Web analytics comparison Traffic reports that count people, not bots
Traditional web analytics tools answer "how many pageviews". TapCub answers that too — then removes bots and AI crawlers, drops the cookie banner, and keeps going into funnels, retention and live chat on the same snippet.
- 197+ bot signatures, 5 layers
- No cookie banner required
- Funnels and retention included
Human visitors
48,213
▲ 12.4%
Bot requests removed
9,318
16.2% of all
AI crawler fetches
1,204
▲ 41% · ledger
Daily visitors · humans vs. all requests
HumansAll requestsAI crawlers · 30 days
Which one is for you?
Both categories count traffic. The difference is what happens before and after the count.
You want numbers you can act on
- Bot and AI-crawler traffic is distorting your reports and you need humans counted separately
- You would rather not show a cookie banner just to count visitors
- You want funnels, retention and heatmaps without buying a second product
- Your team also answers visitors in a chat widget and wants the two connected
- You want a readable price: free, then $9 a month
A pageview counter is really all you need
- You only ever look at pageviews and top pages, and never at conversion
- Your stack already depends on that tool’s ecosystem (ads, tag manager, consent platform)
- Your organisation has standardised on one vendor and switching is not on the table this year
- You need a specific integration that only that tool provides
- Bots and cookie consent are handled elsewhere and you are satisfied with the result
Fair is fair: a mature counter is a fine counter. The pages below compare what else you get.
Twelve things to compare
Traits of the traditional web analytics category — counters, pageview dashboards and tag-based suites — against TapCub Analytics.
IncludedPartly / varies by vendorNot included
| TapCub | Traditional web analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Cookie banner needed | No — no cookies for analytics | Often, when cookies identify visitors |
| Humans vs. bots | ✓ Separate numbers, 5-layer rules | UA blocklist at best |
| AI crawler ledger (GPTBot, ClaudeBot…) | ✓ Per-crawler fetches vs. robots.txt | No |
| Realtime view | ✓ Visitors, pages, sources live | Usually |
| Sources, UTM and ad click IDs | ✓ 14 ad platforms recognised | UTM yes, click IDs vary |
| Funnels and goals | ✓ Included, 3 funnels free | Goals only, or paid tier |
| Retention and cohorts | Yes | No |
| Heatmaps (click and scroll) | Yes | Separate product |
| Site speed and SEO (Search Console, Bing) | ✓ Core Web Vitals, rank × CTR | Speed sometimes |
| Live chat | ✓ Same snippet | No |
| Data export and API | ✓ CSV, open API, webhooks | Varies |
| Data retention | Free 6 mo · Pro 12 mo · VIP 24 mo+ | Varies, often capped |
| Free plan | ✓ 10 sites, 500k events / mo | Common, with limits |
| Price from | $9 / month (yearly −40%) | Free or per-pageview tiers |
Category comparison based on publicly documented traits as of 2026. Individual vendors differ and none are named.
The six things people ask about first
Each scenario shows what the report looks like in TapCub, with sample data.
"Why did traffic jump 40% overnight?"
In a traditional counter the spike is a mystery. TapCub shows the same day with and without bots: 9,318 bot requests removed, 1,204 of them AI crawlers with names.
All requests
57,531
▲ 41%
Humans
48,213
▲ 12.4%
Bots removed
9,318
16.2%
"Can we drop the cookie banner?"
TapCub Analytics identifies a visit without cookies or stored identifiers, so analytics alone usually does not require a consent banner. Chat sets a functional cookie only after a visitor opens the widget.
- Analytics cookiesNone set
- Cross-site trackingNone
- Chat cookieFunctional, after opt-in
- IP storageTruncated
"Which channel actually brought the sign-ups?"
Sources, UTM and 14 ad click IDs are read on arrival. Every source row carries conversions, not just sessions — so Newsletter at 6.2× ROI stands out.
| Source | Visitors | Sign-ups | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newsletter | 4,120 | 318 | 7.7% |
| Google / organic | 18,410 | 604 | 3.3% |
| Google Ads | 6,980 | 226 | 3.2% |
| Meta | 5,210 | 112 | 2.1% |
"Where do people drop before paying?"
Funnels are part of the free plan, not a second product. The sample checkout funnel loses 46% between cart and checkout — the first thing to fix.
Product
2,400
Cart
1,248
Checkout
674
Paid
508
"Is the site slow for real users?"
Core Web Vitals come from the same snippet, split by page and device, with the humans-only filter applied — bots do not pollute your LCP.
"Who is on the site right now?"
A live list of visitors with page, source and time on page — and a button to start a chat with any of them, because chat shares the data.
