GA Google Analytics vs Burst Statistics

At a glance

Plugin A

GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress

Adds Google Analytics tracking code to your WordPress site. Supports many tracking features.

Rating

4.9/5

Active Installs 400K+

Author Jeff Starr

Version v20260421

Last Updated Apr 2026

Source WordPress.org ↗

Plugin B

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative)

Simple, lightweight WordPress analytics with privacy-friendly visitor tracking. Cookieless and GDPR-ready. Setup in seconds, no cookie banner required …

Rating

4.9/5

Active Installs 200K+

Author Burst Statistics B.V.

Version v3.6.0.1

Last Updated Jun 2026

Source WordPress.org ↗

Full Comparison

📊 Data-Driven Review

Technical Specs

GA Google Analytics vs Burst Statistics: Key Statistics
Metric	GA Google Analytics	Burst Statistics
Requires WP	4.7+	6.6+
Requires PHP	5.6.20+	8.0+
Tested up to WP	7.0	7.0
Plugin age	14 yrs	4 yrs

Quick Verdict

GA Google Analytics is the winner for e-commerce teams who need reliable conversion tracking and consent mode support. It holds 4.9/5 from 158 reviews, with 94% of users giving it 5 stars. Burst Statistics offers a cookieless, GDPR-first approach, but its lack of e-commerce event depth and server-side tracking makes it unsuitable for WooCommerce stores that need attribution accuracy. Pick GA Google Analytics if you run ads and need purchase data you can trust.

Feature Comparison: GA Google Analytics vs Burst Statistics

Feature comparison for e-commerce tracking and GDPR compliance
Feature	GA Google Analytics	Burst Statistics
Event tracking depth	Pageviews, e-commerce events (purchase, add-to-cart, view-item), custom events via GA4	Pageviews only; no e-commerce or custom event support
Google Tag Manager support	Full GTM integration for deploying tags, triggers, and variables	No GTM support
GDPR consent mode v2 compatibility	Native consent mode v2 integration with Google tags	Cookieless by design; no consent mode v2 needed
WooCommerce purchase tracking accuracy	Captures transaction ID, revenue, items, and tax via GA4 e-commerce events	Cannot track purchases or any conversion event
Add-to-cart event tracking	Sends add_to_cart events with product data to GA4	Not available
Server-side tracking support	Compatible with Google Tag Manager Server-side and GA4 Measurement Protocol	No server-side tracking
Admin dashboard inside WordPress	No native dashboard; data viewed in Google Analytics UI	Full dashboard with visitor stats, referrers, and page views
Cookie requirement	Requires cookies for session and user identification	Cookieless; uses fingerprinting or no identifier

Who Should Use GA Google Analytics

Teams running Google Ads or Meta campaigns who need purchase attribution, 94% of reviewers rate it 5 stars for reliability.
Developers managing multiple e-commerce sites who want GTM-based tag deployment and server-side tracking to reduce data loss from ad blockers.
Agency owners who need accurate add-to-cart and checkout funnel data for client reporting, backed by 400K+ active installs.

Who Should Use Burst Statistics

Site owners who want basic visitor counts without a cookie banner, Burst’s cookieless approach works out of the box with no GDPR configuration.
Bloggers or content sites that don't track conversions and only need pageview-level analytics from the WordPress admin dashboard.
Teams migrating from Google Analytics for privacy reasons, Burst’s 94% 5-star rating shows strong satisfaction among non-e-commerce users.

Community & Support

Burst Statistics shows active forum support with 13 threads in 2 months and 11 resolved (85% resolution rate). GA Google Analytics had 0 open threads in the same period, which is too small a sample to assess. On ratings, both plugins share 94% 5-star and 2% 1-star distributions, indicating similar user satisfaction among their respective audiences.

Verdict: GA Google Analytics or Burst Statistics for GDPR-compliant ecommerce tracking and conversion attribution?

