The verdict
Everyone with a website needs analytics, so Google Analytics comes first. It is free, and it works well for most small B2B teams, especially with Google Ads. Trackdesk is a later purchase, and only for a particular situation.
I'd pick Trackdesk when partners already bring in meaningful revenue and manual tracking has become a recurring headache. If you are still testing whether partners sell, a simple referral scheme or a lighter affiliate tool is enough, and Trackdesk is too much. Do not expect Google Analytics to do payout work, and do not expect Trackdesk to explain how visitors behave on your site.
Side by side
| At a glance | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $299/mo | |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Google Analytics
- StandardFree
Trackdesk
- Business$299/mo
- Enterprise$499/mo
Who each is for
Choose Google Analytics if…
Pick Google Analytics if you want to understand traffic, channels and conversions on your website and app. It suits founders and marketers who run Google Ads and Search Console and want one free place to see how channels contribute to a goal.
Plan the set-up properly, because GA4 has a learning curve and sampling can distort large datasets. For a partner programme it can show how referral traffic converts, but it will not calculate commissions, run fraud checks or pay anyone. It has a public API and a read-only official MCP server for pulling numbers into other tools.
Choose Trackdesk if…
Pick Trackdesk if you run affiliates or partners and the programme already earns revenue. It suits SaaS companies and online shops that need several commission models, fraud checks and automated payouts, and it can handle several brands from one account.
It connects to Stripe, Shopify, HubSpot and many more, and it has a REST API and an MCP server with write access on the higher plans. Setup is technical, with postbacks and pixels, so budget time for the first integration. There is a trial but no free plan, and white label and the full API sit on the Enterprise plans.
Other options worth a look
Combines analytics, session replay, and heatmaps to reveal user behaviour and identify conversion friction.
View session recordings and heatmaps free to understand how users navigate your website or app.
Links marketing touchpoints and ad spend to customer revenue and pipeline for B2B SaaS teams.
Lightweight, open-source web analytics that shows your traffic on one page without cookies or consent banners.
Assigns unique phone numbers to campaigns so inbound calls can be attributed to their original marketing source.