15 Analysis Tools for Running a Business in High School
If you’re trying to grow a high school business, or even testing a small idea after school, analysing your data helps you understand what’s actually happening instead of hoping for results.
What are the types of analysis tools for running a business in high school?
There are different types of tools you can use for this. Some help you visualise patterns, some clean up your spreadsheets, and others track how people move across your website or online store. A few tools even connect everything in one place, so you can see marketing, sales, and product performance in a single dashboard.
How can using analysis tools for running a business in high school help you?
Analysis tools help you look at customer demographics, website traffic, or which product gets the most attention. You’ll get an idea of how companies make decisions every day and be able to employ them in your business. By learning how these tools work, you show colleges that you’re thinking like someone who understands data, business strategy, and why evidence matters.
If you’re also interested in business analysis internships, check here!
Below, you’ll find 15 analysis tools you can use to better understand (and improve) your high school business.
15 Analysis Tools for Running a Business in High School
1. Google Analytics
What the tool is used for: Website traffic analysis and visualisation
Initial costs: Free for the standard GA4 version (enterprise GA360 is paid)
You can use Google Analytics to see how people reach and move through your website, whether they come from Instagram, TikTok, Google Search, or email links. You’re able to track which pages keep visitors, how long they stay, and where they leave. The tool connects smoothly with Shopify, Wix, Mailchimp, and Google Ads, so you can follow marketing effects in one place. If your business depends on a website or landing page, this gives you one of the strongest free ways to understand real user behaviour.
2. HubSpot Analytics
What the tool is used for: Marketing and sales pipeline analysis
Initial costs: Free CRM available; Starter plans typically begin around $15–$20/month per hub, and bundled CRM suites start higher
Think about the path a customer takes from first click to final purchase. HubSpot Analytics shows each step of that path by tracking email performance, social engagement, and site behaviour in one place. The CRM stores contacts, tags leads, and sends follow-ups automatically. For a school project that relies on outreach or service sales, this lets you see what actually leads to conversions and where interest drops.
3. Tableau Public
What the tool is used for: Data visualization
Initial costs: Free
Tableau Public lets you convert spreadsheets into interactive charts, dashboards, and heatmaps. You can use it to visualize sales trends, track inventory performance, or compare customer groups. The drag-and-drop interface makes complex visualizations accessible even if you’re new to data analytics. If you later apply to business or analytics programs, Tableau proficiency looks impressive because it’s widely used in U.S. companies for BI (business intelligence).
4. Qlik Sense
What the tool is used for: Business intelligence and dashboard creation
Initial costs: Free trial; paid version for teams starts at $20/month
Qlik Sense is known for its intuitive interface and flexible dashboards. You can load your sales, survey, or marketing data and explore relationships between variables using its associative analytics engine. It also supports multiple integrations, including Excel, Google Drive, Salesforce, and various e-commerce tools, making it easy to connect data sources. For a student-led business, Qlik Sense helps you explore patterns without needing advanced coding.
5. Microsoft Power BI
What the tool is used for: Data modeling and business reporting
Initial costs: Free desktop version; Pro plan is ~$10/month
Power BI lets you build detailed business reports by combining data from spreadsheets, cloud apps, and online services. You can create dashboards to monitor revenue, customer behavior, inventory cycles, or advertising results. It also supports automated refreshes, which means your charts update on their own as new data comes in. If you’re planning to study business analytics or data science later on, Power BI is a powerful starting point because it’s widely used across U.S. companies.
6. Google Sheets
What the tool is used for: Data cleaning, basic analysis, and automation
Initial costs: Free
Google Sheets is one of the simplest ways for you to track and analyze business data. You can organize sales numbers, customer lists, product inventory, or marketing metrics, and then use formulas, pivot tables, and charts to extract insights. With add-ons like Supermetrics or Layer, you can even automate data imports from social media platforms, Shopify, or Google Ads. Sheets is beginner-friendly but powerful enough for real analytics work.
7. Looker Studio
What the tool is used for: Dashboard creation and visualization
Initial costs: Free for Looker Studio; paid Pro tier available for advanced admin/support needs.
Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) lets you turn raw data into professional dashboards. You can connect data from Google Analytics, Sheets, Mailchimp, Shopify, and dozens of other sources. The result is a clean, shareable report that updates in real time. If you want to show your business performance to teachers, mentors, or investors, Looker Studio makes your findings easy to understand, and it looks extremely polished on a college application.
