Google Analytics vs Prometheus

The free data black hole that marketers love and developers dread meets the time-series king for monitoring, if you don't mind writing queries that look like alien hieroglyphics. Here's our take.

Google Analytics

Nice Pick

The free data black hole that marketers love and developers dread.

Pros

• Free tier covers most small to medium sites
• Integrates seamlessly with Google Ads and other Google services
• Real-time reporting for quick insights
• Massive community and extensive documentation

Cons

• Privacy concerns and GDPR compliance headaches
• Steep learning curve for advanced features
• Data sampling can skew results on large datasets

Prometheus

The time-series king for monitoring, if you don't mind writing queries that look like alien hieroglyphics.

Pros

• Powerful multi-dimensional data model with labels for flexible metric organization
• PromQL query language allows for complex, real-time data analysis and alerting
• Open-source and integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes and other cloud-native tools

Cons

• Long-term storage is a pain, often requiring external solutions like Thanos or Cortex
• Steep learning curve for PromQL, making it tricky for beginners to master

The Verdict

Use Google Analytics if: You want free tier covers most small to medium sites and can live with privacy concerns and gdpr compliance headaches.

Use Prometheus if: You prioritize powerful multi-dimensional data model with labels for flexible metric organization over what Google Analytics offers.

The Bottom Line

Google Analytics wins

The free data black hole that marketers love and developers dread.