Raw events in BigQuery

    A free daily export of up to 1M events to BigQuery, ready for any SQL you want to write.

Revenue

Revenue on every breakdown.Net of refunds.

Connect Stripe or Polar. Each page, source, country and device shows what it earned, with refunds taken off.

The Sources card with gross revenue, refunds and net revenue for the last 30 days, and each source's revenue beside its visitors. A new Stripe payment lands on the Google row.

  • Payments joined to the visit

    Pass the visit's attribution id to your checkout. The payment lands on the source that sent the buyer.

  • Last click, first click or linear

    Credit goes to the visit that bought, last click by default. Switch the model any time.

Switch

Run both for a week.Then remove the Google tag.

Highseat does not import Google Analytics data. Your property keeps its reports after the tag is gone, so there is nothing to move.

  1. Day 1

    Install

    Add the snippet or the handler for your framework. Name your events the way you name them in GA4.

  2. Week 1

    Compare side by side

    Keep both tags on the page and check the numbers against each other. Connect Stripe or Polar.

  3. Month 1

    Remove the Google tag

    Set up funnels, take the Google tag off, and keep the Google Analytics property for its history.

A deleted property stays in the Trash for 35 days and is then gone, so keep it while you still read its history.

FAQ

Moving from Google Analytics?Common questions.

Anything else? Write to support@highseat.com.

Can I import my Google Analytics data?

No. Highseat imports only Plausible exports. Your Google Analytics property keeps its reports after you remove the tag, so keep it open for the history.

Do I still need a cookie banner?

The Highseat tracker sets no cookies and sends nothing from a browser that has Global Privacy Control turned on. Highseat never stores a visitor's IP address or user agent. That supports your GDPR, CCPA and PECR obligations, and most sites that use it for anonymous traffic statistics can drop the cookie banner. Whether your site still needs consent depends on the rules of the countries you serve and on how you use it. The tracker keeps a random per-tab id in the browser's session storage, and identify() keeps the user id you send in local storage. Some regulators treat any data stored on a device as needing consent, so check with your own adviser before you remove a banner.

Do I need a higher plan for funnels or revenue?

No. Every plan has every feature. A plan is a monthly event allowance and nothing else.

Where is my data stored?

In Finland, in the EU. Highseat never stores a visitor's IP address or user agent.

Can I keep Google Analytics running while I test?

Yes. Both scripts can run on the same page, so you can compare a week of numbers before you cancel.

What happens after the 14-day trial?

Pick a plan to keep going. Without one, collection runs for 14 more days and stops, and your sites are deleted after 60 days.

Compare

More comparisons.Same honest tables.

Try Highseat beside Google Analytics.14 days free, no card required.

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