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comparison / 08 — updated may 2026

PlausiblevsFathom

Two privacy-first, cookieless web analytics tools that emerged in opposition to Google Analytics. They look almost identical from a feature list. The real differences hide in pricing model, hosting story, and whose value system you'd rather buy.

model
Plausibleopen source · self-host or hosted
Fathomhosted only · proprietary
pricing
Plausiblefrom $9/mo · 10k pv
Fathomfrom $14/mo · 100k pv
free tier
Plausibleself-hosted free · 30-day cloud trial
Fathom30-day cloud trial
updated
May 2026
Skip to verdictSee pricing →
verdict.txt — comparisons/plausible-vs-fathom.mdhonest
$cat verdict.txt

Pick Plausible if you want the option to self-host or you appreciate open-source values. Pick Fathom if you want the most polished hosted experience and a slightly cleaner UI for non-technical stakeholders.

Updated May 2026read the full reasoning →
scoreboard / at a glance

At a glance

One row per dimension, the values side-by-side. The olive dot marks the clear winner for that dimension when there is one — most rows are a wash, and that’s the point.

Plausible Insights OÜ

Plausible

Open-source, privacy-first web analytics. Cookieless, GDPR-compliant by default. Hosted EU instance or self-host on your own infra.

Conva Ventures

Fathom

Privacy-first web analytics. Hosted only, on the founders' own infrastructure. Polished dashboard, simple pricing, indie-business-friendly.

Open sourcePlausible is the only one of the two you can run on your own server.
yes · AGPL · self-hostable
no · proprietary
Pricing modelPlausible is cheaper at every comparable tier; the gap widens at scale.
tier-based by pageviews · $9 → $19 → $69+
tier-based by pageviews · $14 → $44 → $94+
Pageviews on entry tierFathom's entry tier includes 10× the pageviews. For sites just over 10k/mo, Fathom's $14 beats Plausible's next tier ($19).
10k/mo on $9 plan
100k/mo on $14 plan
Privacy postureBoth are equivalent on privacy. Both ship the cookie-free banner-free pitch.
no cookies · GDPR/CCPA/PECR compliant
no cookies · GDPR/CCPA/PECR compliant
Dashboard / UXFathom's dashboard is the prettier one. Both are fast and clear.
clean · functional · slightly utilitarian
polished · designer-focused · easier to share
Multi-siteBoth let you track unlimited domains within the pageview budget.
unlimited sites on all plans
unlimited sites on all plans
Custom events / goalsBoth support custom event tracking. Slight UX differences but feature parity.
first-class · custom events + funnels
first-class · events + goals
Email reportsFathom's email reports are nicer to look at; both convey the same info.
weekly summary · per-site
weekly summary · per-site · slicker layout
API accessSelf-hosted Plausible gives you direct database access for custom queries.
REST API · stats API · self-host gives you direct DB
REST API · stats API
Data locationBoth are away from US data sovereignty if that matters. Pick whichever matches your residency requirements.
EU (hosted) · anywhere (self-host)
Canada · always
pricing / three scenarios

Pricing at three scales

Three receipts, three scales. The line items are the same; the prices move. Every number is from the public May 2026 pricing page — we round to the nearest dollar but don’t invent.

hobby.txt — 5k pageviews/mo · personal sitemonthly
LINE ITEMPlausibleFathom
AnalyticsGrowth · 10k pv$9Starter · 100k pv$14
TOTAL · monthly$9/mo$14/mo
>Plausible's $9 entry tier is the cheapest hosted option. Fathom's $14 entry includes 10× the pageviews, which doesn't matter at 5k/mo. If you're sure you'll stay under 10k pv, Plausible wins. If you're growing, Fathom's headroom is worth the $5.
side project.txt — 50k pageviews/mo · paying customers · multiple sitesmonthly
LINE ITEMPlausibleFathom
AnalyticsGrowth+ · 100k pv$19Starter · 100k pv$14
TOTAL · monthly$19/mo$14/mo
>At 50k pageviews Fathom is cheaper because of the larger entry-tier headroom. Both let you track unlimited sites within the budget. The price difference ($5/mo) is small enough that the choice usually comes down to which dashboard you prefer.
scale.txt — 1M pageviews/mo · production · marketing site + productmonthly
LINE ITEMPlausibleFathom
AnalyticsBusiness · 1M pv$69Pro · 1M pv$94
TOTAL · monthly$69/mo$94/mo
>At 1M pageviews Plausible is meaningfully cheaper ($300/year savings). For a content marketing site at this scale, that's real money. The Fathom premium buys you a slightly nicer dashboard and a slightly more polished experience — worth it for some, not for others. At this scale, self-hosted Plausible (free + your own VPS at ~$15/mo) is also a real option.
features / deep dives

Feature by feature

One row per feature, both tools described in plain language, the honest tradeoff at the bottom. Most rows have legitimate uses for both — the goal is to surface the differences that matter, not to declare a winner on every line.

