Google Analytics alternatives: Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics and Matomo compared (2026)

The quick answer

Google Analytics 4 is free and powerful, and it is the right pick if you run Google Ads. The alternatives exist for a different reason: they skip cookies, keep data in the EU or on your own server, and show a one-page dashboard instead of GA4’s report menus. Most of them charge a monthly fee.

For a typical small business site, the realistic choices are Plausible from $9 a month, Fathom from $15, Simple Analytics free or from $20, and Matomo, which is free if you host it yourself.

Why people look for Google Analytics alternatives

• Cookies and consent. GA4 sets cookies, and Google’s US terms require you to post a privacy policy that explains them and to get consent where the law requires it, per the Google Analytics Terms of Service. With a banner, GA4 may collect nothing until a visitor says yes.
• Simplicity. Many owners only want visitors, top pages, sources and a few conversions.
• Data location. Some businesses with European customers prefer EU-hosted analytics because of the GDPR.
• History. GA4’s free version keeps user-level and event-level data for 2 or 14 months, a setting that affects explorations and funnel reports, not standard reports, according to Google’s data retention help page.

None of that makes GA4 a bad choice. It is free, it links to Google Ads and Search Console, and its consent mode lets it model visitors who decline cookies. Our Google Analytics setup guide covers it step by step.

Side by side

Price by traffic

All four paid tools price by monthly pageviews. Here is what each vendor publishes for the tiers a small site is likely to hit, billed monthly.

Plausible’s higher tiers and Simple Analytics’ upper slider steps don’t appear in the page text we could read, so check the slider on each pricing page for your traffic. All three give 2 months free if you pay yearly.

The tools, one by one

Plausible

Plausible’s pricing page starts at $9 a month for one site and up to 10,000 monthly pageviews. Growth is $14 (up to 3 sites) and Business $19 (up to 10 sites, with funnels and revenue tracking). There is a 30-day trial with no card. Its plan docs say you are never charged extra for an occasional spike; after two months in a row over your limit, it asks you to upgrade and locks the dashboard a week later if you don’t, while still collecting data.

The data policy says “We don’t use cookies or generate persistent visitor identifiers,” that data is stored in the EU, and that “you do not need cookie banners for analytics.” The company is incorporated in Estonia, and its code is open source.

Right for: a single small business site that wants the cheapest paid option.

Fathom

Fathom’s pricing page starts at $15 a month for up to 100,000 pageviews and includes 50 sites, then $25 for 200,000 and $45 for 500,000. Extra sites come in packs of 50 for $10 a month. The 7-day trial needs a card. Fathom is cookieless.

On data, Fathom’s EU isolation page says EU visitors’ pageviews are processed on European servers, where the IP address is removed, and the anonymized results are stored on US infrastructure. Fathom describes itself as a Canadian corporation.

Right for: owners with several sites, since 50 are included.

Simple Analytics

Simple Analytics, based in Amsterdam, has a free plan for hobby sites: 1 user, 5 websites and the latest month of data, with a Simple Analytics badge required, per its pricing page. The paid Simple plan starts at $20 a month at 100,000 pageviews, plus $20 a month per extra user. It uses no cookies and keeps data in the EU, mainly the Netherlands, unless you turn on a feature that needs otherwise, such as its AI assistant.

Right for: a side project that only needs this month’s numbers, or EU-focused businesses.

Matomo

Matomo is open source and comes two ways, per its pricing page. On-Premise Community is free forever with unlimited users and hits on your own server. Matomo Cloud starts at 29 a month excluding tax for 50,000 hits, shown without a currency symbol, so confirm the currency at checkout. Cloud data is stored in Frankfurt, Germany.

On WordPress, the free Matomo for WordPress plugin keeps all data in your own database. It warns that it “can use significant resources,” recommends 256M of PHP memory and says Matomo 6 will need PHP 8.1 and MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6. For busy sites it points you to On-Premise or Cloud instead.

Right for: owners who want GA-style depth and full control of their data, and have decent web hosting.

Which one should you pick?

• You run Google Ads or Shopping campaigns: keep GA4. It is free and built for Google’s ad tools. Add consent mode so it can model visitors who decline.
• One small site, under 10,000 pageviews: Plausible Starter is the cheapest paid option at $9 a month.
• Several small sites: Fathom’s $15 plan covers 50 sites under one 100,000-pageview allowance.
• A hobby or side project: Simple Analytics Free, if a month of history is enough.
• You want the data on your own server: Matomo On-Premise or the Matomo plugin for WordPress, if your hosting can handle the extra load.
• You sell mostly to Europe: Plausible and Simple Analytics both say visitor data stays in the EU.

Whatever you pick, set it up before you redesign or move your site, so you have a “before” number to compare against. Analytics history doesn’t carry over between tools, and a switch is a fresh start.

What it costs over 3 years

Take a small business site under 10,000 pageviews a month. On WordPress with Bluehost Starter, the site itself costs $432.60 over 3 years ($143.64 hosting, $36.96 domain, $252 for one Google Workspace inbox).

Paying yearly takes 2 months off each year. That works out to $270 for Plausible, $450 for Fathom and $600 for Simple Analytics over 3 years. On a Squarespace or Wix site at $1,332.96 over 3 years, add the same amounts.

Weigh that against a paid cookie banner. If cookieless analytics is your only tracking, you may not need a consent tool for analytics at all; if you run ad pixels, you still need one. Our cookie consent banner guide covers those prices.

Does cookieless analytics mean no cookie banner?

Plausible and Fathom both say their analytics don’t need a cookie banner. That covers the analytics script only. If the same site runs a Meta Pixel, Google Ads tags or embedded video that sets cookies, those still need an opt-out for US state laws and consent for EU visitors. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can you run two at once?

Yes. Many owners keep GA4 for Google Ads and add a cookieless tool for a full count of visitors who decline cookies. The numbers won’t match. Each tool counts differently, and GA4 may record nothing for visitors who decline consent under basic consent mode.

How to switch

1. Sign up and add your domain. Each tool gives you one line of script.
2. Add the script. On WordPress, use the vendor’s plugin or a header code plugin. We build on WordPress every week, and a header script is a two-minute job. On Squarespace, the header box is under Website Tools, Code Injection. Other builders have a similar custom code setting.
3. Set up goals. Track the form, booking or purchase that brings in money.
4. Run both for a month before you remove GA4, so you can see how the numbers compare.
5. Update your privacy policy to name the new tool.

What to do next

• Keeping GA4? Follow our Google Analytics setup guide.
• Pair analytics with Search Console to see which searches bring visitors, and read our SEO guide.
• Running ads? See websites and Google Ads for conversion tracking.
• Check the banner rules in our cookie consent guide.