GA4 vs. GA4F vs. Firebase: What are the key differences?
Hi, this is Donna and I am a product specialist @ Google where I help App businesses grow with measurement and insights. Please subscribe for more sharings on Biz, Tech & Analytics.
As an App Specialist, I often help marketers with reviewing their web & app data analytics on GA4. I always hear them using GA4, GA4F, and Firebase interchangeably, and often times I need to control my strong urge to correct them. I understand the confusion but they are technically different products, serve different purposes, and for different people.
So, what are GA4, GA4F, and Firebase?
GA4 (short form for Google Analytics 4 Properties)
GA4 is a free and new version of Google Analytics that uses Firebase on the backend and can collect both web data and app data for analytics. Users can use it for a website, an app (learn more about Firebase integration with GA4), or both website and app together (learn more about cross-device measurement).
GA4F (short form for Google Analytics for Firebase)
GA4F is a free app measurement solution that allows app developers to analyze the data collected by the GA4F SDK. Once the data is captured, it’s available in a dashboard through the Firebase console. It provides detailed insights into the data — from summary data such as active users, attribution, and demographics, to more detailed data such as identifying most purchased items, etc.
Firebase
Firebase is a platform developed by Google for creating mobile and web applications. It was originally an independent company founded in 2011. In 2014, Google acquired the platform and it is now their flagship offering for app development. It includes tools for tracking analytics, reporting and fixing app crashes, and creating marketing and product experiments. It helps App developers reach new users, keep them engaged, and scale up to meet that new demand by handling the app’s backend infrastructure, user engagement, and monetization.
Differences explained
Now that you know the definitions of GA4, GA4F, and Firebase, how is firebase related to GA4F? What are the key differences between GA4F and GA4?
i) Firebase v.s. GA4F
Firebase is an app development platform and GA4F is one of its modules (i.e. one of the “Release & Monitor” features) that allows app developers to analyze data collected via the GA4F SDK (learn more). Within Firebase, users can choose whether they want to enable GA4F.
i) GA4 v.s. GA4F
There’s no underlying difference in terms of data collection, as the same Firebase SDK powers both GA4 and GA4F experiences.
However, there are major differences in reporting (user interface). As you can see from the screenshots above,
- GA4 (left) is tailored for marketers and analysts
- GA4F (right) is app-focused (for iOS, Android, and web apps), and tailored for app developers
The features available in GA4F are most helpful for app developers. On the other hand, many flexible and drag-and-drop reports such as funnel exploration and path reports are not available in GA4F but in GA4. The purpose is for marketers to analyze customer insights to make informed marketing decisions.
Now that you know the key differences, go check out the GA4 demo account that has both app and web data powered by Firebase SDK.
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Disclaimer: All of the information provided is from externally available sources. The opinions expressed in this blog post are solely mine and do not necessarily represent those of Google.