01

Privacy & compliance

what you can tell your DPO
Plausible

Plausible was built with GDPR in mind from day one. No cookies, no IP storage, no fingerprinting, no cross-site tracking. The data model is event-based and aggregated — you can't 'see what user X did' even if you wanted to. EU-hosted by default; self-hosted gives you full data residency control.

Fathom

Fathom's privacy posture is equivalent: cookieless, no fingerprinting, GDPR/CCPA/PECR compliant. Hosted on the founders' own infrastructure in Canada (away from US data sovereignty). The marketing leans heavily on 'we don't sell your data' as a values pitch.

Honest tradeoff

Functionally equivalent. Both let you remove the cookie banner from your site. Both have the documentation your DPO needs. Don't pick on privacy — they're tied.

02

Self-hosting

running it on your own infra
Plausible

Plausible Community Edition is open source under AGPL. Docker Compose deploys in 10 minutes on a $5 VPS. You get the full feature set (some advanced features are paid-only on the hosted version). Most teams that self-host stay within the $5–$15/mo VPS budget for any volume up to ~5M pageviews/mo.

Fathom

Fathom does not offer self-hosting and never has. The product is hosted-only by design — the founders are explicit that this is part of their business model, not a roadmap item that's coming someday. If you need self-hosting, Fathom is not in the running.

Honest tradeoff

Self-hosting is the single biggest functional difference between the two. If you ever expect to need it (compliance, cost-at-scale, philosophical preference), Plausible is the only realistic answer.

03

Dashboard / reports

the part you actually look at
Plausible

Plausible's dashboard is dense and functional — top pages, sources, locations, devices, all on one screen with date-range and filter controls. The default view answers 95% of analytics questions. Custom dashboards are not a feature; the assumption is the default works.

Fathom

Fathom's dashboard is more designed — softer typography, more whitespace, share-via-link reports for sending to clients or stakeholders. The information density is similar, but the UX feels more 'polished' and less 'technical.' Embeddable reports for client work are a real differentiator.

Honest tradeoff

If you're sharing analytics with non-technical stakeholders (clients, executives, marketing teams), Fathom's polish helps. If you're a solo dev or technical team, Plausible's dense default is more efficient.

04

Custom events & funnels

tracking signups, purchases, conversions
Plausible

Plausible supports custom events via a JavaScript API: plausible('Signup'). You can attach properties for filtering. Goals are events you've configured to show up in the dashboard. Funnels (multi-step conversion paths) are a paid-tier feature.

Fathom

Fathom supports events via plausible-style API: fathom.trackEvent('Signup'). Goals can have monetary values attached, which is genuinely useful for SaaS — your dashboard can show 'free signups → paid conversion → revenue.' Funnels are similar to Plausible's.

Honest tradeoff

Both work and feature-parity is close. Fathom's monetary-value-on-goals is the small but real differentiator — useful if you're tracking revenue per source.

05

Multi-site management

tracking many domains in one account
Plausible

Plausible lets you add unlimited sites within your pageview budget. Sites are organized in a single dashboard with a switcher; per-site team access controls are available on Business+ tiers.

Fathom

Fathom is the same — unlimited sites within the pageview budget, single dashboard switcher, per-site sharing. Slight UX differences in the site list view but functionally equivalent.

Honest tradeoff

Both work the same way. If you manage many client sites, either is fine; Fathom's per-site share-via-link is slightly nicer for client work.

06

API & data export

getting your data out
Plausible

Plausible's stats API returns aggregated metrics for any date range, filter, or breakdown. Self-hosted gives you direct database access — you can run any SQL query you want against the underlying ClickHouse. Hosted Plausible is API-only.

Fathom

Fathom's API returns the same kind of aggregated metrics. There's no underlying-database access (it's hosted-only), so you get only what the API exposes. Most use cases are covered.

Honest tradeoff

If you want to do custom analysis or pipe analytics into your data warehouse, self-hosted Plausible's direct DB access is unbeatable. For most teams, the hosted API is enough on either platform.

07

Email reports & alerts

automated summaries
Plausible

Plausible sends weekly email reports with top stats per site. You can also configure traffic-spike alerts (notify me if pageviews exceed X). The email design is functional rather than polished.

Fathom

Fathom sends weekly emails with the same content; the design is nicer (Fathom-branded, share-friendly). Spike alerts are similar. Customers occasionally forward Fathom emails to clients as 'here's how the site is doing this week,' which is intentional.

Honest tradeoff

Same info, different polish. If reports go to non-technical stakeholders, Fathom's email design is the small but visible win.

