GA4 vs. Piwik PRO – which is best?

Which tracking tool should you choose? There are many options, and they all promise they are the best choice, but almost everyone ends up choosing either GA4 or Piwik PRO. So here we compare the two tools and give you our honest opinion on what you should choose and why.

Indhold

GA4 vs. Piwik PRO Hvem bør bruge hvad Vores holdning Test: Hjælp til valg af tool Intro til værktøjer Sammenligning Installation

GA4 vs Piwik PRO

Tracking, data, and insights are at the heart of any digital marketing effort. Choose the wrong tool, and you waste both time and opportunities. Choose the right one, and you save resources, optimise with razor-sharp precision, and build greater trust in your data.

Here is our comparison of the two most widely used tracking and analytics tools on the Danish market. We cover what they are good at, where they fall short, and who should use what.

Who should use which tool?

If data ownership, privacy, and compliance are important → we would go with Piwik PRO. You may be subject to strict regulations, work with compliance, be a public institution, or be under scrutiny regarding data handling—and you need to be squeaky clean.

If you want as many data points as possible, more modelling options, broad integration capabilities, and free access → GA4 is most often the safe choice, especially if you already work in the Google ecosystem (as most people do).

Our view

At Morningtrain, our default is to always use GA4. We believe that:

It is the market standard—almost everyone is familiar with it, which makes onboarding easier.
It offers the most application options: integrations, plugins, exports, and customisation options.
It integrates easily with Looker Studio—so we can create attractive, clear reports that clients and internal stakeholders understand.
One big thing: for most people, it does not cost anything. Even though there are hidden costs in setup, time, and learning, the cost of getting started is very low compared to enterprise tools.

But that does not mean GA4 is perfect. For certain clients—especially those with requirements for privacy, compliance, ownership, and advanced CRO—we recommend supplementing with, or switching to, something like Piwik PRO depending on the need.

Hvilket tracking værktøj skal du vælge?

Brief introduction to each tool

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Unquestionably the market standard. Very widely used, hosted by Google, deeply integrated with Google Ads & Looker Studio, with a free version that covers basic functionality for most.

Advantages	Challenges
Cross-platform tracking	Steep learning curve (i.e., it is difficult to use)
Machine learning for certain insights	From a GDPR perspective, it takes some work to set up GA4 so it is compliant.
Extensive documentation
Many integration options
Large volume of data

Piwik PRO

Strong focus on privacy, flexibility, and enterprise features.

Piwik PRO is designed for organisations that want GDPR compliance, data storage in the EU/private cloud, consent management, as well as tools for tag management, raw data access, etc. (exact pricing depends on usage, traffic, and modules).

Like GA4, Piwik PRO has a very decent free version, but they also offer a paid business version that provides access to a CDP (customer data platform).

Advantages	Challenges
Strong focus on GDPR compliance	Far fewer data points than GA4
Consent management directly in the tool (cookie pop-up)	Fewer integrations with external systems
High data quality

Comparison

	GA4	Piwik Pro
Strengths	– Free basic version for most – Good integration with Google Ads, Looker Studio – Cross-platform tracking (web + app) – Extensive documentation and community	– Privacy focus, data storage in the EU / private cloud – Integrated consent management – Raw data access, strong segmentation and reporting tools – Combined tool with tag manager, etc.
Weaknesses	– Steep learning curve for advanced features – Privacy / GDPR concerns (data on servers outside the EU, cookies, etc.) – Data sampling and event tracking can be complex – Not all reports are intuitive	– Pricing grows quickly with traffic and enterprise needs – Can be technically heavy to set up and maintain – Free plan has limitations on actions / data retention, etc.
Who the tool is particularly well suited for	Companies with a broad digital presence, those already using large Google stacks, those who want to combine ads + reporting + dashboards easily	Regulated organisations, companies that value data control and want to avoid over-dependence on major players; websites with high requirements for privacy and compliance
Unique features	Integration with the Google ecosystem, free access, powerful custom events, export to BigQuery (for premium), machine learning functionality, etc.	Modular setup, private cloud option, detailed control over data processing & consent, BI integrations, ability to avoid sampling, etc.
Pricing	Free for many users and basic needs. The enterprise version (“GA360”) comes with significant costs.	Free “Core” plan for some usage (up to a certain number of actions and traffic volume) Business + Enterprise: high prices, e.g., Enterprise around €10,995/year for a full enterprise setup.

Installation – is it equally easy?

The short answer: No.

Piwik PRO: Can be somewhat heavier—especially if you choose private cloud, need compliance elements, consent management, and raw data access. Setting up the tag manager, ensuring GDPR/consent, ensuring server location, etc. often requires technical setup.

GA4: Often fairly straightforward to set up for basic tracking; Google provides code snippets, guides, etc. But advanced events, custom dimensions, and cross-platform setup (web + app) require more technical insight.

However, GA4 can be modelled extensively, so whether GA4 is simple really depends on your setup. It can also be quite technical.

Note: No matter what, you cannot avoid involving a developer if the setup needs to track events, be GDPR-compliant, etc.

News, you actually wants to read

Join newsletter