8. Hotjar
What the tool is used for: User behavior analysis and website heatmaps
Initial costs: Free basic plan; paid plans from $39/month
Hotjar shows you how visitors behave on your website through heatmaps, scroll maps, and session recordings. You can see where people click, which sections they ignore, and where they drop off, helping you improve your product pages or checkout flow. It’s especially useful if you run an online store or portfolio website. With built-in surveys and feedback widgets, Hotjar lets you understand user behavior beyond numbers.
9. Mailchimp Analytics
What the tool is used for: Email marketing analytics
Initial costs: Free tier available; paid plans start at $13/month
If you send newsletters or run email campaigns for your high school business, Mailchimp gives you data on open rates, click rates, audience growth, and subscriber behavior. You can segment customers, test subject lines, and track campaign conversions. Mailchimp also integrates with Shopify, Squarespace, and social media platforms, making it easy to compare email performance with sales and traffic data.
10. Mixpanel
What the tool is used for: Product and user behavior analytics
Initial costs: Free tier available; paid plans from $20/month
Mixpanel helps you understand how users interact with your digital product, whether that’s an app, service portal, or booking system. You can track events like sign-ups, button clicks, and purchases to see what actions users take before converting. Mixpanel’s funnels and retention charts help you identify drop-off points and improve your product experience. If you’re building any digital tool, Mixpanel is one of the best ways to study behavior patterns.
11. Zapier
What the tool is used for: Workflow automation and cross-tool analytics
Initial costs: Free tier available; paid plans start at $20/month
Zapier helps you automate repetitive tasks by connecting tools you already use, like Google Sheets, Shopify, Gmail, Stripe, or Calendly. You can set up automated workflows (“Zaps”) to send data from one tool to another without manual entry. For example, every time someone buys a product, Zapier can add the sale to a spreadsheet and send you a summary. It’s especially helpful if you want clean, consistent data across platforms.
12. Klaviyo Analytics
What the tool is used for: E-commerce marketing and customer analytics
Initial costs: Free for small email lists; paid plans scale with subscribers
Klaviyo is used by many U.S. small businesses for analyzing customer behavior, email performance, and abandoned-cart patterns. You can view revenue attribution, segment customers based on behaviour, and track which products drive repeat sales. If you run any online store like Etsy, Shopify, or Wix, Klaviyo gives you deeper insights than most email tools, especially around purchase intent and customer lifetime value.
13. Canva Insights
What the tool is used for: Content performance analytics
Initial costs: Free; Pro plan from about $13–$15/month (pricing varies by region).
If you design social posts, flyers, or product graphics in Canva, the Insights dashboard helps you track how your content performs, especially if you publish directly to platforms like Instagram or Pinterest. You can monitor reach, engagement, and click-through rates to understand which designs your audience responds to. It’s a simple way to connect creative work with actual data, making your marketing more evidence-based.
14. SurveyMonkey
What the tool is used for: Customer feedback collection and analysis
Initial costs: Free basic plan; paid plans from $35/month
SurveyMonkey helps you gather structured customer feedback, whether you want to test a product idea, measure satisfaction, or understand pricing preferences. The platform offers built-in analysis tools like sentiment indicators, response trends, and cross-tab comparisons. For a high school business, these insights help you make data-backed decisions and better understand your target audience before scaling.
15. Shopify Analytics
What the tool is used for: E-commerce sales and store performance analysis
Initial costs: Part of Shopify plans; basic plan is $29/month
If you run an online store, Shopify Analytics gives you a full view of day-to-day performance, such as sales data, product trends, returning customer rates, and marketing attribution. Real-time dashboards show you what’s selling, who’s buying, and which channels drive conversions. Because Shopify integrates with dozens of other tools (Google Analytics, Klaviyo, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads), you get a unified picture of your business without extra setup.
Looking to Build and Scale Your Own Business? Check Out the Young Founders Lab!
If you want to go beyond using marketing tools and actually build a full, revenue-generating venture, the Young Founders Lab is one of the strongest programs you can join in high school. It’s a 100% virtual start-up boot camp run by Harvard entrepreneurs, designed specifically for students who want to launch a real company or non-profit.
In this program, you’ll get hands-on mentorship from founders and professionals from Google, Microsoft, McKinsey, and YC-backed companies, while building a venture that solves a real-world problem. You’ll attend live workshops, explore business fundamentals, refine your idea, and work toward a fully developed MVP and pitch.
Multiple cohorts run throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring, so you can join whenever it fits your schedule. Financial aid is available, and the program is open to all high school students, with no prior experience required. You can check out the brochure and apply for the next cohort here!
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