How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Google Analytics 4 is free at any traffic level, but it uses cookies and needs a consent banner for EU visitors, so free does not mean banner free.
- Cookieless tools such as Plausible, Fathom, Umami, and Simple Analytics need no consent banner in most regions, and they track visitors who decline cookie banners.
- Self hosting is free apart from server costs: Matomo Community, Plausible Community Edition, and Umami all offer free self hosted options with full data ownership.
- Free tiers cap events, sites, or retention, with Umami Hobby at 100,000 events a month for 1 site and PostHog and Mixpanel at 1 million events a month.
- Privacy is a legal duty, not a feature: get visitor consent where required, follow GDPR and CCPA rules, anonymize where offered, and disclose data transfers in your privacy policy.
Quick comparison
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We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Google Analytics 4 is the free standard for website visitor tracking, with traffic, event, funnel, and audience reporting at any traffic level, per Google's own wording, plus integrations with Google Ads and Search Console. The paid tier is Analytics 360, a separate enterprise product sold by quote at a reported 50,000 dollars a year, so the standard property suits most sites free. For teams that need deep reporting without paying, GA4 remains unmatched on features.
The limits are privacy and retention. GA4 sets cookies and sends data to Google servers in the US, which counts as personal data processing under GDPR, so EU visitors must consent before GA4 fires, and several EU authorities have previously ruled GA4 transfers violated GDPR. Data retention caps at 14 months, and Explorations sample above about 10 million events. GA4 fits sites that accept consent banners and want the deepest free reporting.
What we like- Free at any traffic level
- Deepest traffic and event reporting
- Google Ads and Search Console integrations
Watch out for- Uses cookies and needs a consent banner for EU visitors
- 14 month maximum data retention
- Sampling in Explorations above about 10 million events
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Cloudflare Web Analytics gives free basic traffic stats without cookies, measuring pageviews, visitors, and referrers with a lightweight script that does not set cookies. For sites that need simple traffic numbers without consent banners or complex setup, Cloudflare is the easiest free option, especially for sites already on Cloudflare. No paid tier is needed for basic traffic tracking.
The trade off is depth. Metrics stay basic, with no product analytics, funnels, or deep custom event reporting. Cloudflare fits sites that want free, cookieless, basic traffic numbers without a consent banner.
What we like- Free
- Cookieless by default
- Lightweight script
- No consent banner needed in most regions
Watch out for- Basic traffic metrics only
- No product analytics or funnels
- Limited custom events
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Matomo On-Premise is the most established open source Google Analytics alternative, with more than one million installs and a 15 year track record, offering a completely free self hosted core with goals, funnels, ecommerce tracking, custom dimensions, and detailed audience reports. For regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, and government, self hosting means all raw event data stays on your own infrastructure with no third party processing. Cloud hosting runs about 22 euros a month for 50,000 hits in some listings, or 26 dollars a month in others, with a 21 day trial.
The limits are setup effort and cookieless configuration. Self hosting needs server setup, updates, and backups, the interface is denser than Plausible, and Matomo is not cookieless by default, so budget time to configure cookieless mode. Matomo fits enterprises and regulated teams that need full data ownership with GA style reporting.
What we like- Free self hosted with full featured core
- Near complete Universal Analytics parity
- Goals, funnels, and ecommerce tracking
- Full data ownership
Watch out for- Self hosting needs server setup and maintenance
- Interface denser than Plausible
- Not cookieless by default, needs configuration
#4Umami
Best for: Simple self hosted or hobby cloud4.5/5 on
G2 (6 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit umami.is
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Umami is the simplest self hosted analytics tool, open source under the MIT licence, cookieless by default, and easy to install without a tag manager. The Hobby cloud plan is free at 100,000 events a month for 1 site, while Pro runs 20 dollars a month for 1 million events. For indie developers and small sites that want privacy first tracking without Matomo complexity, Umami is the cleanest free route.
The trade off is caps and depth. Hobby caps at 1 site and 100,000 events, and reporting is simpler than Matomo or GA4. Umami fits indie sites and small teams that want free, simple, cookieless tracking with self hosting as an option.
What we like- Free self hosted under MIT licence
- Hobby cloud free at 100,000 events a month for 1 site
- Cookieless
- Simplest stack among self hosted tools
Watch out for- Hobby caps at 1 site and 100,000 events
- Pro at 20 dollars a month for 1 million events
- Simpler reporting than Matomo
#5Plausible
Best for: Cleanest GA replacement, self hosted free4.8/5 on
G2 (3 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit plausible.io
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Plausible is the cleanest Google Analytics replacement, with a single page dashboard, cookieless tracking that needs no consent banner in most regions, and EU hosting on European owned infrastructure. The Community Edition is free and open source under the AGPL for self hosting, while cloud pricing starts at 9 dollars a month for 10,000 pageviews after a 30 day trial. Plausible also offers a native Shopify integration for revenue, orders, and conversion tracking without cookies.
The limits are cloud cost and reporting depth. Cloud use needs a paid plan after trial, and reporting is simpler than GA4. Plausible fits sites that want a clean, privacy first GA replacement and can self host free or pay 9 dollars a month for cloud.
