Overview
The Core Difference: Philosophy
User-Centric vs Session-Centric
Staminads: Session-centric tracking. Each visit is measured independently. No cross-session tracking, no user identification.
GA4: User-centric tracking. Tries to identify users across sessions via cookies. Limited by consent, adblockers, and browser restrictions.
Engagement vs Conversions
Staminads: Measures engagement quality with TimeScore. Focus on traffic quality, not just conversion tracking.
GA4: Conversion-focused with "Key Events". Requires cookies to attribute conversions, which is increasingly unreliable.
The Cookie Problem in 2026
Google Analytics relies on cookies that are increasingly blocked or restricted:
- Safari ITP: Limits cookies to 7 days of inactivity
- Chrome: Limits cookies to 400 days max
- Adblockers: Block GA tracking scripts entirely
- Consent Mode: ~40-50% of users decline tracking
- In-app browsers: No cookies in Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn webviews
- GDPR rulings: Illegal in Austria, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden
The Attribution Illusion
Here's an uncomfortable truth: accurate cross-device, multi-touch conversion attribution is technically impossible in today's privacy-conscious web.
Consider a real customer journey: Someone sees your ad on their phone during lunch, researches your product on their work laptop, discusses it with their partner on a shared tablet, and finally purchases from their personal computer two weeks later. No analytics platform can reliably connect these touchpoints without invasive tracking that users increasingly block or reject.
When GA4 reports that "Paid Search drove 47 conversions," it's showing you a partial picture at best—and a misleading one at worst. The platform can only attribute what it can track, leading to systematic biases: channels that happen to be the last click get credit, while awareness-building touchpoints are invisible.
Staminads takes a different approach: Instead of pretending to solve an unsolvable problem, we measure what we can measure accurately—session-level engagement. Every session is captured, every metric is precise, and you're never making decisions based on incomplete attribution models that favor certain channels over others.
Google Analytics 4 is Google's analytics platform, replacing Universal Analytics. It uses first-party cookies and requires consent banners under GDPR. Data processing takes 24-48 hours, and metrics are calculated using averages.
Staminads is an open-source, cookieless analytics platform. It captures 100% of your traffic without consent banners, provides real-time data, and uses median values for more accurate engagement metrics like TimeScore.
Quick Comparison
| Staminads | Google Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking Method | Cookieless (session-centric) | First-party cookies (user-centric) |
| Consent Required | No consent banner needed | Consent Mode required (mandatory 2025) |
| Data Capture | 100% of traffic | ~50-60% (users who accept cookies) |
| Engagement Metrics | Median values (TimeScore) | Average values only |
| Traffic Categorization | Set values, clear, modify dimensions | Channel grouping only (no data modification) |
| Traffic Backfill | Recompute & modify historical data | Re-group only (no data modification) |
| Data Delay | Real-time (<1 second) | 24-48 hours for standard reports |
| Open Source | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | No (proprietary) |
| Self-hosted | Yes (your infrastructure) | No (Google's servers only) |
Tracking & Privacy
The fundamental difference: Staminads doesn't use cookies or track users across sessions. GA4 requires cookies and consent.
Privacy & Tracking Comparison
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Cookies | No cookies used | First-party cookies (_ga, _ga_ |
| Consent Banner Required | Yes (Consent Mode mandatory) | |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes (no personal data collected) | Requires consent + data processing agreement |
| Fingerprinting | No (prohibited by Google) | |
| Cross-session Tracking | No (session-centric) | Yes (user-centric) |
| Data Captured | 100% of visits | ~50-60% (consent-dependent) |
| IP Anonymization | IPs never stored | Always on (but collected first) |
| Data Residency | Your servers (you control) | US servers (illegal in 7 EU countries) |
Why Cookieless Matters
With Staminads, you capture 100% of your traffic. No cookie banners annoying your users. No lost data from adblockers or consent refusals. No Safari ITP limitations. Just clean, complete session data.
Traffic Categorization & Filtering
Staminads' traffic categorization with backfill is a major differentiator. When you change a filter, all historical data is recomputed. GA4 cannot do this.
