# Fathom Analytics vs Simple Analytics (2026)

By Noah — last updated & pricing verified October 23, 2026.

> **Verdict:** Choose Fathom Analytics if you want permanent data retention, 50 sites per account, and unlimited event and ecommerce tracking, from about $15/month. Choose Simple Analytics if you want a free plan with unlimited pageviews under fair use, EU-hosted data with no IP address collection, and exports to Looker Studio or Power BI. The deciding factor is data history: Fathom keeps data permanently on every plan, while Simple Analytics keeps 30 days on Free Forever and 1 month on its $20/month Self-Serve plan.

**Choose Fathom Analytics if:** You need permanent data retention rather than Simple Analytics' 30-day or 1-month history; You manage many sites and want 50 included, with extra 50-site packs at $10/month; You want unlimited event and ecommerce tracking included on every plan; You want the lower paid entry price: about $15/month versus $20/month for Simple Analytics Self-Serve; You want automatic bot filtering and an analytics API (600 requests/hour) on every plan

**Choose Simple Analytics if:** You want a free plan: Free Forever covers unlimited pageviews under fair use; You want all analytics data hosted in the EU by an Amsterdam-based company; You want no IP address collection at all, not just anonymization; You report in Looker Studio or Power BI and want direct exports; You need SSO, role-based access, and SOC 2 compliance (Enterprise, custom pricing)

## At a glance

|  | Fathom Analytics | Simple Analytics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pricing | From $15/mo | Free tier · paid from $20/mo |
| License | Paid | Freemium |
| Best for | website owners who want GDPR/CCPA-compliant analytics without cookie-consent banners and don't need Google Analytics' behavioral-targeting depth | privacy-conscious teams and EU-based companies that want cookieless, consent-banner-free analytics and EU-hosted data storage |
| Ratings | — | Capterra 4.8/5 (46 reviews) · Product Hunt 5/5 (6 reviews) |

## Feature comparison

| Feature | Fathom Analytics | Simple Analytics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starting price | Yes (from about $15/mo (pageview-based)) | Yes (free plan; Self-Serve from $20/mo) |
| Free tier | No (7-day free trial only) | Yes (Free Forever, unlimited pageviews under fair use) |
| Price at higher volume | Yes ($45/mo for up to 500,000 pageviews) | Partial (slider from 100k to 2.5M pageviews; higher prices not listed) |
| Annual billing discount | Yes (two months free) | Yes (two months free) |
| Data retention | Yes (permanent on every plan) | Partial (30 days (Free), 1 month (Self-Serve)) |
| Websites included | Yes (50 sites, then $10/mo per 50-site pack) | Partial (5 websites (Self-Serve)) |
| Users included | Unknown | Partial (1 user, $20/mo per extra user) |
| Platforms | Yes (web) | Yes (web) |
| License | No (proprietary, paid) | No (proprietary, freemium) |
| Cookie-free tracking | Yes (no cookies, IP addresses anonymized) | Yes (no cookies, fingerprinting, or IP collection) |
| Data hosting | Unknown | Yes (EU-hosted) |
| Event and ecommerce tracking | Yes (unlimited on every plan) | Partial (events and campaign data; ecommerce not listed) |
| API access | Yes (analytics API, 600 requests/hour) | Yes (Stats, Export, and Admin APIs) |
| BI tool export | Unknown | Yes (Looker Studio and Power BI) |
| SSO and SOC 2 | Unknown | Yes (Enterprise, with raw data export (custom pricing)) |
| Bot filtering | Yes (automatic) | Unknown |
| External rating (Capterra) | Unknown | Yes (4.8/5 from 46 reviews) |

## Fathom Analytics vs Simple Analytics pricing: which costs less?

Simple Analytics costs less for small sites, because its Free Forever plan covers unlimited pageviews under fair use while Fathom Analytics has no free tier, but among paid plans Fathom starts lower at about $15/month against $20/month for Simple Analytics Self-Serve.

Fathom Analytics scales by pageviews to $45/month at 500,000 pageviews, includes 50 sites with extra 50-site packs at $10/month, and says it never runs discounts. Simple Analytics Self-Serve scales on a slider from 100k to 2.5M pageviews and includes 5 websites and 1 user, with each extra user at $20/month, so a three-person team pays $60/month at the entry pageview level. Both vendors give two months free on annual billing. Simple Analytics Enterprise is custom-priced.

## Which keeps data longer, Fathom Analytics or Simple Analytics?

Fathom Analytics keeps data far longer, with permanent data retention on every plan, while Simple Analytics keeps 30 days of history on Free Forever and 1 month on the paid Self-Serve plan.

Simple Analytics offers Stats, Export, and Admin APIs and exports to Looker Studio and Power BI, so teams can move data elsewhere, but full raw data export is reserved for the custom-priced Enterprise plan. Fathom Analytics needs no export to compare this year with last year, since every plan keeps data with no forced expiry. Fathom's analytics API is capped at 600 requests/hour, which can constrain heavy programmatic use.

## Is Simple Analytics more private than Fathom Analytics?

Simple Analytics is slightly stricter on paper, since Simple Analytics collects no IP addresses and hosts all data in the EU, while Fathom Analytics anonymizes IP addresses; both track without cookies and say they need no consent banner.

