Analytics tools are among the most widely deployed technologies on the web. Nearly every website runs some form of visitor tracking, from Google Analytics to privacy-focused alternatives like Plausible and Fathom. Detecting which analytics tools a site uses is valuable for competitive research, understanding a company's data maturity, and identifying sales opportunities for analytics products.
Detecting Google Analytics
Google Analytics is the most common analytics platform. It can be detected through several signals:
- Script tags loading from
www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js(GA4) orwww.google-analytics.com/analytics.js(Universal Analytics) - Inline JavaScript containing
gtag('config', 'G-orga('create',function calls - Cookies named
_ga,_gid, or_gat - The
dataLayerJavaScript global, which indicates Google Tag Manager is also present
Detecting the specific property ID (e.g., G-XXXXXXX for GA4) provides additional intelligence about whether multiple domains share the same analytics property.
Privacy-Focused Alternatives
A growing number of websites use privacy-focused analytics platforms that do not use cookies or collect personal data. These have their own distinct signatures:
- Plausible: Loads a lightweight script from
plausible.io/js/script.jsor a self-hosted equivalent - Fathom: Identified by scripts from
cdn.usefathom.comwith adata-siteattribute - Matomo: Self-hosted instances load
matomo.jsorpiwik.jsfrom the site's own domain - Simple Analytics: Loads from
scripts.simpleanalyticscdn.com
Behavior Analytics and Heatmaps
Beyond page-view analytics, many sites deploy behavior tracking tools like Hotjar, FullStory, Microsoft Clarity, and Crazy Egg. These tools record user sessions, generate heatmaps, and provide interaction analytics. They are detected through their script URLs, JavaScript globals (e.g., hj for Hotjar, clarity for Microsoft Clarity), and tracking cookies.
Detect Analytics Tools Automatically
WhatStack detects all major analytics platforms in a single scan. The detection engine checks script URLs, inline JavaScript patterns, cookies, and HTTP headers to identify Google Analytics, Tag Manager, Plausible, Hotjar, and dozens of other analytics tools. Each result includes the technology name, category, confidence score, and version when available.
For agencies and sales teams, analytics detection reveals how data-driven a company is and whether they might need better tooling. Browse the technology directory to see all analytics tools we detect, or scan any website to see its analytics stack instantly.