GA4 Pricing and Cost Considerations for Small to Medium Businesses

Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is free to use and provides essential analytics features suitable for small to medium-sized businesses, making it a cost-effective choice without any direct fees. It tracks website and app traffic, user behavior, and conversions, which are typically sufficient for most SMB needs.

For enterprises requiring advanced capabilities, Google offers Google Analytics 360 (GA4 360), a premium, usage-based service starting at around $50,000 per year. This tier includes higher data limits (25 million monthly events included), advanced features, and support, but costs increase with data volume and additional features like rollup or subproperties, which incur extra charges.

Key cost considerations for small to medium businesses using GA4:

• No direct cost for GA4 Standard: The free version covers most analytics needs without financial commitment.
• Data limits: GA4 Standard has limits on data retention and event volume, but these are generally sufficient for SMBs.
• No charges for BigQuery integration: Unlike GA4 360, the free GA4 does not include BigQuery integration or advanced enterprise features.
• No usage-based fees: Unlike GA4 360, the free GA4 does not charge based on event volume or data usage.
• Account structure simplicity: SMBs typically do not need complex account structures involving rollup or subproperties, which can increase costs in GA4 360.

In summary, small to medium businesses can use GA4 at no cost, benefiting from robust analytics without worrying about pricing. Only larger organizations with high data volumes and advanced needs should consider GA4 360, which involves significant annual fees and usage-based pricing.