Learn business growth with Google Analytics 4 › Forums › Google Analytics 4 › Replicating the GA4 User Engagement value with Bigquery export › Reply To: Replicating the GA4 User Engagement value with Bigquery export
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It’s not uncommon to see a difference between the numbers in BigQuery (BQ) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4) API reports. Actually, a 3% difference is relatively small.
This discrepancy can occur because GA4 reports are based on sampled and pre-aggregated data, rather than raw data. Conversely, your query in BQ is running on raw data.
If you need to cross-verify data between GA4 and BQ, I recommend working within the Explore section of GA4 and building out dashboards there. The preset GA4 reports don’t always give a detailed view of the data compared to what you might get from BQ, since they’re more catered towards those who may not be as versed in data analysis. So, no need to worry, you’re on the right track!