WebSight vs Google Analytics
Google Analytics 4 is the industry standard, and it is free. WebSight is an open-source, cookieless alternative you can host yourself. This page lays out where each one wins so you can decide without the marketing.
| WebSight | Google Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free & open source | Free |
| License | MIT (open source) | Proprietary |
| Cookie consent banner | Not needed | Required in the EU |
| Tracking script size | <1 KB | ~50 KB+ |
| Realtime dashboard | Delayed and sampled | |
| Session replay | ||
| Live 3D visitor globe | ||
| Funnels, goals & retention | ||
| Google Ads & BigQuery integration | ||
| Self-hostable | ||
| Where your data lives | Your infrastructure | Google's ecosystem |
| Learning curve | Minutes | Steep |
Why teams pick WebSight
No cookie banner, no consent flow
WebSight counts visitors with a daily-rotating anonymous hash and stores no personal data, so there is nothing to consent to. That removes the banner GA4 typically forces in the EU, and the drop-off that comes with it.
You own the data and the code
WebSight is MIT-licensed and self-hostable on Next.js and Supabase. Your analytics live on your infrastructure instead of inside Google's ecosystem, and you can read every line of the tracker.
Realtime that is actually real
Visits, pages and referrers update the moment they happen, with no sampling and no processing delay. There is also session replay, a live 3D visitor globe and Core Web Vitals in the same dashboard.
Readable in minutes, not weeks
GA4's event model and reports are powerful but famously steep. WebSight shows you the numbers most people open GA to find, without the learning curve.
When Google Analytics is the better fit
No tool wins on everything. Here is when Google Analytics is genuinely the right call.
You live inside Google Ads
If you buy Google Ads and need conversion tracking, audiences and attribution wired directly into your campaigns, GA4 does that natively. Nothing self-hosted matches that integration.
You need BigQuery and heavy attribution
GA4 exports raw event data to BigQuery for free and ships advanced attribution and audience modelling. For large teams doing serious data warehousing, that reach is hard to replace.
It is the universal default
Almost every marketer, agency and tutorial assumes GA. If you need a tool your whole team and contractors already know, the familiarity has real value.
Frequently asked
Is WebSight a full replacement for Google Analytics?
For most sites, yes: it covers pageviews, referrers, top pages, countries, devices, custom events, goals and funnels in realtime. Where it does not compete is deep Google Ads attribution and BigQuery-scale data warehousing, which remain GA4's strengths.
Do I still need a cookie consent banner if I switch?
Not for WebSight. It is cookieless and stores no personal data, so it does not trigger the consent requirements that GA4 does under GDPR and PECR. You should still review any other scripts on your site.
Can I import my historical Google Analytics data?
No. WebSight starts collecting from the day you install it and does not import GA history. Many teams run both in parallel for a while, then cut over once they trust the new numbers.
How much lighter is WebSight's script?
The WebSight tracker is under 1 KB and loads deferred, while the GA4 script is typically around 50 KB or more. On slower connections and mobile, that difference shows up in your Core Web Vitals.
Try WebSight on your own site
Free and open source. No card, no cookie banner. Live in about 30 seconds.