- /pricing · from Google2:14
- /blog/why-uv-never-matches · Newsletter0:48
- /docs/sdk/web · direct5:02
- /compare · Reddit0:21
Five steps from a traditional counter
Nothing is removed until the trends agree. Google Analytics 4 and Baidu Tongji exports are covered in the guide.
-
1
Add the snippet beside the old tag
One line before , or a plugin for WordPress, Shopify and Webflow. Both tools collect in parallel.
-
2
Keep UTM links as they are
utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign are read identically. Ad click IDs are recognised automatically.
-
3
Compare a week of trends
Daily curves should move together. Expect lower totals: bots are gone and no cookie means no inflated "users".
-
4
Recreate goals as events
Confirm the events the AI inbox suggests from autocapture. Build the 2–3 funnels you actually review.
-
5
Switch dashboards and remove the tag
Share the TapCub dashboard with the team. Remove the old tag and the cookie banner if nothing else needs it.
Why the numbers will differ
Four definitions explain almost every gap between a traditional counter and TapCub.
| Definition | Traditional web analytics | TapCub | Effect on your numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unique visitor (UV) | Cookie or client ID per browser | Daily rotating hash of IP, UA and site; no cookie | Fewer "users"; a visitor who clears cookies is not double-counted |
| Session timeout | 30 minutes of inactivity, resets at midnight | 30 minutes of inactivity, continuous across midnight | Slightly fewer sessions on late-night traffic |
| Bots | Known-UA list, often opt-in | 5 layers: UA, headers, client signals, ASN, frequency; 197+ signatures | Pageviews drop 10–20% on most sites; spikes disappear |
| Time zone | Property-level setting | Per site, changeable without re-collecting | Daily totals shift when time zones differ |
| Bounce rate | Single-page session, or engaged-session inverse | Single-page session with no interaction event | Bounce rate is usually a few points lower |
Compare trend shape first. If curves move together and totals are 10–25% lower, the migration is working.
How the pricing models differ
We do not quote other vendors’ prices — they change. What matters is the model you will be charged on.
Free, but a traffic cap
Many traditional counters are free until a pageview threshold, then jump to a paid tier priced on pageviews — including bot pageviews.
Watch for: bot traffic pushing you over the cap.
Free core, paid add-ons
Heatmaps, funnels or longer retention are sold as separate products or tiers. The total is three invoices.
Watch for: the add-on bill, and three logins.
Hosting-based
Self-hosted counters are free to download but need a server, updates and someone to keep the database healthy.
Watch for: ops time, not the licence fee.
TapCub Analytics pricing
Per site tier. Humans-only events count toward quota — bots do not. Yearly billing takes 40% off.
Free
$0/mo
10 sites · 500k events · 6 months retention · 3 funnels
Pro
$9/mo
25 sites · 1M events · 12 months · 20 funnels · web, app, mini-program
VIP 1
$29/mo
50 sites · 3M events · 24 months · unlimited funnels · white label
VIP 2
$79/mo
100 sites · 10M events · 36 months · unlimited members
Yearly: Pro $64.80 · VIP 1 $208.80 · VIP 2 $568.80. Live chat is a separate subscription with its own free plan.
Questions from web analytics users
Still have a question?
Chat with the team behind TapCub — we usually reply within a few hours on business days.
Will unique visitors match the tool we use today?
Almost never exactly. Different visitor definitions, bot handling and cookie behaviour mean a 10–25% gap is normal. Compare the shape of the daily curve instead; this article explains each cause.
Do I really not need a cookie banner?
For TapCub Analytics alone, no cookies or persistent identifiers are set, so consent for analytics cookies is not triggered. If you turn on live chat, a functional cookie is set after the visitor opens the widget. Check your own jurisdiction’s rules on privacy & security.
How are bots detected?
Five layers: user agent, request headers, client-side signals, network (ASN) and request frequency — 197+ signatures in total. AI crawlers such as GPTBot and ClaudeBot are listed by name in the ledger and compared with your robots.txt. See the bot view.
Can I keep both tools running?
Yes, indefinitely. The snippets do not interfere. Most teams keep the old tag for a week of comparison, some for a quarter.
Do you support apps and mini-programs too?
Yes. Web is free; app and mini-program SDKs start on Pro. Seven SDKs share one project so a person is counted once across platforms. See app analytics.
What happens if I exceed the free plan?
Events above the quota are dropped for the rest of the month and the counter resets on the 1st. Nothing is charged automatically; you choose when to upgrade.
See your real visitor count this week
Install beside your current counter. In seven days you will know how much of your traffic was never human.