How to Export Data from Google Analytics 4 to Excel

Getting your Google Analytics 4 data into Excel shouldn't require a data engineering degree. You just want the numbers in a spreadsheet so you can analyze, track, and report on your marketing performance. This guide will walk you through the most practical ways to export your GA4 data to Excel, from a quick download for one-off tasks to more automated solutions.

The Easiest Method: Downloading a Simple Report

This is your go-to method for quick, one-off data pulls. It’s perfect when your boss asks for last week’s top traffic sources, or you need a simple snapshot of your landing page performance for a presentation.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Navigate to a Standard Report: Log in to your GA4 account and go to the report you need. Let’s use the Reports > Acquisition > Traffic acquisition report as an example.
2. Find the "Share and Export" Icon: In the top-right corner of the report, you'll see a share icon (a small box with an arrow pointing out). Click on it.
3. Download the File: A dropdown menu will appear. Click on "Download File."
4. Choose Your Format: You'll have two options: "Download PDF" or "Download CSV." For use in Excel or Google Sheets, you’ll want to select Download CSV.

Just like that, a CSV file containing the data from your report will be downloaded to your computer. You can open this file directly in Excel.

A Crucial Tip: Adjust Your Visible Rows

There's a catch with this method. GA4 only exports the rows of data that are currently visible on your screen. By default, most reports show just 10 rows. If your report has 50 traffic sources, exporting with the default setting means you’ll only get the first 10 in your spreadsheet.

To fix this, simply scroll to the bottom of the table in the GA4 report and find the "Rows per page" dropdown. Change it from "10" to a larger number (e.g., "100" or "5000") to show all the data you want to export. Now, when you download the CSV, it will include all the visible rows.

Pros:

• Extremely fast and simple for basic needs.
• Requires zero technical setup.

Cons:

• Highly manual, you have to repeat the process every time.
• The data becomes outdated the moment you export it.
• You're limited to pre-built report layouts and the customization options available on the screen.

The Advanced Method: Using Explorations for Custom Exports

What if the standard reports don't have the exact combination of metrics and dimensions you need? That's where GA4's "Explore" section comes in. Explorations let you build your own custom reports from scratch, giving you full control over the data you export.

This method is ideal when you need to answer a specific question, like "How many users from our recent Facebook ad campaign in Canada viewed the product page and then added an item to their cart?" Standard reports may not show this specific funnel, but an Exploration can.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Go to the Explore Tab: In the left-hand navigation panel of GA4, click on "Explore."
2. Create a New Exploration: You can start with a blank "Free form exploration" or choose a template. Let's stick with "Free form."
3. Define Your Report:

As you configure this, you'll see your custom table populate with data on the right.

1. Export Your Custom Data: Once your report looks right, find the "Export Data" icon in the top right (it looks like the same share icon from the standard reports).
2. Choose Your Export Format: Here, you get more options than in standard reports! You can export directly to Google Sheets, or download as a CSV or TSV. To get the data into Excel, CSV is usually the best choice.

Pros:

• Total control over the dimensions and metrics in your export.
• Allows for more complex segmentation and filtering.
• Can export multi-tab reports directly to Google Sheets.

Cons:

• Takes more time to set up the report before you can export.
• Still a manual, one-time export.

The Automated(ish) Method: The Google Analytics Add-on for Google Sheets

If you find yourself running the same reports every week or month, this method will save you a lot of time. By using the official Google Analytics add-on for Google Sheets, you can pull data directly into your spreadsheet and schedule it to refresh automatically. Since you can easily download a Google Sheet as an Excel file, this serves as a great bridge for automation.

Integrating GA4 with Google Sheets

1. Install the Add-on: Open a new Google Sheet. Go to Extensions > Add-ons > Get add-ons. Search for "Google Analytics Connector" and install the official one from Google. You’ll need to grant it permission to access your Google account.
2. Create a New Report: Once installed, go to Extensions > Google Analytics Connector > Getting started. This will open a sidebar on the right. Click "Create report."
3. Configure Your Report:

Click "Add to current sheet," and it will populate your sheet with the configuration.

1. Run the Report: In the add-on sidebar, click "Run" under the chosen report. The add-on will query GA4 and automatically place the data in a new tab in your Google Sheet. It may take a moment depending on the complexity of your request.
2. Schedule Automatic Refreshes: This is the key benefit. Go back to the "Getting started" section in the add-on and check "Schedule this report." You can set it to update hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly. Your data will now stay fresh without any manual clicks.

Once the data is in Google Sheets, you can use it there or go to File > Download > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) to get a local copy.

Pros:

• Automates recurring reporting tasks.
• Eliminates the "download and copy" steps.
• Gives you granular control over what you pull via the API without writing code.

Cons:

• Initial setup is more involved than a simple download.
• Requires you to be comfortable working in Google Sheets as an intermediary.
• You still have to build your own charts and summaries in Excel/Sheets from the raw data.

The Trouble with Manual Exports

Each of the methods above has its place, but they all share common weaknesses that will be familiar to anyone who's spent a Monday morning building reports. Manually exporting data is:

• Time-Consuming: The weekly ritual of downloading CSVs, cleaning the data, plugging it into an Excel template, and formatting charts is a major drain on time you could be spending on analysis and strategy.
• Instantly Outdated: The moment you hit "Export," your data is a static snapshot of the past. If you're running a fast-moving campaign, this lag can mean you’re making decisions on old information.
• Completely Siloed: Your GA4 data is only one part of the story. To see the full picture, you have to repeat this entire export process for Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Shopify, your CRM, and every other tool you use. Your desk becomes cluttered with disconnected spreadsheets that are difficult to synthesize.
• Prone to Human Error: Copying and pasting data from one sheet to another is a recipe for mistakes. A wrong formula or a misaligned column can send you down the wrong path, and you might not even realize it.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are several effective ways to move your Google Analytics 4 data into Excel. For a quick look at numbers, the simple CSV download is perfect. For more customizable or automated needs, GA4's Explorations and the Google Sheets Connector provide greater flexibility and power.

Manually exporting data works for quick checks, but it's a repetitive process that often falls short when you need real-time, cross-platform insights. This is exactly why we built Graphed. We connect directly to GA4 and all your other marketing and sales platforms (like Shopify, Facebook Ads, and Salesforce), eliminating manual CSV work entirely. Instead of struggling to build reports in Excel, you just ask for what you need - like, "Create a dashboard comparing Facebook Ads spend vs. revenue by campaign" - and we build an interactive, live dashboard for you in seconds.