08

Migration story

switching from one to the other (or from Google Analytics)
Plausible

Migrating to either Plausible or Fathom from Google Analytics is the same process: install the new script, run both in parallel for a couple of weeks to validate that pageview counts agree, then remove GA. Historical GA data does not import — both tools start with day-one data and you keep the GA archive read-only.

Fathom

Switching between Plausible and Fathom is similar — install the new script, run both in parallel briefly, remove the old. Neither imports historical data from the other (different schemas, different aggregation).

Honest tradeoff

All migrations to/from these tools follow the same pattern. The only real switching cost is the loss of historical continuity — you'll have a gap or a re-baseline moment in your charts. Plan for it.

verdict / pick one

When to pick which

pick / plausible

Pick Plausible if…

  • You want the option to self-host — even if you don't use it day one, having the exit ramp matters.
  • Cost matters: at every tier, Plausible is cheaper than Fathom for similar pageview budgets.
  • Open-source values resonate — you're choosing tools partly on whether the code is auditable and forkable.
  • You're a developer or technical team — the dense default dashboard is fine for you.
  • You want direct database access for custom analysis (self-host only).
Try Plausible →
pick / fathom

Pick Fathom if…

  • You want the most polished hosted experience without thinking about infrastructure ever.
  • You share analytics with non-technical stakeholders (clients, marketing, execs) and the UI polish matters.
  • You're at the 10k–100k pv/mo range where Fathom's larger entry tier ($14 / 100k) beats Plausible's $19 tier.
  • You want monetary-value goals (track revenue per source directly in the dashboard).
  • You're an indie business and the 'support indie founders' values pitch resonates with you.
Try Fathom →
gotchas / observed

Gotchas, both directions

Common pitfalls visible in public docs and community discussion. None of these will stop you shipping; all of them will cost you an afternoon if you don’t know about them.

  • Plausible / pricing tiers

    Pricing jumps at 10k → 100k pageview boundary

    Plausible's $9 entry tier caps at 10k pageviews. The next tier is $19 for 100k. If you're at 11k pageviews, you pay the $19 tier — there's no graduated overage. Most teams hit this boundary the month after launching marketing efforts and feel the jump.

  • Fathom / no self-host

    If Fathom changes pricing, your only options are 'pay it' or 'migrate'

    Without a self-host option, your relationship with Fathom is hosted-or-leave. The team has historically been pricing-stable, but if your business depends on analytics being a fixed cost, the lack of an exit ramp is a real risk to weigh.

  • Plausible / SPA tracking

    Single-page apps need explicit page tracking

    If you're building a Next.js or React SPA, the Plausible script doesn't auto-track route changes — you wire it up via the plausible() API on every router event. Most SPA-router integrations have a one-line solution but it's a one-line solution you need to remember to add.

  • Fathom / overage handling

    Going over your tier sends an upgrade email, doesn't auto-upgrade

    If you exceed your pageview tier on Fathom, they keep tracking but send an email asking you to upgrade. If you don't, you risk getting throttled. Plausible's behavior is similar — set a calendar reminder to check usage, especially after launches or HN posts.

  • Plausible / event count

    Custom events count toward pageview limit

    Each custom event (signup, purchase, etc.) counts as a pageview against your tier. A site with heavy event tracking can blow past its tier even if actual page renders are modest. Track strategically; not every interaction needs to be an event.

  • Fathom / API rate limits

    Stats API has rate limits not always visible in docs

    If you're polling the Fathom API to build a custom dashboard or dataviz, the rate limits are tighter than Plausible's. Cache aggressively; don't hit the API on every dashboard page-load. Most users never notice; high-frequency integrations do.

migration / observed patterns

Migrating between them

Editorial framing only — we have not migrated either way ourselves. What follows is the pattern visible in public post-mortems, GitHub issue threads, and conference talks. Take it as observed-pattern, not lived experience.

Google Analytics ━▶ Plausible / Fathom

The most common migration in this space. Pattern: install the new script alongside GA, run both for 2–4 weeks to validate that pageview counts roughly agree (Plausible/Fathom counts are usually 10–30% lower because they don't include bot traffic that GA was counting), then remove GA. Historical GA data stays read-only in your GA account.

The hard part isn't technical — it's that you'll see lower numbers and need to explain them. The honest answer: 'we now have correct numbers, the GA numbers were inflated by bots and double-counts.' Some stakeholders take time to accept this. Pre-warn before the cutover.

Plausible ━▶ Fathom (or vice versa)

Less common, usually triggered by a UI/UX preference or a pricing-tier crossover. Migration is straightforward: install new script, remove old script. Historical data does not transfer — both platforms have proprietary schemas. You'll have a gap in continuity (or a re-baseline) that's worth communicating to anyone tracking trends.

The migration is a weekend, not a project. The actual cost is the historical data loss, which is also the smallest cost of any migration in this comparison set.