Infographic: Google Analytics UA vs GA4 Differences Explained

Organizations globally rely on Google Analytics to better understand their online business and create optimal experiences for their customers. Launched in Oct 2020, Google Analytics 4 is the new Google Analytics after Urchin, Classic and Universal in response to changing dynamics in technology, behaviour and regulations.

In fact, GA4 is not an improved version of Universal Analytics but it’s a totally new platform designed to be more scalable and more privacy-centric. But what makes it so different from Universal Analytics?

Updated as on December 2021

GOOGLE ANALYTICS UA & GA4 PROPERTY SETTINGS
Use Case	UA Property	GA4 Property	Additional Details
Data Model	Session based	Event based
User Metric Calculation	Defines users as total users (new & returning)	Defines users as active users
User access Management: Providing Access for GA data to users
Create & Modify events			Ability to add additional events tracking, create & modify events inside the interface
Filter data to include or exclude specific criteria
Delete unwanted data from processed data set			In UA, Manual request for data deletion is required In GA4, we can set up data deletion in interface itself and scope them to all data/events to detailed parameter values
Setup Cross-domain tracking in the User Interface			In UA, can only be done via GTM In GA4, there is an ability to setup in UI itself
User-ID tracking & Google Signals
Custom Dimensions & Metrics			In UA, setting up a custom dimension or metric requires both UI and GTM implementation. In GA4, you can set up custom dimensions/metrics using parameters as
Calculated Metrics
Unsampled data			In UA, Sampling occurs in reports where advanced segments, dimensions are used, 360 only. In GA4, all standard reports unsampled however, explore reports sampling depends on hit volume
Data import
Measurement Protocol			GA4 adds additional security to data by requiring a security key to send MP data
GOOGLE ANALYTICS UA & GA4 PRODUCT INTEGRATION
Big Query	(360 only)		In GA4, BigQuery linking is available for free to all users.
Google Ads			In UA and GA4 both, linking requires the user to have admin access
Display & Video 360 Linking	(360 only)		In UA, Linking requires a request to the DV360 admin to approve.
Search Ads 360 Linking	(360 only)	Roadmap	In UA, Linking requires a request to the DV360 admin to approve.
Campaign Manager 360 Linking	(360 only)		In UA, Linking requires a request to the DV360 admin to approve.
Search Console integration
Optimize Linking			Admin access required on both products.
Salesforce Cloud Integration	(360 only)		Admin access required on both products.
GOOGLE ANALYTICS UA & GA4 REPORTING
Machine Learning powered insights			UA is limited to system provided insights only. GA4 has both system provided and custom insights
Ability to see website data in real time			GA4 is more advanced – You can get detailed insight into event and parameter level granularity
Customize reporting with dashboards and custom reports			Both UA and GA4 can connect natively to Data Studio. 2 GA4 has an advanced feature of creating customized reports in the ‘Explore’ section.
Overview of key KPIs across your data in “Home” report
Reports on acquisition by campaign,			GA4 has new concept of user acquisition reports
source, and medium
Report on Ecommerce specific use cases			GA4 allows you to create ecommerce funnel reporting via Explore
Goals / Conversions reporting			In UA, limit of 20 goals per view. In GA4, conversions replace goals, 30 conversions per property
Report on advertising integrations
Multi Channel Funnels
Report on information about site users such as demographics & interests, technology, geography, and more
Debug implementation details within the reporting			GA4 has ability to view new implementation changes easily without waiting for reports to populate
interface
Report on user actions across devices			In UA, it is only a small part of reports. In GA4, it is cross-device tracking as a whole based on user
Data-driven Attribution	(360 only)		In UA, this is available as a feature – Multi channel funnels. In GA4, it is available for free with Attribution.
Segments to get a granular picture of user actions and behavior			In UA, creating segments is available for use throughout the interface In UA, you can create and store segments in the libraryIn GA4, segments are only available to be built and used in the Explore section. In GA4, the limit to create segments is 10 only
GOOGLE ANALYTICS UA & GA4 EXPLORE
Free Form	(360 only)
Funnel	(360 only)
Segment Overlap	(360 only)
Path report			GA4 has more functionality compared to Flow reports in 360
User explorer			In GA4, it is a standalone technique offering advanced analysis capabilities
Cohort			In UA, this is available in the reporting interface. In GA4, it is a standalone technique offering advanced analysis capabilities
User Time			In UA, this is available in the reporting interface. In GA4, it is a standalone technique offering advanced analysis capabilities
Template			In UA, this is available in the reporting interface. In GA4, it is a standalone technique offering advanced analysis capabilities

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