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Marketing · head to head

Google Analytics vs Snowplow

Google Analytics logo

Google Analytics

Marketing

Get to know your customers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Snowplow logo

Snowplow

Business Intelligence

Behavioural data pipeline you run in your own cloud, relicensed away from Apache 2.0 in 2024

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Analytics has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Google Analytics data retention limited to maximum 26 months on standard properties, with automatic deletion after retention period expires; Snowplow the core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • They diverge on capability: Google Analytics covers Real-time analytics, Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Google Analytics and Snowplow actually diverge.

Attributes where Google Analytics and Snowplow differ
AttributeGoogle AnalyticsSnowplow
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebLinux, Web, Docker
CategoryMarketingBusiness Intelligence
Founded1998Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Snowplow

  • Own-cloud deployment
  • Schema enforcement
  • Warehouse loading
  • Enrichment
  • Trackers
  • Streaming output
  • Data models
  • Snowplow BDP

What people use each for

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

Google Analytics

  • Website and web application analyticsnot Snowplow
  • Event tracking and user behaviour analysisnot Snowplow
  • Traffic source and conversion trackingnot Snowplow

Snowplow

  • A data team that needs full-fidelity event data in its own warehouse to build attribution or machine learning features rather than to populate dashboardsnot Google Analytics
  • A regulated business that cannot send behavioural data to a third-party analytics vendor and must keep collection inside its own cloud accountnot Google Analytics
  • A product organisation tired of silently malformed events, which wants a schema contract enforced at collection timenot Google Analytics
  • A company modelling customer behaviour across web, mobile and server events that needs them in one consistent structurenot 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

Snowplow

  • The core pipeline was relicensed from Apache 2.0 on 8 January 2024 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement and a Confluent-derived community licence, so organisations that adopted it as permissively licensed software must now review their entitlement, buy a licence, or migrate.
  • You run the pipeline in your own cloud, which means the infrastructure bill, the on-call rota and the upgrade work are yours, and at high event volume that operational cost frequently exceeds what a hosted product would have charged.
  • Schema enforcement is the main benefit and the main friction, because every new event requires a schema to be authored and versioned, and teams without discipline around that end up blocked on their own governance process.
  • There is no analysis layer: Snowplow delivers data to your warehouse and nothing else, so you still need modelling, a BI tool and the people to run them before anyone sees a number.
  • The licence change fractured the community, spawning an Apache 2.0 fork, which means community contributions and third-party tooling are now split across two codebases with uncertain long-term maintenance.

Pricing, plan by plan

Google Analytics

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Google Analytics review.

Snowplow

On request
  • Snowplow BDP$undefined/year
    • Commercial pricing quoted by event volume and deployment
    • Core pipeline components under the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, not Apache 2.0
    • Trackers, analytics SDKs and Iglu SDKs remain Apache 2.0

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 Snowplow if

  • You need own-cloud deployment.
  • You work on Linux, Web, Docker.
  • You also want schema enforcement.
Snowplow review

Questions people ask

Is Google Analytics or Snowplow better?
Neither clearly leads. Google Analytics starts at Free and Snowplow at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Google Analytics or Snowplow?
Google Analytics has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Google Analytics and On request for Snowplow.
Does Google Analytics or Snowplow run on more platforms?
Google Analytics runs on Web. Snowplow runs on Linux, Web, Docker.
Can I use Google Analytics for free?
Yes. Google Analytics has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Snowplow starts at On request.
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 Snowplow is typically brought in for.
What can Google Analytics do that Snowplow cannot?
Google Analytics covers Real-time analytics, Audience insights, Acquisition tracking, Behavior flow. Snowplow covers Own-cloud deployment, Schema enforcement, Warehouse loading, Enrichment.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Snowplow: Is Snowplow still open source?

Not in the permissive sense. On 8 January 2024 the core pipeline moved from Apache 2.0 to the Snowplow Limited Use Licence Agreement, with version 1.1 following in December 2024, alongside a community licence based on the Confluent Community Licence. Trackers and analytics SDKs remain Apache 2.0.

Snowplow: Can we still run it for free in production?

Free use of the relicensed core components is materially constrained and commercial use generally requires an agreement. Read the current licence text against your intended use rather than relying on older documentation.

Snowplow: Is there an Apache 2.0 alternative?

Yes, a fork called OpenSnowcat was created in response to the relicensing and continues under Apache 2.0.

Snowplow: What does Snowplow BDP cost?

Not published. It is quoted by event volume and deployment, and your own cloud infrastructure costs are separate and additional.

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