Tool comparisons
Google Analytics Alternatives: Privacy-Friendly Web Analytics, Compared
The best Google Analytics alternative for most indie hackers in 2026 is a cookieless tool such as Plausible, from $9 a month, or Umami, which is free up to 100,000 events on its cloud plan and free to self-host. Pirsch starts at $6 a month for 50 sites. PostHog suits SaaS teams that need product analytics on top.
Last updated October 2026
The comparison table
Indie hackers leave Google Analytics for three reasons: the interface answers questions they do not have, the cookies it sets mean a consent banner for EU visitors, and that banner means a share of visitors are never counted. Google's own documentation says sites must inform users and offer the choice to grant or deny consent where cookies are used. The tools below that describe themselves as cookieless avoid setting cookies at all; whether that removes the need for a banner where you operate is a legal question this guide cannot answer for you.
What you give up is mostly depth: no demographics, no cross-device identity and fewer integrations. For a landing page and a signup funnel, that is rarely a loss.
Pricing checked on each tool’s own pricing, feature or help pages. Prices change; confirm on the vendor’s page before you buy.
| # | Tool | Best for | Free plan | Paid from | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plausible Analytics | Simple, cookieless analytics hosted in the EU | 30-day trial, no card; Community Edition is free to self-host | $9 per month, 10,000 pageviews, 1 site (Starter) | Cookieless; open source (AGPL-3.0); EU hosted |
| 2 | Umami | Free cloud or self-hosted, with funnels | Hobby: free, 100,000 events a month, 1 site, 6 months retention | $20 per month, 1 million events, up to 20 sites (Pro) | Cookieless; open source (MIT); free to self-host |
| 3 | Pirsch Analytics | Many small sites on one cheap plan | 30-day trial, no card | $6 per month, 10,000 pageviews, 50 sites (Standard) | Cookieless; hosted in Germany |
| 4 | Fathom Analytics | Higher traffic at a flat price | 7-day trial, card required | $15 per month, 100,000 pageviews, 50 sites | Cookieless; EU visitors processed on EU servers |
| 5 | Simple Analytics | A free plan for small sites | 5 sites, 1 month history, badge required | €20 per month, 100,000 pageviews | Cookieless; hosted in the Netherlands |
| 6 | PostHog | SaaS product analytics, replays and flags | 1 million events, 5,000 recordings a month free | Pay as you go beyond the free allowance | Uses cookies by default; cookieless mode is opt-in |
| 7 | Cloudflare Web Analytics | Free basics if you already use Cloudflare | Free on all plans | Free | Data is sampled; 10 non-proxied sites per account |
| 8 | Matomo | Full analytics you can self-host | On-Premise is free (GPL); cloud trial, no card | Cloud from 29 a month for 50,000 hits, before tax | Not cookieless by default; consent-free use needs configuration |
| 9 | Google Analytics 4 | Ads integration and free scale | Free | Free (Analytics 360 is the enterprise tier) | Uses cookies; Google says EU users must be asked for consent |
Which one to pick
- You want simple and cookieless: Plausible. One clean dashboard from $9 a month, EU hosted.
- You want free: Umami. 100,000 events a month free in the cloud, or unlimited self-hosted.
- You run many small sites: Pirsch. $6 a month for up to 50 sites.
- You need product analytics inside your app: PostHog. Events, replays and flags with a big free allowance.
- You run Google Ads: Google Analytics 4. Free and wired into Ads, at the cost of a consent banner in the EU.
One measurement tip for any tool here: ad blockers block many analytics scripts by their default domain, so every tool undercounts. Most of these vendors document a proxy or custom domain setup that reduces the gap. Compare tools on trends, not on whose number is biggest.
Every tool, one by one
Each entry links to the tool’s own site, the primary source for every price above. How we source facts is on the methodology page.
1. Plausible Analytics
Plausible is the best known privacy-first analytics tool: one script, no cookies by its own description, a single-page dashboard, goals and custom events, and Search Console integration. The cloud runs on European-owned infrastructure. The Starter plan covers one site, and funnels and revenue goals need Business. The self-hosted Community Edition is free but updates about twice a year and leaves out some features.
Pros
- Clear single-page dashboard
- Cookieless and EU hosted, per the vendor
- Open source with a free self-hosted edition
Cons
- No free cloud plan
- Starter is limited to one site
- Funnels and revenue need Business at $19 a month
2. Umami
Umami is open source under the MIT licence, cookieless by its own description, and generous in both forms: the cloud Hobby plan is free for 100,000 events a month on one site, and self-hosting is free with funnels, journeys, retention and goals included. Pro at $20 a month covers 1 million events across 20 sites. Toolfound measures its own traffic with a self-hosted Umami instance.
