---
title: "Third-party scripts on the Polish web: who loads what"
description: "7 in 10 Polish homepages load scripts from Google and 1 in 6 still loads Universal Analytics. Sites with more third parties respond slower on phones."
canonical_url: "https://www.outofplace.space/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-09-24"
alternates:
  pl: "https://www.outofplace.space/pl/blog/skrypty-zewnetrzne-na-polskich-stronach.md"
---

# Third-party scripts on the Polish web: who loads what

> 7 in 10 Polish homepages load scripts from Google and 1 in 6 still loads Universal Analytics. Sites with more third parties respond slower on phones.

Published 2026-09-24 · Category: Performance · Tags: Third-party scripts, Google Tag Manager, Core Web Vitals, Poland

Seven in ten Polish homepages load scripts from Google, and four in five load a script from at least one third party. We read the homepages of the 7,785 .pl sites in [the Tranco list of popular sites](https://tranco-list.eu/list/Y8YYG/full) that answered with HTML, the same list behind [our study of Core Web Vitals by ecommerce platform](https://www.outofplace.space/blog/core-web-vitals-polish-ecommerce), and named the companies behind most of the scripts they load. The median homepage loads code from 2 third parties, and 16% still load Universal Analytics, whose standard version [stopped processing data](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528) in July 2023.

Then we looked the sites up in the [Chrome UX Report](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux), Google's record of how fast sites are for real Chrome users. Sites whose homepages load more third parties respond more slowly on phones: 79% of those with one or two pass [Interaction to Next Paint](https://web.dev/articles/inp) (INP, the time a page takes to respond to a tap), but only 48% of those with ten or more. In online shops the drop is steeper; on other sites the share holds up to nine.

- 82% of .pl homepages load code from at least one third party; the median homepage from 2, and 14% from six or more.
- 70% load scripts from Google, 40% through Google Tag Manager. 20% load scripts from Meta.
- 16% of homepages still load Universal Analytics, whose standard version has been dead since July 2023; 616 of them have no Google Analytics 4, Google tag or Tag Manager beside it.
- 79% of homepages with one or two third parties pass INP on phones, and only 48% of those with ten or more. In shops the drop is steeper than on other sites.

## What are third-party scripts?

A third-party script is JavaScript a page loads from a company other than the site's owner. Some do a job the visitor sees, such as a chat window, a map, a payment widget or a cookie banner; most report on the visitor to someone: analytics, ad pixels, heatmaps. Each one costs the browser a connection and some work on the main thread, the one that also answers taps. Google's [guide to third-party JavaScript](https://web.dev/articles/optimizing-content-efficiency-loading-third-party-javascript) warns that "CPU-intensive script parsing and execution can delay user interaction".

We count a third party once per homepage however many files it loads, whether a script tag points at its servers or an inline install snippet loads its code, as the usual snippets for Google Tag Manager or the Meta Pixel do. A script from another domain counts as a third party even when that domain belongs to the site's own group.

## Which third-party scripts Polish sites load

Google's tags lead by a distance: Google Tag Manager alone is on 40% of homepages. The Meta Pixel is the most common tag from anyone else, on 15%. Cloudflare's Web Analytics beacon ranks high too: Cloudflare [adds it by default](https://developers.cloudflare.com/web-analytics/get-started/) to sites it proxies once the owner turns Web Analytics on (as of 24 September 2026).

**Google Tag Manager is on four in ten Polish homepages** (Share of .pl homepages loading each vendor's code, the 20 most common · n = 7,785 · 95% intervals)

| Item | Value | 95% interval | n |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Google Tag Manager | 40% | 39%–41% | 7,785 |
| Google Analytics 4 | 26% | 25%–27% | 7,785 |
| Universal Analytics (UA-) | 16% | 15%–16% | 7,785 |
| Meta Pixel | 15% | 15%–16% | 7,785 |
| Google Ads | 11% | 10%–12% | 7,785 |
| Google reCAPTCHA | 9.8% | 9.1%–10% | 7,785 |
| Cloudflare Web Analytics | 9.4% | 8.7%–10% | 7,785 |
| Google AdSense | 7% | 6.5%–7.6% | 7,785 |
| jsDelivr | 6.6% | 6.1%–7.2% | 7,785 |
| Facebook SDK | 6.4% | 5.9%–7% | 7,785 |
| cdnjs | 5.1% | 4.6%–5.6% | 7,785 |
| Google Hosted Libraries | 4.3% | 3.8%–4.7% | 7,785 |
| jQuery CDN | 3.7% | 3.3%–4.1% | 7,785 |
| Microsoft Clarity | 3.6% | 3.2%–4% | 7,785 |
| Cookiebot | 3.5% | 3.1%–3.9% | 7,785 |
| Google Ad Manager | 3.5% | 3.1%–3.9% | 7,785 |
| TrustMate | 2.9% | 2.5%–3.3% | 7,785 |
| Hotjar | 2.6% | 2.3%–3% | 7,785 |
| edrone | 2.5% | 2.2%–2.9% | 7,785 |
| Shoper | 2.5% | 2.2%–2.9% | 7,785 |

