The Google Analytics 4 custom dimensions limit depends on the level of your account.

In a standard Google Analytics 4 account, you can create up to 50 event-scoped custom dimensions and 25 user-scoped custom dimensions.

In a Google Analytics 4 360 account, you can create up to 125 event-scoped custom dimensions 100 user-scoped custom dimensions.

Also See: What is the difference between Event Scope and User Scope in Google Analytics 4?

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Content

1. Check Your GA4 Custom Dimensions Quota

2. What happens if I Reach My GA4 Custom Dimensions Limit?

3. Prioritize Your Custom Dimensions

4. Custom Dimensions Google Analytics 4: Summary

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Check Your GA4 Custom Dimensions Quota

To check whether you have reached Google Analytics 4 custom dimensions limit, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Google Analytics 4 dashboard

2. Click Configure on the left sidebar menu

3. Click Custom definitions

4. Near the top right, click the rectangular button that says “Quota information”

You should now see a summary of your custom dimensions quota. This will tell you how many custom dimensions you have used, and how many slots you have left.

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What Happens if I Reach My GA4 Custom Dimensions Limit?

If you reach any of those limits, you can delete custom dimensions in GA4. (This is also known as archiving custom dimensions.)

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Prioritize Your Custom Dimensions

While every Google Analytics 4 event parameter can be a custom dimension, that doesn’t mean it should be.

In fact, at some point you’ll probably have more than 50 custom parameters. (Fifty being the custom dimensions limit for GA4 standard accounts.)

So how do you decide what should be a custom dimension and what shouldn’t? Ask yourself these two questions:

What custom dimensions already exist, and am I utilizing them property?

Before creating a new custom dimension, first make sure there isn’t already one available that would serve your purpose.

My favorite way to do this is in the Explore section of GA4. You can access it in the left sidebar menu:

Open a “Free form” report and click the + sign next to DIMENSIONS in the Variables column.

You will now see a popup that tells you how many total, custom and predefined dimensions are available to use in your reporting.

Peruse these existing dimensions either by opening and scrolling through the various categories, and/or by using the search function at the top of the page.

How do you know the definition of a GA4 dimension?

Most (but not all) dimensions are dotted-underlined, which indicates that if you hover over them, their definition will pop up. (This is why it’s important to give a good description when creating custom dimensions in Google Analytics 4.)

If you don’t see a description for a particular parameter, Google it for more information. (Hopefully, most of their definitions can be determined with a little common sense.)

Once you are more familiar with existing dimensions – both predetermined and custom – you can decide whether it’s necessary to create another one.

The following question is a great way to answer that.

What data is missing from my reports that I wish I had?

When I say reports, that could mean your standard GA4 reporting dashboard, your Explore dashboard or even Google Data Studio.

If you’re looking through your data on a regular basis and something is lacking, it may be time to create a new custom dimension.

Assuming you already completed the previous step of researching your existing dimensions, this should be a straightforward decision. (So long as you haven’t exceeded your limit, as discussed above.)

Of course you can’t analyze data that’s not being collected. First determine if it should be an event or a parameter.

If you decide event, it will show up in your reports as soon as its live.

If you decide parameter, then you will indeed need to create a custom dimension.

Also see: What is the page_view event in Google Analytics 4?

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Custom Dimensions Google Analytics 4: Summary

Custom dimensions in Google Analytics 4 are based on the parameters for your events.

They’re pieces of information associated with those events.

To analyze data associated with a parameter, you have to create a custom GA4 dimension for it.

GA4 event parameters are attributes of your data. Creating custom dimensions in Google Analytics 4 allows you analyze that data in your reports.

In other words, if it’s an event parameter, it can also be a custom dimension.

Before adding a new parameter to an event, make sure a similar one doesn’t already exist. Google includes some for you with its automatically collected and enhanced measurement events.

If you don’t see a parameter that corresponds to the data you want to collect, it may be a good idea to create a new custom dimension.

There are custom dimension limits in GA4, so be strategic about adding new ones. If you do reach your maximum, you can always archive or delete some.

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Content

1. How To Create a Custom Dimension

2. How To Edit a Custom Dimension

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How To Create a Custom Dimension

You must at least have “editor” permissions to proceed.

If you do, follow these steps for creating Google Analytics 4 custom dimensions:

1. Click Configure in the left sidebar menu

2. Click Custom dimensions

3. Click the blue Create custom dimensions button

4. Add a dimension name

The simpler the better, but make sure you also choose something that’s easily distinguished from other dimensions.

