How PathClue differs from free general analytics suites
Free suites from large platforms are feature-rich with a mature ecosystem, and they integrate tightly with their own ad products. The price is complex setup, dependence on cookies and consent banners, and bots and AI sources left for you to sort out. PathClue starts from different defaults: no cookies, bots reported separately, AI assistants as their own source, funnels and replay ready out of the box.
- No cookies by default
- Bots in their own report
- Funnels, heatmaps, replay included
Choose PathClue if you want
- Cookieless analytics, so traffic trends survive declined consent
- Bots and AI crawlers reported separately, rates based on people
- Heatmaps, session replay, funnels and profiles in one tool
- WeChat, Alipay and Douyin mini programs alongside web and apps
- Reports that work as soon as the snippet is in, without planning events first
Choose free general analytics suites if you need
- The deepest integration with one ad platform, such as bidding on analytics data
- Raw events exported to the same vendor’s data warehouse
- A tool your team and agencies already know inside out
- Free of charge, and you are comfortable with the ad platform using the data
PathClue and free general analytics suites
What teams ask most when choosing. The right-hand column describes what this type of tool usually does.
| Feature | PathClue | Free general analytics suites |
|---|---|---|
| No analytics cookies by default | Yes | Usually required |
| Bots and crawlers in their own report | Yes | Mostly filtered out, not shown |
| AI assistants as a separate source | Built in | Usually needs custom channel rules |
| Live list of individual visitors | Yes | Usually totals only |
| Funnels and retention | Yes | Yes |
| Session replay and heatmaps | Yes | Usually a separate tool |
| WeChat, Alipay, Douyin mini programs | Yes | Depends on the platform |
| Data not used for advertising | Yes | Depends on the platform’s terms |
| Price | Free plan; paid from $9/mo | Free; premium tier paid |
The right-hand column describes common practice for this type of tool; individual products differ, so check their own sites. Reviewed October 2026.
What this type of tool rarely gives you
People by default
Bots, crawlers and data-centre traffic are identified with 197+ rules and reported separately — never mixed in, never quietly dropped.
- Bot and crawler report
- Rates based on people
- Search engine crawl health
Not just how many — why
From the funnel step where people drop, open their replays and heatmaps directly, without switching tools.
- Replays with rage clicks flagged
- Heatmaps over your real pages
- Funnels from any events
AI search you can see
ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI assistants are a source of their own, next to the AI crawlers reading your pages.
- AI-referred visitors
- AI crawler ledger
- Cited pages
Switching from a free analytics suite
Run both first, then switch. Conversion sharing with your ad platforms can stay as it is.
- 1
Add the PathClue snippet
Leave your current tag in place — both can run on the page together.
- 2
Rebuild goals and funnels
Only the ones you actually use, or install an industry template.
- 3
Compare for two to four weeks
PathClue usually shows fewer visitors, because bots are counted separately.
- 4
Switch over
Remove the old code once the team is comfortable.
Common questions
Anything else — open the chat in the corner and ask.