Google Analytics vs Segment.io

Google Analytics is free unless you need their premium service, which is $150,000 per year. However, it's only necessary for massively large enterprise size data sets.

You can configure to be notified if certain things happen.

Depending on the most important information to the user, the dashboard can be customized in order to put emphasis on certain metrics. This feature allows Google Analytics to satisfy users from a broad range of industries.

Google provides free services that train users in each aspect of Google Analytics, especially when used in conjunction with AdWords.

The API itself, tools, documentation, and abilities of the API are very powerful.

Google Analytics allows users to update user information from other sources.

Because it's a Google product, Google Analytics can tell you how users discovered your app through Google Play.

Released more than once a week in 2014.

Since Google owns AdMob, they can provide deep integration, and allow you to respond to data with marketing campaigns.

The client side segment script loads in the integration services directly so they can be used without added overhead.

Segment integrations can be setup with configuration only requiring zero code deploys on your server. There is a fast turnaround time for adding the integrations that gets the new service on your site in minutes, making it very quick and easy to try out a new service while you're evaluating whether to use it. Since the scripts are loaded dynamically, it allows you to deploy new services with zero html changes so you don't have to break page caching.

Segment.io's api is very easy to use, with very straightforward methods, like Identify, Track, and Page, and each API call is hooked up to your chosen service integrations to call the equivalent method so you only need to learn one API.

Segment.io has over 100 service integrations available with more being added at a steady rate.

Segment.io has API endpoints for mobile, browser, and server analytics, as well as a HTTP API so no matter what your analytic needs are, you can unify them all with a single service.

All your historic data is stored in backup logs, and Segment.io will automatically replay your data for you to all your integrations during service interruptions like scheduled maintenance. With a business plan (requires inquiry), you can replay historic data to back fill events if you want to add a new integration, meaning your data is completely portable and can be taken with you from service to service.

Official libraries exist in the following languages and platforms for server side tracking:

• Javascript
• Ruby
• PHP
• Node.js
• Python
• Java
• .NET
• Go
• Clojure

All their libraries are open source, so you can follow their lead if you need to port one to an unsupported language.

With a business level account (requires inquiry), you have access to all your raw logs that have ever been recorded.