5. Choose your scope: user or event

Use user scope for attributes that don’t change often (like a user location) and event scope for those that do (like word count on a page).

6. Write a description

This is especially important for others who have access to your dashboard and may not otherwise know what your custom dimension tracks.

7. Select an event parameter or user property

Event parameters are for event scopes (like page_title) and user properties are for user scopes (like Country).

What you choose here is what the custom dimension’s data will be based upon.

8. Click save

That’s it. You now know how to add a custom dimension in Google Analytics 4.

You should be able to use it in reports within 24–48 hours.

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How To Edit a Custom Dimension

Follow these steps to edit an existing custom dimension in Google Analytics 4:

1. Click Configure in the left sidebar menu

2. Click Custom dimensions

3. Click the three vertical dots at the far right side of the row that corresponds to the custom dimension you want to edit

4. Click Edit

5. Make the necessary adjustments to your custom dimension and click Save

Note: You cannot edit the scope type nor the (event) parameter or (user) property associated with a custom dimension.

This is for your own good. Otherwise, a parameter with the same name would collect data for one period (before the edit) and another set of completely different data after.

You would be comparing “apples and oranges” in the long run.

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Why Create Custom Dimensions?

Even if you don’t customize your Google Analytics 4 setup, it has some great reporting capabilities. But customization is exactly what makes your dashboard useful to your particular business.

Custom dimensions are a big part of that customization.

Example 1: Car Website

A subscription-based local news website where users complete personal profiles can benefit from custom dimensions.

User profiles may allow readers to share the following information, which could be captured as parameters as part of the recommended “login” event.

Here are some attributes that could be captured (again, dependent on users providing this info):

• subscriber_status
• hometown
• marital_status
• favorite_author

Data could then be created based around sessions that triggered the login event plus any of the custom dimensions captured along with it.

The preferences of logged-in users could be accessed in the standard GA4 dashboard, Explore or Google Data Studio. This could help retain users who already subscribe, and analyze behaviors of those who don’t, but have an account.

Example 2: Car Website

Imagine a car company called Feslaret that allows you to customize your vehicle online.

They could create a design_vehicle custom event that triggered every time a user opened the tool.

Within the design tool, they could include the following options:

• transmission (manual vs. automatic)
• color
• horsepower
• model

They would then create custom parameters that correspond to each of those options. The parameter values of one users design might look like this:

• transmission: manual
• color: cupertino_blue
• horsepower: 200
• model: MCML

And another like this:

• transmission: automatic
• color: manchester_fog
• horsepower: 200
• model: BB72

If thousands of users used this tool over time, you can imagine how the data would add up.

In our example, you have two people who both want a car with 400 horsepower, but have completely different models, colors and transmission types.

The company could then create custom dimensions for all the parameters we listed. Those custom dimensions would then display all the possible answers (such as “manual” and “manchester_fog”) in reports.

The preferences of potential buyers could then be accessed in their standard dashboard, Explore or Google Data Studio. If they also capture location information, this might help prepare inventory by region.

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These are just a couple example of the benefits of creating custom dimensions in Google Analytics 4. Hopefully this sparks some ideas about useful ones for your GA4 dashboard.

A Google Analytics 4 custom dimension scope determines how your data is collected.

There are two types: Event scope and User scope.

Before creating a custom dimension, you should be aware of the limits per property. If you have a 360 account, you’ll have higher limits than with a standard Google Analytics 4 account.

GA4 Event Scope Custom Dimensions

To see data from an event parameter in your dashboard, you must create a Google Analytics 4 custom dimension with an event scope.

Google already includes custom dimensions based on many of its automatically collected and enhanced measurement events. If what you want to track something isn’t already a parameter, it may be time to create a custom dimension with an event scope.

Choose event scope instead of user scope if you’re tracking something whose value could frequently change.

For example, if you include word_count as a parameter for blog content, that would fall under event scope. You would then be able to analyze user behavior based on article length.

You would do this because word count is associated with an event, not a user. It’s also likely to change frequently over time.

GA4 User Scope Custom Dimensions

To see data related to a user property, you must first create a custom dimension with user scope.

Google already collects data regarding many user dimensions. These include age, browser, country, language and more.

Before creating a custom dimension with a user scope, make sure the data you want to collect isn’t already tracked.

You would choose user scope for a user property that’s not likely to change often over time.

For example, whether or not someone is a paid subscriber to a news website would fall under user scope. The parameter could be subscriber_status and the values could be paid and free.

That makes sense because this is a data attribute associated with a user, not an event. It’s also unlikely to vary often.