Yes, you can absolutely compare data from different time periods in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). GA4 achieves this through its built-in comparison features and the ability to create custom date ranges, allowing you to analyse performance changes over time.
As of December 2025, GA4 now includes a dedicated ‘Compare’ functionality within most standard reports. This allows you to select a previous period (e.g., previous month, previous year, custom date range) to overlay onto your current reporting view. GA4 displays the data as percentage differences, making it easy to identify increases or decreases. Furthermore, the Exploration reports offer more advanced comparative analysis. You can create free-form explorations and use the ‘Date Range’ dimension to visualise trends and compare segments across different periods. Data streams for Australian businesses are processed on Google Cloud’s Sydney region servers, ensuring compliance with Australian data residency requirements. GA4 4.0, rolling out in early 2026, will further refine comparison visuals with improved statistical significance indicators. In 2027, Google has announced planned integration with BigQuery for even more granular historical data comparison capabilities.
Essentially, GA4 provides tools to overlay and contrast data from selected timeframes, enabling performance tracking and trend identification.
