Fireshift / Alternatives / vs Google Tag Assistant
Fireshift vs Google Tag Assistant
Google Tag Assistant and GTM Preview are free. They show the tags that fire, the data layer and the consent state while you click through your own site, and Preview tests a container draft before you publish. They don't tell you whether a conversion should be a conversion. Fireshift reads the whole published setup without a session, flags conversions that aren't funnel progress, and repeats it daily and on competitors. Use Tag Assistant to build and debug; use Fireshift to check what the result tells Google Ads.
How they work
| Tag Assistant / GTM Preview | Fireshift | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free scan; $149 Teardown; €490 a year Watch |
| What it reads | Your browser session: hits sent, data layer, tags fired | The published containers, plus a headless visit of key pages |
| Needs | The extension; GTM access to preview a draft | A domain |
| Tests unpublished changes | Yes (Preview) | No, only what's live |
| Follows you through a form submit | Yes, you do the submit | No |
| Consent state | Consent tab: default and update per event | Pre-consent check in a live visit |
| Flags noise conversions | No | Yes, with a rule per check |
| Runs without you | No | Daily on Watch |
| Competitors | Only by visiting their site yourself | Up to 6, stage by stage |
Tag Assistant and Preview facts from Google's help pages (GTM Preview, Tag Assistant), read 5 Nov 2026.
Where Tag Assistant is better
- Building and debugging. Preview shows a draft as if it were live, event by event. Nothing else is as quick for "did my new tag fire?"
- After the submit. You can fill in your own form and watch the success event and the conversion fire. We never submit forms.
- Free, from Google, and it reads exactly what Google's tags do.
Google Ads also shows a tracking status on each conversion action and can run a test conversion with Tag Assistant (Google Ads Help: conversion tracking status). That tells you a tag records. It doesn't tell you the thing it records is a lead.
Where Fireshift is better
- It judges, not just shows. Tag Assistant will happily show a conversion firing on a page view. We flag it, say why it hurts Smart Bidding, and link the fix (page-view check).
- The whole container at once. Every Ads conversion tag and trigger, including ones on pages you didn't think to visit.
- Every day, without you. Watch rescans and alerts when something changes.
- Competitors and prospects, where you have no GTM access.
Use both
- Run a Fireshift scan to find what's wrong.
- Fix it in GTM and test the draft in Preview.
- Publish, then rescan to confirm what Google now receives.
FAQ
Is Tag Assistant enough to audit conversion tracking?
It shows what fires in the session you click through. It won't tell you that a conversion on a CTA click or a login shouldn't be a conversion, and it won't run on its own.
Does Fireshift replace GTM Preview?
No. Preview tests unpublished changes in your own session. We read what's live.
Can Tag Assistant show primary vs secondary?
No, and neither can we. That setting is in Google Ads, Goals, Conversions.
Check your own site, free.
Fireshift reads what your site tells Google Ads, GA4 and Meta from the outside. No install, no account access.
Scan my site