I’ve been comparing analytics data between different tools and noticed that traffic numbers sometimes don’t match exactly.
I understand tracking methods, filters, bots, ad blockers, and event setup can affect reporting, but I’d like to know what differences you notice most often in real projects.
Do you usually trust one platform more for long-term reporting?
Each vendor does have their own spin on it, Matomo mainly gets compared to GA. There is a good FAQ here that covers a few reasons: Why do Matomo data reports differ from Google Analytics and other analytics tools? FAQ - Analytics Platform - Matomo
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Thanks for sharing that resource. I’ve noticed the biggest differences usually come from bot filtering, session tracking, attribution models, timezone settings, and how each platform handles returning users.
On some local service sites I’ve worked around, traffic can also look very different depending on whether the platform tracks calls, form submissions, or location page visits separately.
For long term trends I usually focus more on consistency rather than expecting every analytics platform to match exactly. The overall direction of traffic and conversions tends to matter more than identical numbers.