Traffic Categorization Features
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Filter Operations | Set value, clear value, set default | Include/exclude only (no modification) |
| Modify Dimensions via Filters | Yes (10 custom dimensions) | No (dimensions set at collection only) |
| Backfill on Filter Change | Yes (recompute & modify data) | Re-group only (no data modification) |
| Channel Groupings | Unlimited with priority rules | 2 groups, 25 channels each (5 in GA360) |
| Page Grouping | Yes (regex patterns) | Limited (content groups) |
| Custom Dimensions | 10 slots (stm_1 to stm_10) | 50 event-scoped, 25 user-scoped |
| Segments | Real-time, any dimension | User/Session/Event scoped |
Backfill: A Game Changer
Realized you need to split "Google" into "Google Organic" and "Google Ads"? In Staminads, update your filter and all historical data is recalculated. In GA4, you'd only see the new categorization going forward — historical data remains unchanged.
Real-time Data Exploration
Staminads provides true real-time data for all reports. GA4 has real-time overview but standard reports are delayed 24-48 hours.
Real-time Capabilities
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time Dashboard | Yes (all data real-time) | Yes (limited real-time view) |
| Standard Report Delay | <1 second | 24-48 hours |
| Query Performance | <50ms (ClickHouse powered) | Variable (can be slow) |
| Data Sampling GA4 samples data above threshold | Never (full dataset) | At 10M events (standard) |
| Historical Query Speed | Sub-second for any range | Slower for large ranges |
Powered by ClickHouse
Staminads uses ClickHouse, the fastest analytics database. Query billions of events in milliseconds. No waiting, no sampling, no approximations.
Engagement Metrics
Staminads uses median values for engagement metrics. GA4 uses averages, which are easily skewed by outliers.
Engagement Metrics Comparison
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Session Duration Calculation Median is more representative | Median (TimeScore) | Average only |
| Scroll Depth | Granular (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) | 90% threshold only (default) |
| Time on Page | Median with focus tracking | Average with focus tracking |
| Engagement Score | TimeScore (composite metric) | Engagement Rate (binary) |
| Bounce Rate Definition | Configurable time threshold (default: 10 sec) | <10 sec AND no conversion AND <2 pageviews |
Why Median > Average
One outlier (45min session) drastically changes the average but not the median.
Goals & Conversions
Both platforms support conversion tracking, but with different approaches and reliability.
Goals & Conversions Features
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion Tracking | ||
| Event Tracking | ||
| Revenue Tracking | ||
| Goal Limits | Unlimited | 30 key events (standard) |
| Attribution Accuracy | Session-level (100% captured) | User-level (consent-dependent) |
| Cross-session Attribution | No (by design) | Yes (when cookies work) |
Different Philosophy
GA4 tries to track user journeys across sessions — but this is increasingly unreliable due to cookie limitations. Staminads focuses on session-level engagement: if a session converts, you know exactly which source brought that engaged visitor. No cookie dependency means 100% accuracy for what you can measure.
Multi-tenant & Enterprise
Both platforms support multiple websites and team structures, with different approaches.
Enterprise Features
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-tenant Architecture | Isolated workspaces | Account > Property > Stream |
| Workspace Isolation | Complete data isolation | Shared at account level |
| White-label | Yes (self-hosted) | No |
| Properties/Websites | Unlimited | 2,000 per account |
| Subproperties | Not needed (filter-based) | GA360 only |
User Roles & Permissions
User Management
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Role Types | Owner, Admin, Editor, Viewer | Administrator, Editor, Analyst, Viewer |
| Granular Permissions | Per workspace | Per account/property |
API Access
API Capabilities
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ||
| API Authentication | API keys per workspace | OAuth 2.0 / Service accounts |
| Rate Limits | Configurable (self-hosted) | 200K tokens/day (standard) |
| Real-time API | Yes (same as UI) | Limited real-time methods |
| Raw Data Export | Full access (your database) | BigQuery export (daily) |
| Quota Increases | Unlimited (self-hosted) | GA360 only ($50K+/year) |
Pricing
Staminads
Software cost (self-hosted)
+ ClickHouse: Included or managed
- ✓ Unlimited pageviews
- ✓ Unlimited websites
- ✓ All features included
- ✓ Your data, your servers
- ✓ No vendor lock-in
Google Analytics
10M event sampling threshold
$50,000 - $150,000+/year
- ✓ Free tier available
- ✗ Data on Google's servers
- ✗ Cookie-dependent
- ✗ No self-hosting
- ✗ Huge jump to enterprise tier
Open Source
Open Source Comparison
| Feature | Staminads | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Open Source | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | No (proprietary) |
| Source Code Access | Full access on GitHub | Not available |
| Self-hosting | Yes (Docker, Kubernetes) | Not possible |
| Audit Code | Yes (verify what's collected) | No (trust Google) |
| Customize | Fork and modify freely | Not possible |
| Community Contributions | Yes (PRs welcome) | Not applicable |
Other Google Analytics Features
GA4 offers additional features that Staminads doesn't focus on. These are primarily related to Google's advertising ecosystem.
