For years, the honest answer to “can I build a dashboard in GA4?” was “not really — use Looker Studio.” That changed on September 9, 2026, when Google launched Dashboards in Google Analytics. You can now drag charts onto a canvas, drop dimensions and metrics onto them, and publish the result to the Reports menu for everyone on the property.
Quick version: in GA4 go to Reports, click + Create at the top of the report navigation and choose Dashboard. Drag visualizations onto the canvas, drag dimensions and metrics onto each chart, then Save and Publish. You need the Editor or Administrator role, and standard properties are limited to 15 cards per dashboard.
What GA4 Dashboards are
Google describes a dashboard as a single, consolidated page of custom visualizations for pulling insights from your Analytics data. In practice it fills the gap between GA4's fixed standard reports and a full Looker Studio build:
- One-page KPI view — the numbers your team checks every week, in one place.
- A grid canvas where you place, align and size each chart yourself.
- Drag-and-drop building — dimensions and metrics are dropped straight onto charts.
- Publishing to the left navigation, so viewers find the dashboard under Reports without digging through the report library.
How to create a GA4 dashboard
- Sign in to Google Analytics and open Reports from the left menu.
- Click + Create at the top of the report navigation and select Dashboard.
- Drag visualization types — such as scorecards or charts — onto the canvas.
- Drag dimensions and metrics onto each chart.
- Select a visualization to fine-tune it in the right-hand panel.
- Click Save, then Publish to add the dashboard to the Reports navigation.
To change a published dashboard later, select it in the left navigation and click the pencil (Edit) icon.
Chart types you can use
At launch, GA4 Dashboards support six visualization types:
| Visualization | Best for |
|---|---|
| Scorecard | Headline KPIs — users, conversions, revenue. Shows percentage change when a date comparison is applied. |
| Table | Top pages, campaigns or products, with shaded bars and pagination. |
| Line chart | Trends over time at daily, weekly or monthly granularity. |
| Bar chart (horizontal/vertical) | Comparing channels, devices or countries. |
| Donut chart | Share of a total — e.g. traffic by channel group. |
| Funnel chart | Step-by-step drop-off, such as view item → add to cart → purchase. |
Limits and permissions to know before you build
- Card limit: standard GA4 properties allow up to 15 cards per dashboard; Analytics 360 (premium) properties allow up to 30.
- Who can build: creating and publishing requires the Editor or Administrator role.
- Who can view: published dashboards are shared with the whole property — anyone with access to the property can see them.
- Not supported yet: API access, segments and card-level comparisons.
The 15-card limit is the one that shapes design. It forces you to choose — which is usually a good thing. A dashboard with 40 charts gets ignored; one with 8–12 focused cards gets used.
A practical KPI dashboard layout
For most lead-generation and ecommerce businesses, this structure fits comfortably under 15 cards:
- Row 1 — scorecards (4–5 cards): users, sessions, key events/conversions, conversion rate, revenue (ecommerce).
- Row 2 — trend (1–2 cards): a line chart of key events or revenue by week.
- Row 3 — acquisition (2 cards): a bar chart by session default channel group and a table of top source/medium or campaigns.
- Row 4 — behaviour (2 cards): top landing pages table and a funnel for your main conversion path.
Before building, confirm the underlying data is right: key events marked correctly, ecommerce events firing with values, and internal or spam traffic filtered. A dashboard built on broken tracking just makes wrong numbers easier to read. If you're not sure your data is clean, have a GA4 expert audit it first, or start from a professional GA4 setup.
GA4 Dashboards vs Looker Studio
GA4 Dashboards
- Built inside Google Analytics
- Drag-and-drop, no connectors
- Up to 15 cards (30 on 360)
- Shared with the whole property
- No segments or API yet
Looker Studio
- Separate free reporting tool
- Blends many data sources
- Branded client reports
- Flexible sharing and scheduling
- More setup and maintenance
Google's documentation doesn't position Dashboards against Looker Studio, so here's the practical split. GA4 Dashboards win on speed and convenience: no separate tool, no connector setup, and viewers find them in the Reports menu they already use. Looker Studio is still the better choice when you need data from several sources (Google Ads, Meta, a CRM, BigQuery) in one view, client-branded reports, scheduled email delivery, segments, or more than 15–30 charts.
If you need that kind of reporting, see our custom Looker Studio dashboards. Many teams will end up using both: a GA4 dashboard for the internal weekly check-in, and Looker Studio for client reporting and blended, multi-channel views.
Frequently asked questions
Does GA4 have dashboards now?
Yes. Google launched Dashboards in Google Analytics on September 9, 2026. You create them from Reports → + Create → Dashboard.
How many charts can a GA4 dashboard have?
Standard properties support up to 15 cards per dashboard. Google Analytics 360 (premium) properties support up to 30.
Who can create a dashboard in GA4?
You need the Editor or Administrator role to create and publish dashboards. Anyone with access to the property can view published dashboards.
Can I use segments in GA4 Dashboards?
Not at launch. Google lists API support, segments and card-level comparisons as currently not supported.
Should I still use Looker Studio?
Yes, if you need to combine GA4 with other data sources, build branded client reports, schedule email delivery or use more charts than the card limit allows.
Want this tracked correctly in your account?
Our specialists set up, test and document GA4, GTM, HYROS and Triple Whale tracking so every conversion is counted. See our custom dashboards and Looker Studio service.
Or hire a GA4 expert for a full tracking audit.
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