Fathom Analytics avoids cookies and individual tracking and positions itself for GDPR, CCPA, and ePrivacy compliance. Simple Analytics, an Amsterdam-based company founded in 2018, avoids cookies, fingerprinting, and IP collection and cites GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliance, with SOC 2 compliance on its Enterprise plan. Simple Analytics also estimates that cookieless tracking recovers the 20-60% of traffic Google Analytics 4 misses when visitors decline consent.

## Which is better for agencies and multi-site owners, Fathom Analytics or Simple Analytics?

Fathom Analytics is better for agencies and multi-site owners, with 50 sites included and unlimited event and ecommerce tracking on every plan, while Simple Analytics Self-Serve includes 5 websites and 1 user.

Fathom Analytics reports more than 1 million websites using the service, including IBM, GitHub, and Bootstrap, and its 2kB script installs on WordPress, Next.js, Vue.js, Drupal, Webflow, and Gatsby. Simple Analytics suits smaller teams that want a one-page dashboard with no configuration, and its Enterprise plan adds team reporting, SSO, role-based access, and priority support. Simple Analytics is run by a team of 2-10 employees, which narrows its feature roadmap.

## Strengths and weaknesses

### Fathom Analytics

- Pro: No cookies or individual tracking, positioned to avoid the need for a cookie-consent banner under GDPR/CCPA.
- Pro: Single 2kB script installs in one line across WordPress, Next.js, Vue.js, Webflow, and other frameworks.
- Pro: Unlimited ecommerce and event tracking included on every plan at no extra cost.
- Pro: Permanent data retention with no forced data expiry.
- Con: No free tier; pricing starts around $15/month with no way to try it beyond a 7-day trial.
- Con: Company states it never offers discounts or promotional pricing, unlike most SaaS competitors.
- Con: Analytics API is capped at 600 requests/hour, which can constrain heavy programmatic use.
- Con: Pricing is pageview-based, so traffic spikes (a viral post, a launch day) can push a site into a higher-cost bracket unexpectedly.

### Simple Analytics

- Pro: No cookie consent banner required, since tracking is cookieless and collects no personal data.
- Pro: EU-hosted infrastructure with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliance built in.
- Pro: Free Forever plan offers unlimited pageviews under fair use, not just a time-limited trial.
- Pro: Simple one-page dashboard requires no configuration to start seeing data.
- Con: Self-Serve plan retains only 1 month of data history.
- Con: Additional team members cost $20/month each on top of the base Self-Serve price.
- Con: Raw data export, SSO, and SOC 2 compliance require the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
- Con: Small team (2-10 employees) means a narrower feature roadmap than Google Analytics or larger competitors.

## Which fits your use case?

| Use case | Pick | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blogger who wants free, cookieless analytics | Simple Analytics | Simple Analytics Free Forever covers unlimited pageviews under fair use; Fathom Analytics has no free tier. |
| Business that compares traffic year over year | Fathom Analytics | Fathom Analytics keeps data permanently; Simple Analytics keeps 30 days on Free and 1 month on Self-Serve. |
| Agency managing dozens of client sites | Fathom Analytics | Fathom includes 50 sites with extra 50-site packs at $10/month, while Simple Analytics Self-Serve includes 5 websites. |
| EU company that wants analytics data hosted in the EU | Simple Analytics | Simple Analytics hosts all data in the EU; the Fathom listing data does not state a hosting region. |
| Analyst who reports in Looker Studio or Power BI | Simple Analytics | Simple Analytics exports directly to Looker Studio and Power BI; the Fathom data lists an API but no BI exports. |
| Online store tracking ecommerce conversions | Fathom Analytics | Fathom Analytics includes unlimited ecommerce and event tracking on every plan; the Simple Analytics data does not mention ecommerce tracking. |

## Migration FAQ

### Should I use Fathom Analytics or Simple Analytics?

Use Fathom Analytics if you need permanent data retention, many sites per account, and ecommerce tracking from about $15/month; use Simple Analytics if you want a free plan, EU-hosted data with no IP collection, and Looker Studio or Power BI exports.

### Is Fathom Analytics cheaper than Simple Analytics?

Not for small sites — Simple Analytics has a Free Forever plan with unlimited pageviews under fair use, while Fathom Analytics has no free tier. On paid plans, Fathom starts lower at about $15/month versus $20/month for Simple Analytics Self-Serve, which also charges $20/month for each extra user.

### Can Simple Analytics replace Fathom Analytics?

Yes for basic cookieless traffic stats, since Simple Analytics tracks pageviews, events, referrers, and campaigns without cookies or a consent banner. Outside Enterprise, Simple Analytics keeps only 30 days to 1 month of history and includes 5 websites on Self-Serve, where Fathom keeps data permanently and includes 50 sites.

### Does Simple Analytics have a free plan?

Yes — Simple Analytics' Free Forever plan covers unlimited pageviews under a fair use policy with 30 days of data history. Fathom Analytics offers only a 7-day free trial.

### Do Fathom Analytics and Simple Analytics need a cookie banner?

No, according to both vendors — Fathom Analytics and Simple Analytics track without cookies, and each says this removes the need for a consent banner under GDPR. Simple Analytics also collects no IP addresses, while Fathom anonymizes them.

## Neither a match?

- 5 alternatives to Fathom Analytics: https://findalternative.to/fathom-analytics
- 5 alternatives to Simple Analytics: https://findalternative.to/simple-analytics

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