Source: Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026; Tranco list Y8YYG. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-google-tag-manager-is-on-four-in-ten-polish-homepages.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/vendors.csv

These are floors. A tag manager loads other tags after the page arrives, and those never appear in the HTML: a homepage with Google Tag Manager may well run Google Analytics, the Meta Pixel and a heatmap through it, and here it counts as one third party.

### One homepage in six still loads Universal Analytics

Google replaced Universal Analytics with Google Analytics 4, and standard Universal Analytics properties stopped processing data on 1 July 2023. The tag that reports to them (a `UA-` ID, through gtag.js, analytics.js or the even older ga.js) still downloads and runs on every visit, though Google no longer processes its data.

On 616 homepages (7.9% of all) the dead tag is the only Google analytics in the HTML: no Google Analytics 4, Google tag or Tag Manager beside it. [Google Optimize](https://support.google.com/optimize/answer/12979939), Google's A/B testing tool switched off on 30 September 2023, is still on 14 homepages.

## What the scripts are for: analytics, tag managers, ads

Grouped by the job they do, third-party analytics leads (51% of homepages), then tag managers (40%). Ad pixels and marketing automation, the tags that report visits and sales to advertisers, are on 26%.

**Half of Polish homepages load third-party analytics** (Share of .pl homepages with at least one third party of each kind · n = 7,785 · 95% intervals)

| Item | Value | 95% interval | n |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Analytics, monitoring | 51% | 50%–52% | 7,785 |
| Tag managers | 40% | 39%–42% | 7,785 |
| Ad pixels and marketing | 26% | 25%–27% | 7,785 |
| Public CDN libraries | 17% | 17%–18% | 7,785 |
| Embeds and widgets | 12% | 12%–13% | 7,785 |
| Ads on the page | 12% | 12%–13% | 7,785 |
| Captcha and sign-in | 12% | 11%–12% | 7,785 |
| Consent banners | 10% | 9.7%–11% | 7,785 |
| Reviews, trust badges | 7.1% | 6.6%–7.7% | 7,785 |
| Payments and delivery | 5.5% | 5%–6% | 7,785 |
| Platform and hosting | 5.3% | 4.8%–5.8% | 7,785 |
| Chat and support | 4.7% | 4.2%–5.2% | 7,785 |
| Search, recommenders | 2.6% | 2.2%–2.9% | 7,785 |
| Push and pop-ups | 2.5% | 2.2%–2.9% | 7,785 |
| A/B testing | 0.7% | 0.6%–1% | 7,785 |

Source: Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-half-of-polish-homepages-load-third-party-analytics.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/kinds.csv

Only 10% load a consent banner from a consent platform's servers, such as Cookiebot (3.5%). That doesn't mean the rest ask no one: a banner served from the site's own domain, such as a plugin for the site's CMS, isn't a third party and isn't counted here. Of all the vendor detections, 3.6% had every script held back in the HTML until consent or a delayed-loading plugin lets it run.

## How many third parties a homepage loads

Most load a few: the median homepage loads code from 2 third parties. 18% load no third-party script at all, and only 1.2% load ten or more.

**The median Polish homepage loads code from two third parties** (Homepages by the number of third parties whose scripts they load · n = 7,785)

| Range | homepages |
| --- | --- |
| 0–1 | 1,423 |
| 1–2 | 1,462 |
| 2–3 | 1,314 |
| 3–4 | 1,123 |
| 4–5 | 829 |
| 5–6 | 537 |
| 6–7 | 383 |
| 7–8 | 339 |
| 8–9 | 190 |
| 9–10 | 94 |
| 10–11 | 50 |
| 11–12 | 14 |
| 12–13 | 11 |
| 13–14 | 7 |
| 14–15 | 3 |
| 15–16 | 5 |
| 16–17 | 1 |

Source: Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-the-median-polish-homepage-loads-code-from-two-third-parties.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/sites.csv

## Do third-party scripts slow a site down?

Each script is work for the phone. To see whether real users feel it, we matched the homepages with the Chrome UX Report, which has data for 79% of the sites; the rest get too little Chrome traffic.

