The default web analytics layer, with cross-channel ad attribution across Google media.
Google Analytics 4 is the event-based successor to Universal Analytics and the default web analytics install for most companies. It tracks site and app behavior as events, models conversions across sessions and devices, and — because it is wired into Google Ads and the wider Google media ecosystem — serves as the attribution layer many marketing teams use to judge paid spend. In the revenue stack it is usually the first analytics tool present and the baseline other tools are reconciled against.
Which of the capability map's modules Google Analytics 4 covers — each links to the module's own page, with every tool that supports it.
| Module | Phase | Depth | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Create Demand | |||
| Web & Product Analytics | Demand & Campaign Ops | Core | Event-based site and app behavior tracking; the universal baseline install. |
| Paid Media ROI Tracking | Demand & Campaign Ops | Supported | Cross-channel conversion attribution, strongest inside the Google Ads ecosystem. |
Distribution and price: GA4 is free at most usage levels, installed by default, and natively integrated with Google Ads bidding and audiences — no product-analytics specialist matches that. The trade-off is that it is built for marketing measurement, not deep product analytics; sampled or modeled data and a notoriously different UI from its predecessor push serious product teams toward Amplitude, Mixpanel, or the warehouse.
GA4 answers marketing questions — where traffic comes from, which campaigns convert. Product questions like feature adoption, retention cohorts, and funnel drop-off inside the app are where dedicated tools like Amplitude or Mixpanel earn their keep. Many stacks run GA4 for acquisition and a product analytics tool for in-app behavior.
Treat it as one lens, not the verdict. GA4's modeling is strongest where Google controls the signal — search and YouTube — and last-click habits plus consent gaps undercount other channels. B2B teams with long sales cycles typically layer a revenue attribution tool or warehouse model on top before reallocating budget.