What we like- Cleanest GA replacement dashboard
- Cookieless with no banner needed in most regions
- Community Edition free self hosted
- EU hosted cloud
Watch out for- Cloud needs paid plan after 30 day trial, from 9 dollars a month for 10,000 pageviews
- Self hosting needs server setup
- Simpler reporting than GA4
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Simple Analytics is an EU owned and EU hosted privacy first tool that collects no personal data or visitor IDs, with a free hobby plan and a 14 day self serve trial. Self serve pricing runs 20 dollars a month for 100,000 pageviews. Its parallel GA4 comparison shows traffic missing after consent rejection, which helps teams quantify how much GA4 undercounts when visitors decline banners, sometimes 30 to 60 percent of EU traffic.
The limits are price and depth. Self serve pricing exceeds Plausible entry, and reporting is simpler than GA4. Simple Analytics fits EU focused sites that want privacy first traffic with no personal data collection.
What we like- EU owned and hosted
- No personal data or visitor IDs
- Free hobby plan
- Parallel GA4 comparison for consent rejected traffic
Watch out for- Self serve from 20 dollars a month for 100,000 pageviews
- Simpler reporting than GA4
- Smaller community than Plausible
#7PostHog
Best for: Product plus web analytics free tier4.5/5 on
G2 (1,053 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit posthog.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
PostHog combines product and web analytics with session replay, funnels, and feature flags, and its free tier covers 1 million events a month plus 5,000 recordings, which suits SaaS products that need behavior data beyond pageviews. A hobby self hosted option exists for teams that want data control. For SaaS teams that need funnels, retention, and replay alongside traffic stats, PostHog's free tier is the most generous here.
The trade off is privacy configuration and setup. PostHog uses cookies or device IDs by default, so EU visitors need consent, and setup is heavier than traffic only tools. PostHog fits SaaS products that need product analytics with a generous free tier and engineering capacity for setup.
What we like- Free tier with 1 million events a month plus 5,000 recordings
- Product and web analytics plus session replay
- Self hosted hobby option
Watch out for- Cookies or device IDs by default, so EU visitors need consent
- Usage based pricing after free tier
- Setup heavier than traffic tools
#8Mixpanel
Best for: Product analytics free tier4.5/5 on
G2 (1,375 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit mixpanel.com
Starting priceFree
Free planYes
Mixpanel is a product analytics tool with a free tier covering 1 million events a month, plus funnel, retention, and cohort reporting that answers what users do inside a product, where funnels drop, and which features retain. Cookies are configurable, and Growth pricing is usage based after the free tier. For SaaS teams that need behavior analytics rather than traffic counts, Mixpanel's free tier covers substantial volume.
The limits are hosting and traffic depth. Mixpanel is SaaS only with no self hosting, and traffic reporting is lighter than GA4. Mixpanel fits SaaS teams that need free product analytics with strong funnel and retention reporting.
What we like- Free tier with 1 million events a month
- Strong funnel and retention reporting
- Configurable cookies
Watch out for- SaaS only, no self hosting
- Usage based Growth pricing after free tier
- Traffic reporting lighter than GA4
How we chose
We compared published pricing pages and third party analytics comparisons from October 2026, recording free tier limits and cookie behavior rather than headline claims. We favored tools with genuine free tiers or free self hosting, and we flagged where Plausible cloud needs a paid plan after trial while its Community Edition stays free. We weighed privacy architecture heavily, since cookieless tools track visitors who decline banners while GA4 undercounts them, and we treated consent and data ownership as baseline requirements.
Start with privacy: if EU visitors matter, choose a cookieless tool such as Plausible, Umami, Simple Analytics, or Cloudflare, or configure Matomo cookieless mode, and add a consent banner for GA4, PostHog, or Mixpanel. Next, check free tier caps against your traffic: Umami Hobby covers 100,000 events for 1 site, while PostHog and Mixpanel cover 1 million events. Then decide between self hosting for data ownership and cloud for convenience, budgeting server time for self hosted options. Finally, install one tool and verify data for a week before switching, since tracking gaps during migration lose history. A tool that fits your privacy, volume, and hosting needs will give accurate traffic data without legal surprises.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Analytics really free?
Yes. The standard GA4 property is free at any traffic level, while Analytics 360 is a separate enterprise product sold by quote at a reported 50,000 dollars a year, though GA4 limits retention to 14 months.
Do I need a cookie banner with free analytics tools?
With GA4, Mixpanel, and PostHog by default, yes for EU visitors, since they use cookies or device IDs, while Plausible, Fathom, Umami, and Simple Analytics need no banner in most regions because they are cookieless.
Can I self host website analytics free?
Yes. Matomo Community, Plausible Community Edition, and Umami are all free to self host, with server costs replacing subscription fees, plus time for updates and backups.
Which free analytics tool is most privacy friendly?
Plausible, Umami, Simple Analytics, and Cloudflare lead on privacy with cookieless tracking and no personal data collection, while Matomo self hosted leads on data ownership.
How much traffic do free tiers cover?
Umami Hobby covers 100,000 events a month for 1 site, PostHog and Mixpanel cover 1 million events a month, and GA4 and Cloudflare cover traffic free without event caps in their standard tiers.
What is the difference between web analytics and product analytics?
Web analytics such as GA4, Plausible, and Fathom answer traffic questions, while product analytics such as Mixpanel and PostHog answer behavior questions inside a product, and most SaaS companies eventually run one of each.
Sources we checked (0)
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.
Google Analytics 4
Cloudflare Web Analytics
Matomo On-Premise
Simple Analytics