Analytics in Ghost: Ghostboard vs Google Analytics

In the evolving digital analytics landscape, finding the right tool to monitor your Ghost blog performance and user interactions is crucial. Let's compare Ghostboard and Google Analytics, two of the most-used software to get analytics in Ghost and make your decision with more information.

Google Analytics has long been the go-to solution for many. However, it's not without its drawbacks, particularly when it comes to GDPR compliance and the burden of cookies on user experience.

Enter Ghostboard, a SaaS analytics platform designed specifically for Ghost blogs. Ghostboard is GDPR-compliant out of the box, cookie-free, partially open-source, and claims to be ten times lighter than Google Analytics.

Comparison Table

Feature Ghostboard.io Google Analytics
Script size 2.0 KB ⚡️ 10 times lighter 21 KB
Real-time analytics
GDPR compliant ⚠️ Extra work required
NoScript/NoJS support * ⚠️ Extra work required
Bot filtering * ⚠️ Extra work required
Cookie-free
Authors analytics
Tags analytics
Post & Pages analytics
SEO analytics
Click analytics
Newsletter analytics
Broken link checker
Uptime monitor
Downtime alerts
Partially open-source

To make Google Analytics GDPR compliant, you need to:

  • Add an annoying cookie banner
  • Only track if the user opts in
  • Lose data if the user opts out
  • Turn on IP anonymization

9 Differences: What Ghostboard does not do like Google Analytics

Feature Google Analytics Ghostboard.io
Slows down your blog, affecting SEO/SEM
Uses cookies
Requires opt-in banner
Loses data if opt-out
Identifies & tracks your audience
Free, making money from your data
Loses data due to cookie blockers
Loses data due to non-Javascript support *
May have misleading data due to bots *

* You can do additional work to support non-JavaScript with GA and manually filter each bot periodically in GA. You can save all this work automatically; it's included out-of-the-box in Ghostboard.

You know, cookies are sweet and enjoyed by many, but they might not be what you need or what's best for you.

Level up your Ghost blog 🚀

Start your free trial now and explore all Ghostboard features for free. No credit card is required.

We are here to assist you and answer any questions. Feel free to reach out to us via tweet or through your dashboard! 👋