Pros
- Free cloud plan with 100,000 events a month
- Funnels, journeys and retention included
- MIT licensed and easy to self-host
Cons
- Free cloud plan is one site with 6 months of data
- Self-hosting means running PostgreSQL and updates
- Session replays and heatmaps need the $200 Business plan in the cloud
3. Pirsch Analytics
Pirsch is a cookieless analytics service hosted in Germany with the lowest entry price here: $6 a month for 10,000 pageviews across up to 50 websites. That makes it a good fit for founders with several small projects. Custom events count toward the pageview limit, and self-hosting is only offered on Enterprise.
Pros
- $6 a month covers up to 50 sites
- Cookieless and EU hosted, per the vendor
- Built-in URL shortener and Google Analytics import
Cons
- No free plan
- Self-hosting only on Enterprise
- Dashboard access is restricted after you pass the pageview limit
4. Fathom Analytics
Fathom starts higher but includes far more: $15 a month covers 100,000 pageviews across 50 sites, with events, revenue tracking, UTM reports and an API on every plan. EU visitor data is processed in the EU. It is not open source, and the trial asks for a card.
Pros
- 100,000 pageviews and 50 sites on the entry plan
- Events, revenue and API on every plan
- EU data isolation for EU visitors
Cons
- Card required for the 7-day trial
- No free plan
- Not open source
5. Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics is cookieless and hosted in the Netherlands, and unlike most tools here it has a free plan: five sites, one month of history and a required badge. Paid plans start at €20 a month for 100,000 pageviews with one user. Only its tracking scripts are open source.
Pros
- A free plan for up to 5 sites
- Cookieless and EU hosted, per the vendor
- 14-day trial of paid features, no card
Cons
- Free plan keeps one month of data and needs a badge
- Each extra user costs €20 a month
- Platform is not open source
6. PostHog
PostHog is product analytics, not just web analytics: events, funnels, session replay, feature flags, experiments and surveys in one tool, with a free monthly allowance of 1 million events and 5,000 recordings. It suits a SaaS that wants to see what users do inside the app. It sets a cookie by default; cookieless mode must be switched on and configured.
Pros
- Large free monthly allowance
- Replays, flags and experiments in one tool
- EU cloud hosted in Frankfurt; open core
Cons
- Not cookieless by default
- Much bigger than a pageview counter
- Free plan is one project
7. Cloudflare Web Analytics
Cloudflare Web Analytics is free and, per Cloudflare's docs, does not collect visitors' personal data. It shows visits, top pages, referrers and Core Web Vitals. It is a good free floor, especially if your DNS is already on Cloudflare, but the data is sampled, there are no custom events or goals worth the name, and ad blockers can block the snippet.
Pros
- Free, with no visitor personal data collected per its docs
- Core Web Vitals alongside traffic
- Works without proxying your site through Cloudflare
Cons
- Sampled data with little detail
- Not open source and no self-hosting
- Ten non-proxied sites per account
8. Matomo
Matomo is the closest open source equivalent to Google Analytics, with goals, ecommerce, segments and a free self-hosted edition, plus a cloud version hosted in Germany. It is not cookieless out of the box: Matomo's own FAQ explains that consent-free use needs a privacy-focused configuration and depends on local law. Its cloud price showed without a currency symbol on the day we checked.
Pros
- Full featured, close to Google Analytics
- Free self-hosted edition with no hit limits
- Cloud hosted in Germany
Cons
- Needs configuration to avoid a consent banner
- More complex than single-page tools
- Heatmaps and funnels are paid plugins on self-hosted
9. Google Analytics 4
Google Analytics 4 is free, scales to any traffic and connects to Google Ads and Search Console. It is included as the baseline. It uses cookies, and Google's own help pages say you must inform users and let them grant or deny consent where the law requires, which in the EU means a banner and fewer counted visits.
Pros
- Free at any traffic level
- Deep integration with Google Ads
- Most tutorials and hires know it
Cons
- Cookies and consent required in the EU, per Google's own guidance
- Complex interface for simple questions
- Not open source and no self-hosting
Common questions
What is the best free Google Analytics alternative?
Umami: its cloud Hobby plan is free for 100,000 events a month on one site, and self-hosting is free without limits. Cloudflare Web Analytics is free with sampled data. Simple Analytics has a free plan with one month of history, and PostHog's free allowance is 1 million events a month.
Do privacy-friendly analytics tools need a cookie banner?
Plausible, Umami, Pirsch, Fathom and Simple Analytics describe themselves as cookieless and say no consent banner is needed for their analytics. Whether that holds for your site depends on your jurisdiction and setup. Matomo and PostHog need configuration, and Google Analytics uses cookies.
Which analytics tools can I self-host?
Plausible Community Edition, Umami, Matomo On-Premise and PostHog can be self-hosted. Pirsch offers on-premise installs on its Enterprise plan. Fathom, Simple Analytics, Cloudflare Web Analytics and Google Analytics are hosted only.
What does analytics cost at 10,000 pageviews a month?
On 10 October 2026: Umami's cloud Hobby plan was free, Pirsch $6 a month, Plausible $9 a month, and Fathom $15 a month for up to 100,000. Simple Analytics' paid plans start at €20 for 100,000. Cloudflare and Google Analytics are free.
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