The more third parties, the less often a site passes INP, that is, responds to a tap within the 200 ms Google counts as good. Between one and five third parties the difference is small. From six the share drops, and at ten or more only about one site in two passes.

**Homepages with six or more third parties pass INP less often than those with one to five** (Share of sites whose p75 INP on phones (the whole site, as CrUX measures it) is 200 ms or less, by third parties on the homepage · dot: share, line: 95% interval · CrUX, 28 days to 22 Sept 2026)

| Item | Value | Range | n |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 70% | 67%–74% | 647 |
| 1–2 | 79% | 77%–80% | 2,042 |
| 3–5 | 78% | 76%–79% | 2,194 |
| 6–9 | 72% | 69%–75% | 959 |
| 10 or more | 48% | 38%–58% | 90 |

Source: Chrome UX Report (Google); Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-homepages-with-six-or-more-third-parties-pass-inp-less-often-tha.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/by_third_parties.csv

The response time itself climbs too. The typical (median) site has an INP of 129ms with one or two third parties and 202ms with ten or more, just past the edge of a good score.

**From one or two third parties up, the typical site responds more slowly** (Median p75 INP on phones (the whole site, as CrUX measures it) by third parties on the homepage · dot: median, line: the middle half of sites · shading: Google's thresholds · CrUX, 28 days to 22 Sept 2026)

| Item | Value | Range | n |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None | 143ms | 94ms–213ms | 647 |
| 1–2 | 129ms | 96ms–188ms | 2,042 |
| 3–5 | 145ms | 111ms–193ms | 2,194 |
| 6–9 | 159ms | 128ms–206ms | 959 |
| 10 or more | 202ms | 161ms–252ms | 90 |

Source: Chrome UX Report (Google); Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-from-one-or-two-third-parties-up-the-typical-site-responds-more.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/by_third_parties.csv

Homepages with no third party at all break the pattern: only 70% of them pass. The group is a different one, though. Only 50% of them are in CrUX at all, against 76% of those with one or two third parties, so they are probably mostly smaller sites, where a slow INP may have other causes.

### In shops the drop starts at six third parties

Shops and other sites behave differently. In shops the share passing INP drops from six third parties, and at ten or more only 44% of them pass (61 shops with data, so the interval is wide). On other sites the line stays nearly flat up to nine; too few of them load ten or more to say anything about those.

**In shops, the drop in INP starts at six third parties** (Share of sites passing INP on phones (the whole site, as CrUX measures it), shops against other sites, by third parties on the homepage · groups with at least 30 sites of each · CrUX, 28 days to 22 Sept 2026)

| Item | Shops | Other sites |
| --- | --- | --- |
| None | 67% | 71% |
| 1–2 | 79% | 78% |
| 3–5 | 77% | 78% |
| 6–9 | 65% | 79% |

Source: Chrome UX Report (Google); Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-in-shops-the-drop-in-inp-starts-at-six-third-parties.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/by_third_parties.csv

We didn't split shops by platform. A platform that serves its code from another domain goes with a lower pass rate (below), so part of the drop may be the platform rather than the count.

### Which kinds of script go with a slower site

6 kinds make no difference within the margin of error: sites with a tag manager, ad pixels, a consent banner, push notifications, payments and delivery, or embeds pass INP about as often as sites without. 6 kinds go with a lower pass rate: A/B testing (on few sites), third-party search or recommendations, platform code served from another domain, review widgets, a chat and ads. The other 3, third-party analytics, CDN libraries and captchas, go with a slightly higher one.

**A/B testing, third-party search and review widgets go with a lower INP pass rate; tag managers don't** (Share of sites passing INP on phones (the whole site, as CrUX measures it), homepages with each kind of third party against those without · CrUX, 28 days to 22 Sept 2026)

| Item | Sites with it | Sites without it | n |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| A/B testing | 47% | 76% | 55 |
| Search, recommenders | 57% | 77% | 197 |
| Platform and hosting | 61% | 77% | 390 |
| Reviews, trust badges | 67% | 77% | 538 |
| Chat and support | 71% | 76% | 324 |
| Ads on the page | 72% | 77% | 874 |
| Payments and delivery | 73% | 76% | 400 |
| Push and pop-ups | 75% | 76% | 193 |
| Consent banners | 75% | 76% | 737 |
| Ad pixels and marketing | 75% | 76% | 1,821 |
| Tag managers | 76% | 76% | 2,884 |
| Embeds and widgets | 78% | 76% | 834 |
| Public CDN libraries | 79% | 75% | 1,096 |
| Captcha and sign-in | 79% | 75% | 732 |
| Analytics, monitoring | 78% | 74% | 3,252 |

Source: Chrome UX Report (Google); Outofplace census, 24 Sept 2026. Chart: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/charts/en/chart-a-b-testing-third-party-search-and-review-widgets-go-with-a-lowe.png Data: https://www.outofplace.space/data/blog/third-party-scripts-polish-web/2026-09-24/kinds.csv

A site that loads more third parties also differs in size, purpose and build. None of these differences shows that the scripts caused it.

