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Marketing · head to head

Google Analytics vs Google Search Console

Google Analytics logo

Google Analytics

Marketing

Get to know your customers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Search Console logo

Google Search Console

SEO

Google's free tool for monitoring how a site appears in Search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Google Analytics data retention limited to maximum 26 months on standard properties, with automatic deletion after retention period expires; Google Search Console query data below a low, undisclosed volume threshold is anonymised and dropped from reports, so genuine long-tail performance is invisible.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Analytics covers Real-time analytics, Google Search Console covers Performance reports.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Analytics and Google Search Console actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Analytics and Google Search Console differ
AttributeGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Search Console
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
CategoryMarketingSEO
Founded1998Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Google Analytics

  • Real-time analytics
  • Audience insights
  • Acquisition tracking
  • Behavior flow
  • Conversion tracking
  • Custom reports
  • Mobile analytics
  • E-commerce tracking

Only in Google Search Console

  • Performance reports
  • Index coverage
  • URL inspection
  • Core Web Vitals report
  • Sitemap and manual actions
  • Search Console API

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Google Analytics

  • Website and web application analyticsnot Google Search Console
  • Event tracking and user behaviour analysisnot Google Search Console
  • Traffic source and conversion trackingnot Google Search Console

Google Search Console

  • Any site owner confirming what Google actually indexed versus what a crawler assumes it indexednot Google Analytics
  • A team diagnosing a traffic drop by checking for manual actions or a spike in crawl errors firstnot Google Analytics
  • An SEO analyst exporting query-level click data via the API to blend with a paid rank tracker's historynot Google Analytics
  • A developer validating that structured data and mobile rendering match what Googlebot seesnot Google Analytics

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Google Analytics

  • Data retention limited to maximum 26 months on standard properties, with automatic deletion after retention period expires
  • Large and XL properties capped at 2-month data retention only
  • Age, gender, and interest data always expire after 2 months regardless of retention settings
  • Free tier does not include GA360 advanced features

Google Search Console

  • Query data below a low, undisclosed volume threshold is anonymised and dropped from reports, so genuine long-tail performance is invisible.
  • Performance history is capped at 16 months, so year-over-year comparison beyond that window requires a third-party tool that has been logging the data independently for longer.
  • It only reports Google Search; it has no visibility into Bing, other search engines, or the AI answer engines increasingly sending referral traffic.
  • The interface aggregates by property, and comparing multiple properties or clients side by side means exporting and reassembling data yourself.
  • Position and CTR figures are averages across ranking positions and personalisation, so they do not match what any single search or rank tracker snapshot shows for a specific query.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Analytics

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Google Analytics review.

Google Search Console

Free
  • Google Search ConsoleFree
    • Unlimited verified properties per account
    • 16 months of performance history
    • Index coverage, sitemaps and Core Web Vitals reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Google Analytics if

  • You need real-time analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want audience insights.
Google Analytics review

Choose Google Search Console if

  • You need performance reports.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want index coverage.
Google Search Console review

Questions people ask

Is Google Analytics or Google Search Console better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Analytics starts at Free and Google Search Console at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Analytics or Google Search Console?
Google Analytics starts at Free and Google Search Console at Free.
Does Google Analytics or Google Search Console run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Google Analytics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Google Analytics best used for?
Google Analytics is most often used for website and web application analytics, event tracking and user behaviour analysis, traffic source and conversion tracking. Of those, website and web application analytics and event tracking and user behaviour analysis are not what Google Search Console is typically brought in for.
What can Google Analytics do that Google Search Console cannot?
Google Analytics covers Real-time analytics, Audience insights, Acquisition tracking, Behavior flow. Google Search Console covers Performance reports, Index coverage, URL inspection, Core Web Vitals report.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Google Search Console: Do I need to pay for Search Console?

No. It has never had a paid tier and Google has given no indication of introducing one.

Google Search Console: Why does it show different keyword rankings than my rank tracker?

GSC reports averaged position across many searches, devices and locations over the reporting period; a rank tracker takes a single snapshot from a defined location, so the two numbers measure different things.

Google Search Console: Can I use it instead of a rank tracker?

For your own site's actual click and impression data, yes; for daily position tracking, historical trend charts beyond 16 months, or any visibility into competitors, no.

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