Google Sales Channel vs Littledata

Is Google Sales Channel or Littledata a better data solution for Shopify brands?

Google Sales Channel competitors

What is Google Sales Channel(formerly Shopify Trekkie)?

Shopify has a built in free connector for Analytics and Ads as part of the Google & YouTube Sales Channel. This was built in 2023 and is maintained by Shopify.


Littledata competitors

What is Littledata?

  • Founder-led and product-driven — purpose-built for modern Shopify tracking
  • Set up in under 10 minutes — no dev team or GTM required
  • Server-side tracking, integrated with GA4, Meta Ads, and Klaviyo

Make the move to Littledata

Founder-led. Strong product. Pay less.

FeatureGoogle Sales ChannelLittledata
Customer data to marketing platforms✔️✔️
30 day free trial✔️✔️
Fully automatic, no code setup✔️✔️
Founder owned and ledminus✔️
Identity resolution to boost audiencesminus✔️
Server-side trackingminus✔️
Automatic tracking of checkout stepsminus✔️
No-code setup for Shopify Hydrogenminus✔️

Google Sales Channel offers a built-in connector for Analytics and Ads, providing seamless integration for Shopify users. It features a 30-day free trial and requires no coding for setup. However, Littledata enhances tracking with server-side capabilities, automatic checkout step tracking, and identity resolution to optimize audience targeting. While both platforms provide customer data integration and a no-code setup, Littledata's focus on modern tracking solutions and its founder-led approach may offer a more tailored experience for advanced data collection and audience insights, giving it an edge in comprehensive tracking capabilities.

Reviews comparison

Google Sales Channel vs Littledata's customer reviews

Google Sales ChannelLittledata
Example product review"I have an online store that sells home decor products, but Google says that I sell products with adult content. It says I have policy issues and missing shipping information, but it's not specific or provides any further information, so it's impossible to fix without knowing what's wrong. What a nightmare!""We were having difficulties with accurate and consistent revenue attribution...With Littledata implemented, we now get consistent and accurate revenue attribution."
Example support review"Google support is robotic... they keep pointing us to articles after articles to read. This has become such a big headache.""Customer support is absolutely amazing... you can never go wrong when an app does what it says and tacks on great service!"
LinkRead more reviews

Cost comparison

Google Sales Channel vs Littledata's monthly subscription cost

Store sizeGoogle Sales ChannelLittledata
50 orders / month$0$39
500 orders / month$0$149
5,000 orders / month$0$349
20,000 orders / month$0$799

For an online store with 50 orders per month, Littledata costs 100% compared to Google Sales Channel. At 500 orders, Littledata is 0% (free), while the other Littledata option costs 100%. For 5000 orders, both Littledata options cost 100% compared to Google Sales Channel. At 20000 orders, Littledata remains at 100%, while Google Sales Channel remains free. Overall, Google Sales Channel consistently costs 0%, while Littledata pricing increases significantly with order volume, reaching 100% at higher tiers.

Supported data destinations

DestinationGoogle Sales ChannelLittledata
Google Analytics✔️✔️
Google Ads✔️✔️
Meta Adsminus✔️
TikTokminus✔️
Pinterestminus✔️
Klaviyominus✔️
Segmentminus✔️
Attentiveminus✔️

The main difference lies in the breadth of data destinations and integration capabilities. Google Sales Channel primarily focuses on Google Analytics and Google Ads, providing a streamlined approach for tracking and advertising within Google's ecosystem. In contrast, Littledata offers a more comprehensive solution with multiple data destinations, including Meta Ads, TikTok, Pinterest, Klaviyo, Segment, and Attentive, allowing for a broader range of marketing channels and enhanced customer insights. This makes Littledata more versatile for brands looking to track performance across various platforms beyond just Google.

Google Analytics comparison

Google Sales Channel vs Littledata's solution for Google Analytics

FeatureGoogle Sales ChannelLittledata
Product list views & clicks
Tracks products list as you scrollminus✔️
Tracks clicks on product listminus✔️
Consistent product identifier in GA4minus✔️
Add to Cart
Tracked client-side✔️minus
Tracked server-sideminus✔️
Enriched product infominus✔️
Tracks remove from cartminus✔️
Checkout steps
Tracked via checkout page✔️minus
Tracked direct from Shopify's serversminus✔️
Compatible with checkout extensibilityminus✔️
Compatible with accelerated checkoutsminus✔️
Purchase
Tracked via thank you page✔️minus
Tracked server side for 100% accuracyminus✔️
Includes post-purchase upsellsminus✔️
Includes recurring ordersminus✔️
Filter orders by sales channelminus✔️
Includes refundsminus✔️
User-provided data for improved attributionminus✔️
Custom mapping to a source / mediumminus✔️

Littledata's purchase and checkout tracking offers superior accuracy and detail compared to Google Sales Channel's tracking, which relies on the thank you page. Littledata's server-side tracking ensures 100% accuracy, capturing all purchase events, including post-purchase upsells and recurring orders, while also filtering by sales channel and including refunds. Additionally, it utilizes user-provided data for better attribution and allows for custom mapping to source/medium.

When compared to Littledata's own tracking for Google Analytics, the key advantage lies in the server-side tracking method, which enhances data reliability and completeness, especially for accelerated checkouts and checkout extensibility, ensuring a more comprehensive view of user behavior and sales performance.

Google Ads comparison

Google Sales Channel vs Littledata's solution for Google Ads

FeatureGoogle Sales ChannelLittledata
Google Ads Conversions
Tracked direct from Shopify's serversminus✔️
Real-time tracking of Enhanced Conversionsminus✔️
Fully automatic setupminus✔️
New vs Returning customer conversionsminus✔️
Benefits of Littledata
Littledata has been trusted by leading Shopify brands since 2017 for reliable server-side tracking.
100% of revenue tracked
Enhanced identity resolution
Connectors for all popular marketing channels
googleAnalytics
Comparing Google Sales Channel against Littledata
Can I switch from Google Sales Channel to Littledata?

Yes, join dozens of Shopify brands who made the switch to Littledata for simpler server-side tracking, faster setup, and transparent pricing. We’ll even help migrate your Google Sales Channel setup.

How does Google Sales Channel work?

The Google & YouTube Sales Channel implements free and basic Enhanced Ecommerce tracking for Google Analytics.

Does Google Sales Channel work with Shopify?

Yes, Google Sales Channel is installed on 2.80M Shopify sites according to the latest stats from BuiltWith.

How does Littledata work?

Littledata uses a combination of browser tracking and a server-to-server connection to ensure 100% of revenue is tracked, and that the purchase can be linked to the pre-checkout user journey.

Does Littledata work with Shopify?

Yes, Littledata is installed on 2,100 Shopify sites according to the latest stats from BuiltWith.

Is Google Sales Channel suitable for Enterprise brands?

Google Sales Channel is used by 1500 sites in the top 100,000 globally - so this solution is likely suitable for Enterprise scale brands.

Is Littledata suitable for Enterprise brands?

Littledata is used by 39 sites in the top 100,000 globally - so this solution is likely suitable for Enterprise scale brands.

Which marketing tools does Google Sales Channel support?

Google Sales Channel supports Google Analytics and Google Ads.

Which marketing tools does Littledata support?

Littledata supports Google Analytics, Meta Ads, TikTok, Pinterest, Klaviyo, Google Ads, Segment and Attentive.

Who owns Google Sales Channel?

Google Sales Channel is owned by Shopify and run out of Ontario, Canada.

Who owns Littledata?

Littledata is an independent private company headquartered in London, UK. Edward Upton is Littledata's CEO.