Pick GA Google Analytics if you need to track WooCommerce purchases, add-to-cart events, and funnel behavior across ad platforms. It supports consent mode v2, GTM, and server-side measurement, three features required for accurate conversion attribution under GDPR. With 400K+ installs and a 4.9/5 rating, it's the proven choice for e-commerce stores that spend on traffic.

Pick Burst Statistics if you run a content site, value a zero-cookie setup, and only need pageview-level data in your WordPress dashboard. It resolves 85% of support threads quickly and requires no cookie banner. But it cannot track a single e-commerce event, making it a non-starter for WooCommerce stores that need to know which ad clicks drove revenue.

How this comparison was made

This comparison is AI-generated from live WordPress.org data. Install counts, ratings, versions and support statistics sync weekly, so the numbers on this page stay current. Content passes automated quality checks before publishing, and pages below our quality threshold are held for human review.

Read our full methodology

Frequently Asked Questions

Q How many people use GA Google Analytics compared to Burst Statistics?

GA Google Analytics has 400K+ active installs while Burst Statistics has 200K+, meaning GA Google Analytics is used on more sites.

Q Which has better user ratings — GA Google Analytics or Burst Statistics?

Both plugins average 4.9/5 on WordPress.org — GA Google Analytics from 158 reviews and Burst Statistics from 182 reviews.

Q Which is more actively maintained — GA Google Analytics or Burst Statistics?

Burst Statistics was last updated on Jun 3, 2026 and GA Google Analytics on Apr 21, 2026, so Burst Statistics received the more recent update.

Q Are GA Google Analytics and Burst Statistics both free?

Yes — both GA Google Analytics and Burst Statistics are free to install from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Some features may require a paid upgrade offered by the plugin author.

Q Is GA Google Analytics or Burst Statistics better for GDPR-compliant ecommerce tracking and conversion attribution?

Burst Statistics is the better choice for GDPR-compliant ecommerce tracking because it is built as a cookieless analytics plugin, meaning it does not require cookie consent banners to track visitors. GA Google Analytics relies on Google's infrastructure, which typically requires cookie consent for ecommerce conversion attribution in Europe. For a store owner who wants simple, privacy-first tracking without legal headaches, Burst Statistics wins this category.

Q Which is easier to set up for a WordPress beginner — GA Google Analytics or Burst Statistics?

Burst Statistics is easier for a beginner because it works entirely inside your WordPress dashboard with no external account or tracking code to manage. GA Google Analytics requires you to create a Google account, generate a tracking ID, and paste it into the plugin, which adds extra steps. Most new users find Burst Statistics ready to go right after activation.

Q What is the biggest feature difference between GA Google Analytics and Burst Statistics?

The biggest difference is that Burst Statistics offers cookieless analytics, meaning it tracks visitors without storing cookies, while GA Google Analytics uses Google's standard cookie-based tracking. This makes Burst Statistics a privacy-first plugin that works without a consent banner, whereas GA Google Analytics gives you direct access to Google's full reporting suite. If you want to avoid cookie notices, Burst Statistics is the clear pick.

Q Can you switch from GA Google Analytics to Burst Statistics (or the other way) without losing data?

No, you cannot directly transfer historical data between the two plugins because they store analytics data in completely different systems, GA Google Analytics sends data to Google's servers, while Burst Statistics keeps everything in your own WordPress database. You can install both plugins simultaneously and run them side by side for a while to build up new data in the other tool. Just know that your old reports from one plugin will not appear in the other.

Q Which type of site should choose GA Google Analytics, and which should choose Burst Statistics?

Choose GA Google Analytics if you need advanced features like custom goal tracking, audience segmentation, or integration with Google Ads for a large ecommerce store. Choose Burst Statistics if you run a personal blog, a small business site, or any site in a privacy-sensitive region where you want to avoid cookie consent banners entirely. Burst Statistics is the simpler, lighter option for sites that just need basic visitor counts and page views.