If you’ve ever checked your website stats in both Google Analytics and Site Kit, you’ve probably noticed something strange — the numbers don’t always match.
One says you got 100 visitors, the other says 65. So, what’s going on?
It’s not an error, and it’s not your fault either.
Both tools are showing you data from different angles — kind of like two cameras filming the same scene but from opposite sides.
What Is Site Kit, Really?
Site Kit is a handy WordPress plugin made by Google. It acts like a shortcut that brings your Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, and PageSpeed data all into one dashboard inside WordPress.
In simple words, Site Kit doesn’t track anything on its own — it just pulls information from your Google Analytics and other Google tools.
But because of how it syncs data, you’ll sometimes see differences in what it shows.
Here’s Why the Numbers Don’t Match
1. Timing of Data Updates
- Google Analytics shows the most accurate and up-to-date data directly from your Analytics account.
- Site Kit may refresh data only every few hours (or once per day), depending on your caching and how often it syncs with Google.
So if you just published an article and check both right after, Analytics will show visitors immediately, while Site Kit might not update yet.
2. Sampling and Rounding
Sometimes, Site Kit uses a simplified summary of your data — not the full dataset.
It does this to load faster inside WordPress.
So instead of showing 97.5 visitors, it may round it off to 98 or 100, depending on how your data is grouped.
3. Caching and Plugin Interference
If you use a caching plugin like WP Rocket or LiteSpeed Cache, it can delay or prevent Site Kit from showing the latest numbers.
Meanwhile, Google Analytics reads data straight from Google’s servers, unaffected by local cache.
That’s why Site Kit might look a bit “behind” when your site is cached aggressively.
4. Different Metrics in Focus
- Google Analytics uses “users,” “sessions,” and “events.”
- Site Kit often simplifies this into just “visitors” and “views.”
These terms might sound similar but they’re counted differently.
For example:
- One person visiting twice = 1 user, 2 sessions in Analytics.
- Site Kit might just show “2 visits.”
That difference alone can make the totals look off.
5. Filters and Bot Traffic
Google Analytics automatically filters out most bot traffic and background hits (like when a script loads or a search engine crawls your site).
Site Kit, however, might include small bits of data from those requests if they pass through Google’s reports differently — especially if you check your data quickly after publishing.
So, What Does It Mean for You?
It’s completely normal to see slightly different numbers between the two.
They’re both showing valid data — just presented differently, updated at different times, and sometimes using simplified methods to make things easier to read.
If you use Site Kit, think of it as your quick daily overview right inside WordPress.
And when you want a detailed look, open Google Analytics directly — it always has the complete picture.
Final Thought
The goal isn’t to make both match perfectly.
It’s to understand the trend:
Is your traffic going up? Which pages are doing better? Where are visitors coming from?
As long as both tools show similar patterns, your site is doing fine — even if the numbers don’t line up exactly.