Sonar is website analytics for people who don't have time to learn GA4. Instead of building reports, you ask a question in plain English, such as "Which pages brought the most enquiries last month?", and Sonar answers it. Every visit is shown as one story: where the visitor came from, the pages they read, any chat, and whether they converted. The Sonar script sets no cookies, and it takes a few minutes to install.
Why people move away from GA4
Google Analytics 4 is powerful, but most small teams use a fraction of it. The common complaints:
- Finding an answer means building a report. Simple questions often need an Exploration, custom dimensions or a Looker Studio dashboard.
- It's hard to see one visit. GA4 shows totals and trends, not the journey of the person who sent your last enquiry.
- Enquiries are hard to trace. Linking a form submission to the ad or page that brought it takes events, conversions and tagging to set up properly.
- It uses cookies. In the UK and EU, that usually means asking visitors for consent first, and the visitors who decline aren't counted.
How Sonar is different
| Sonar | GA4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting an answer | Ask in plain English | Build a report or Exploration |
| One visitor's journey | Every visit as a timeline you can replay | Aggregated reports |
| Enquiries and orders | Linked to the exact visit they came from | Set up events and conversions yourself |
| Cookies | The Sonar script sets none | Sets first-party cookies |
| Weekly summary | AI summary and dashboards by email | Scheduled reports, set up per report |
| Set-up | One script tag or the WordPress plugin | Tag, data streams, events and conversions |
| Price | Free on 1 website; Pro £49 a month | Free |
GA4 is free and does far more, so if you have an analyst and need its depth, keep it. Sonar is for teams who want answers without becoming analysts, and it runs happily alongside GA4 if you'd like to compare.
What you get
- Ask Sonar. Type a question, get the answer as a number, table or chart, and save it to a dashboard. How Ask Sonar works.
- Sessions. Every visit in order: pages, time on each, chat messages and conversions, with an AI summary and a replay. More about Sessions.
- Interactions. Form enquiries, WooCommerce orders and VideoAsk responses, each linked to the visit behind it. Lead tracking.
- Heatmaps. Which pages get attention, where visitors click and scroll, busy times and common journeys. More about Heatmaps.
- Campaigns and tracked links. UTM campaigns, short links with QR codes, and goals that count conversions.
- Weekly email. A dashboard and AI summary in your inbox every week, for you or your clients.
Switching from GA4
You don't need to remove GA4. Add Sonar alongside it, compare for a few weeks, then decide.
- Create a free account and add your website.
- Paste the Sonar script into your site's
<head>, or install the WordPress plugin. There are guides for Shopify, Wix and Squarespace. - Visit your site in a private window and watch the visit arrive.
Sonar starts counting from the moment it's installed. It doesn't import your old GA4 data.
Frequently asked questions
Is Sonar a replacement for Google Analytics?
For most small and mid-sized websites, yes. Sonar covers visits, sources, pages, campaigns, conversions and enquiries, and explains them in plain English. If you rely on GA4's advanced features, such as BigQuery export or Google Ads audiences, you can run both.
Can I run Sonar and GA4 at the same time?
Yes. They don't interfere with each other, and running both for a few weeks is a good way to compare.
Does Sonar use cookies?
No. The Sonar script doesn't set cookies or store anything in visitors' browsers. Whether your website needs a consent banner depends on everything else it runs, so check with whoever advises you on privacy.
Will my numbers match GA4?
They'll be close but not identical. Sonar counts visitors who decline cookies, because it doesn't use them, and filters out known bots. GA4 only counts visitors who accept its cookies where you ask for consent.
Can I import my GA4 history?
No. Sonar starts counting when you install it, so keep GA4 running if you need your history.
How much does Sonar cost?
Starter is free for 1 website and up to 10,000 visits a month, with no card needed. Pro is £49 a month for 5 websites, with a 14-day free trial. Agencies get unlimited sites and white-label dashboards for £149 a month. See pricing.