## Does Google Tag Manager slow down a site?

Not on its own, as far as the field data shows. Homepages with Google Tag Manager pass INP on phones 76% of the time, those without it 76%, a difference within the margin of error. What matters is what the container loads, and that doesn't show in the HTML. Google's own [guide to tags and tag managers](https://web.dev/articles/tag-best-practices) says its authors "have seen a correlation between the size of tag managers and poorer INP scores" (read on 24 September 2026). So the question to ask is not whether a site uses a tag manager, but what is in it.

## How to find and trim third-party scripts on your site

Open your homepage in Chrome with DevTools, reload with the Network panel filtered to JS, and sort by domain. Everything not on your domain is a third party. Then open your tag manager: its tags load after the page and don't appear in the HTML.

Universal Analytics and Google Optimize tags do nothing now but still download and run. So do tags for campaigns that ended and tools nobody logs into. Google's guide to tags notes that pausing or removing a tag in Tag Manager removes its code from the container, while blocking it doesn't (as of 24 September 2026).

A chat, a map or a video player can wait for the visitor to ask for it: show a button or a still image, and load the script on the first click.

Look up your site in [PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/): if it has enough Chrome traffic, the top of the report shows the same CrUX data as this study. Start with INP, the metric that suffers when scripts keep the main thread busy; Google's [guide to optimising INP](https://web.dev/articles/optimize-inp) explains how to find the scripts behind a slow response.

CrUX covers a rolling 28 days, so a change shows in full only after four weeks.

## How we measured

The homepages come from our census of 24 September 2026 by `OutofplaceResearchBot` (see [what our crawler fetches and how to block it](https://www.outofplace.space/bot)), which reads robots.txt first and fetches only the homepage: 8,023 of the 9,208 .pl domains in the Tranco list answered with HTML, and 7,785 distinct sites remained after merging domains that redirect to the same address.

We read each homepage's HTML without running it. A script counts when a script tag loads it from another domain, or when an inline install snippet loads a known vendor's code; JSON-LD and other data blocks don't count. A table of 187 vendors, built from the script hosts seen on at least five homepages, names the company and the kind of job for 91% of the third parties found, counted once per homepage; a script domain it doesn't know counts as one unclassified third party on each homepage that loads it. A script held back until consent still counts: it runs once the visitor agrees.

The speed data is Google's. On 24 September 2026 we asked the [Chrome UX Report API](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/api) for every homepage's address on phones, and tried the www or bare-domain twin when an address had no record. CrUX aggregates the page loads of Chrome users on Android and desktop who share usage statistics, across every page of a site, over 28 days. A site passes INP when its 75th percentile is 200 ms or less. The comparison by number of third parties (none, 1–2, 3–5, 6–9, 10 or more) was fixed before we read the field data; shops are identified by the classifier from our ecommerce study.

For the 15 most common vendors we drew 8 detections each, in a fixed random order, and read the HTML behind every one. 119 of the 120 were right. The one miss was a consent banner whose script tag had typographic quotes in its type attribute, so the browser never runs it.

We saw the homepage only, as its HTML arrived, and ran none of it: scripts that a tag manager or another script adds later are invisible, so every share here is a floor and the counts per homepage undercount sites with busy tag managers. A homepage longer than 1 MiB was cut there (331 of them). The field data covers every page of a site, not just the homepage, and only sites with enough Chrome traffic. Sites that load more third parties also differ in size, purpose and build, so none of the differences above shows that the scripts caused them.

## Further reading

- [Best practices for tags and tag managers](https://web.dev/articles/tag-best-practices): Google's guide to keeping a tag manager from slowing a site, from the Chrome team.

- [Load third-party JavaScript](https://web.dev/articles/optimizing-content-efficiency-loading-third-party-javascript): How third-party scripts cost loading time and responsiveness, and how to load them with less harm.

- [Interaction to Next Paint (INP)](https://web.dev/articles/inp): What INP measures and the thresholds Google uses.

- [Google Analytics 4 has replaced Universal Analytics](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/11583528): Google's notice on when Universal Analytics stopped processing data.

- [Core Web Vitals by ecommerce platform: who is fastest?](https://www.outofplace.space/blog/core-web-vitals-polish-ecommerce): Our study of the same list: Core Web Vitals of Polish online shops, by platform.