YourTraffic vs Google Analytics 4

Google Analytics 4 is the default choice, and YourTraffic is the privacy-first alternative. Here is how they actually differ so you can decide which fits your site.

Privacy and cookies

GA4 uses cookies and collects personal data, which is why it needs a consent banner and a fair amount of legal care in the EU. YourTraffic sets no cookies and stores no personal data, so there is no banner and compliance with GDPR, CCPA and PECR comes by default.

Data ownership

With GA4 your visitor data lives on Google infrastructure and feeds their ecosystem. With YourTraffic the data sits in your own Postgres database when you self-host, so it never leaves your control.

Simplicity

GA4 is broad and takes real time to learn. Reports are sampled and the interface is dense. YourTraffic shows visitors, pageviews, top pages, sources and countries at a glance, with no setup beyond one script tag.

Developers and agents

YourTraffic ships a documented REST API and a native MCP server, so both your tools and AI agents can read stats directly. GA4 has an API too, but it carries the same complexity as the rest of the platform.

Pricing

GA4 is free but paid for with your data and your time. YourTraffic is free to self-host under the MIT license, with a paid cloud option if you would rather not run it. There are no per-site limits either way.

If you want numbers you can trust without the banner, the sampling or the learning curve, YourTraffic is the simpler trade. Add a site, drop one script tag and you are live in minutes.