Google's Analytics MCP server vs LopeBase
Search for how to get GA4 into ChatGPT or Claude and you will find Google's own Google Analytics MCP server. It is free, open source, and made by the Google Analytics team. It runs on your computer, with Python and a Google Cloud project behind it. LopeBase runs on the web: sign in from ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor, connect Google once, and your assistant can read GA4, Search Console, and your other tools for every site you run. Here is when each one is the better fit.
Side by side
| Topic | Google's Analytics MCP | LopeBase |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An open source MCP server that you run on your own computer. Google labels it experimental. | A hosted MCP server at app.lopebase.com, plus a console with SEO, Analytics, Revenue, and Uptime screens. |
| Where it runs | Locally, started with pipx run analytics-mcp. Needs Python 3.10 or later. | On LopeBase's servers. Nothing to install for chat apps; npx lopebase sets up terminal agents. |
| Sign in | Application Default Credentials from gcloud, using your own OAuth client or a service account, plus a Google Cloud project with the Admin and Data APIs turned on. | Connect with Google in the browser, read-only. Your assistant signs in to LopeBase with OAuth. |
| Apps with written setup | Gemini CLI, Gemini Code Assist, and Claude Code. | ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, opencode, and any app that can add a remote MCP server with sign-in. |
| Google Analytics | Any Data API report you describe: your own dimensions, metrics, and date ranges, plus funnel and realtime reports. | Seven ready datasets per GA4 property: totals, a daily trend, top pages, goal events, channels, landing pages, and devices. |
| Search Console | Not included. It reads Google Analytics only. | Queries, pages, positions, a daily trend, and index checks, with the same Google sign-in. |
| Other sources | None. Google Ads links show up as property details. | Bing Webmaster, PostHog, Plausible, Cloudflare Web Analytics, and revenue from Stripe or Polar. |
| Several sites | Any property your Google account can see, one at a time. | Each site's sources are connected once, so one question can cover all of them. |
| Changes your data | No. Google says it is for read requests only. | No. LopeBase asks Google for read access only. |
| Price | Free, open source under the Apache 2.0 license. | Free for one product. Paid plans from $19 a month. |
Based on Google's own pages, checked October 2026. Sources: google-analytics-mcp on GitHub, Try the Google Analytics MCP server, analytics-mcp on PyPI. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Setting each one up
This is where the two differ most.
Google's README walks through four steps. Install pipx. In a Google Cloud project, turn on the Google Analytics Admin API and Data API. Create Application Default Credentials with gcloud auth application-default login, either with an OAuth client you download or by impersonating a service account, and include the analytics.readonly scope. Then add the server to Gemini's settings.json or run claude mcp add, pointing it at the credentials file and your project ID. If you already live in Google Cloud and the terminal, that is a short afternoon. If you have never opened the Cloud console, it is the hard part.
Because it runs on your computer, it works with apps that start local MCP servers: Gemini CLI, Claude Code, and similar tools. ChatGPT and Claude on the web connect to servers on the internet, so using Google's server there means hosting it yourself first.
LopeBase has no local part. Start free, add your site, press Connect with Google, and pick the GA4 property and Search Console site. Then add https://app.lopebase.com/api/mcp to your app and sign in when it asks. Step by step for ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Codex, and Gemini CLI.
What it costs
Google's server is open source under the Apache 2.0 license, and there is nothing to pay for the server itself. For one GA4 property and someone comfortable with Google Cloud, it is hard to beat on price, and we would not pretend otherwise.
LopeBase is free for one product, with agent access included. Studio is $19 a month for 5 products, Portfolio $49 for 15, and Agency $149 with no limit. A product's GA4, Search Console, Bing, Stripe, and other sources all count as that one product.
Where each one is stronger
Where Google's server is stronger
- Any report you can describe
run_reporttakes your own dimensions, metrics, filters, and date ranges, so the assistant can ask for cuts LopeBase's fixed datasets do not have. - Funnels and realtime
run_funnel_reportandrun_realtime_reportcover two things LopeBase does not read from GA4. - Property settingsIt can read account summaries, property details, Google Ads links, and your custom dimensions and metrics.
- Official and freeMade by the Google Analytics team, open source, and nothing to pay.
- Runs on your machineData goes from Google to your computer and your assistant, with no service in between.
Where LopeBase is stronger
- Works in chat appsA hosted server with OAuth sign-in, so ChatGPT and Claude on the web can use it. No Python, gcloud, or credentials file.
- Search Console in the same placeQueries, pages, positions, and index checks next to GA4, so the assistant can join a search to what visitors did after it.
- More than GoogleBing Webmaster, PostHog, Plausible, Cloudflare Web Analytics, and revenue from Stripe or Polar, through the same connection.
- Every site at onceEach site's sources are connected once, so "which of my sites lost traffic this week" is one question.
- Shaped for questionsName a goal event and channels, landing pages, and devices count conversions. No need to know GA4's dimension names.
The gap is between a direct line to the GA4 API and a ready set of answers across your tools. Google's server lets the assistant build any GA4 report, as long as you can run it. LopeBase gives it fewer GA4 cuts, but they work from any app, and they sit next to the search, revenue, and uptime data you would otherwise check one tab at a time.
Which one to pick
Pick Google's server if
You work in a terminal agent like Gemini CLI or Claude Code, you are comfortable with Google Cloud credentials, and you want any GA4 report, funnels, or realtime numbers for free.
Pick LopeBase if
You want to ask from ChatGPT, Claude, or Cursor without installing anything, and you want Search Console and your other tools in the same answer, for every site you run.
Start freeUsing both
They do not get in each other's way. Both ask Google for read access only, and an assistant can have several MCP servers at once. In Claude Code, for example, you could add Google's server for a one-off funnel or a custom date range, and LopeBase for the weekly question across every site, with Search Console beside GA4.
New to all of this? Ask AI about your website traffic explains what you can ask and how to set it up, without the jargon.
Questions
Something else? Contact us.
Is there an official Google Analytics MCP server?
Yes. Google publishes one on GitHub as googleanalytics/google-analytics-mcp, and links to it from its Google Analytics developer site. Its README calls it experimental.
Can I use Google's server in ChatGPT?
Not as it comes. It runs on your computer, and ChatGPT connects to MCP servers on the internet. You would need to host it somewhere ChatGPT can reach. LopeBase is already hosted, so you add its address and sign in.
Does Google's server read Search Console?
No. It reads the Google Analytics Admin and Data APIs. LopeBase reads both GA4 and Search Console with one Connect with Google.
Do I need a Google Cloud project for LopeBase?
No. Connect with Google handles access. You pick the properties, and LopeBase calls Google's APIs when your assistant asks.
Can either one change my GA4 settings?
No. Google says its server handles read requests only, and LopeBase asks Google for read access only.
GA4 and Search Console in your chat, with one sign-in.
EmDashFree for one product. No card. Agent access is on every plan.