Features Unique to GA4
Google Ecosystem Integration
- • Google Ads integration & remarketing audiences
- • Google Search Console integration
- • Looker Studio (Data Studio) native connection
- • Firebase integration for mobile apps
- • BigQuery export (free)
Machine Learning Features
- • Predictive metrics (purchase/churn probability)
- • Anomaly detection
- • Automated insights
- • Behavioral modeling (consent mode)
- • Predictive audiences
Cross-Platform Tracking
- • User-ID for cross-device tracking
- • App + Web unified measurement
- • Google Signals (cross-device)
Other Features
- • Enhanced measurement (auto-tracking)
- • DebugView for implementation
- • Data import (CRM, offline data)
- • Funnel exploration
- • Path exploration
When GA4 Makes Sense
If you're heavily invested in Google Ads and need remarketing audiences, predictive metrics, or cross-device tracking (and accept the cookie limitations), GA4's Google ecosystem integration is valuable. However, these features depend on cookies and consent, making them increasingly unreliable.
When to Choose Each Platform
Choose Staminads
Staminads is the better choice if you:
- Want to capture 100% of traffic without cookie banners
- Need real-time data (not 24-48 hour delays)
- Prefer median metrics over misleading averages
- Need traffic categorization with backfill
- Want open-source you can self-host and audit
- Value data ownership on your infrastructure
Choose Google Analytics
GA4 might be better if you:
- Need Google Ads remarketing audiences
- Want predictive ML features
- Require cross-device user tracking
- Use Firebase for mobile apps
- Accept cookie limitations (~50% data loss)
- Don't need real-time data
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use both Staminads and Google Analytics?
Yes! Many teams use Staminads for accurate traffic quality data (100% captured, real-time, median metrics) and GA4 for Google Ads integration and remarketing audiences. They serve different purposes and can complement each other.
Why does Staminads use median instead of average?
Averages are easily skewed by outliers. If 99 users spend 1 minute and 1 user spends 60 minutes, the average is 1:35 but the median is 1:00. The median tells you what a typical user actually does. GA4 only provides averages, which can be misleading for session duration and engagement metrics.
What is TimeScore?
TimeScore is Staminads' primary engagement metric representing the median time users spend actively engaged in a session, measured in seconds. Using median instead of average prevents outliers (like visitors leaving tabs open) from skewing data. A visitor spending 4 minutes on your pricing page demonstrates more value than one bouncing after 10 seconds, regardless of immediate conversion.
How does traffic categorization backfill work?
When you change a traffic filter in Staminads (e.g., split "Google" into "Google Organic" and "Google Ads"), all historical data is recalculated with the new categorization. In GA4, filter changes only apply to new data — you can't recategorize historical traffic.
Is Staminads really free?
The software is free and open-source (AGPL-3.0). You pay only for hosting infrastructure — typically $20-50/month for a small to medium site. There are no per-pageview fees, no enterprise upsells, and no vendor lock-in.
Why is cookieless tracking more accurate?
Cookie-based tracking loses data from: users who decline consent (~40-50%), adblocker users (~25-40%), Safari ITP restrictions (7-day limit), and cross-device/browser sessions. Staminads' cookieless approach captures every session, giving you complete data for the metrics it tracks.
Ready to capture 100% of your traffic?
Stop losing data to cookie limitations. Staminads gives you complete, real-time traffic analytics with engagement metrics that matter.