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tools / 07 — updated may 2026

Best privacy-first web analytics for indie sites

Five analytics tools that don't need a cookie banner. Picked for honest pricing, GDPR-native posture, and dashboards that load faster than your site does.

5 tools · free → $99+/mo · updated may 2026
Skip to TL;DRSee matrix →
tldr.txt — tools/privacy-analytics.mdour pick
$cat tldr.txt

Plausible if you want open-source values and the cheapest credible hosted option. Fathom if dashboard polish for non-technical stakeholders matters more than $5/mo savings.

Updated May 2026see how we picked →
the list / 5 tools

The list

Fiveplatforms, ordered editorially — top of list isn’t “best,” it’s the shape that fits the most indie creators. Each card has the verdict tag, the pricing receipt, and the honest fit / skip lists. Affiliate links are disclosed.

01

Plausible

Plausible Insights OÜ
our pick

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

pricing.txt — plausiblemonthly
Growth 10k$9/mo · 10k pv$9/mo
Growth 100k$19/mo · 100k pv$19/mo
Business 1M$69/mo · 1M pv$69/mo
Self-hostAGPL · Docker Composefree
use for
  • 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).
skip for
  • You share analytics with non-technical stakeholders and dashboard polish matters.
  • You need session recordings or product analytics — Plausible is web-pageview-shaped only.
  • Your audience is at an awkward boundary (12k pageviews) where Fathom's larger entry tier wins on cost.
02

Fathom

Conva Ventures
polished pick

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

pricing.txt — fathommonthly
Starter$14/mo · 100k pv$14/mo
Pro$44/mo · 1M pv$44/mo
Business$94/mo · 10M pv + extras$94/mo
use for
  • 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.
skip for
  • Self-host is non-negotiable — Fathom doesn't offer it and never has.
  • Open-source values are a hard requirement — Fathom is proprietary.
  • You want session recordings or feature flags — Fathom is web-pageview-shaped only.
03

PostHog

PostHog Inc.
product analytics pick

Open-source product analytics + session recordings + feature flags + experimentation. Goes far beyond pageviews. The 'one platform' choice for product teams.

pricing.txt — posthogmonthly
Free1M events/mo · all featuresfree
Paid$0.000248 / event after freemetered
Self-hostApache 2.0 · Helm chartfree
use for
  • You're building a product and need user-behavior analytics (funnels, retention, cohorts), not just pageviews.
  • Session recordings or feature flags are part of the workflow — PostHog bundles them.
  • You want one tool for analytics + experimentation rather than three integrations.
  • Free tier (1M events/mo) covers genuine production usage at indie scale.
  • Self-host as a real option — PostHog runs on your own infra without the SaaS tier.
skip for
  • You only need pageview analytics — PostHog is overkill, Plausible/Fathom are simpler.
  • Privacy-by-default is the deciding factor — PostHog's autocapture mode is more invasive than Plausible.
  • You're cost-sensitive at high event volume — pricing scales aggressively past 1M events.
04

Umami

Umami Software · open source
self-host pick

Open-source, MIT-licensed analytics. Self-hosted on your own Postgres + a small server. The cheapest possible privacy analytics — free if you can run it.

pricing.txt — umamimonthly
Self-hostMIT · Postgres + small serverfree
Cloud Hobby$0/mo · 10k eventsfree
Cloud Pro$9/mo · 100k events$9/mo
use for
  • You want analytics for free and you can self-host on your existing Postgres.
  • Open-source values + simplicity matter — Umami is genuinely small and auditable.
  • Multi-site dashboard for managing many domains is your shape.
  • You want a free hosted option with real production-grade event volume.
  • Your team is comfortable running Docker / Vercel / similar self-deploy.
skip for
  • You don't want to operate anything — Umami self-host is real ops work.
  • Polished dashboard for non-technical stakeholders is a hard requirement.
  • You need real-time updates with sub-second latency — Umami's update cadence is slower.
05

Pirsch

Pirsch Analytics
EU pick

EU-based privacy analytics. Cookieless, GDPR/CCPA compliant by default. Slightly more affordable than Fathom; less feature-rich than PostHog.

pricing.txt — pirschmonthly
Hobby$6/mo · 10k pv$6/mo
Plus$12/mo · 100k pv$12/mo
Business$48/mo · 1M pv$48/mo
use for
  • You want EU-resident data by default (Pirsch is German-hosted).
  • Slightly cheaper than Plausible/Fathom at the comparable tier.
  • GDPR conversation is constant in your market and Pirsch's posture is a feature.
  • Dashboard ergonomics are clean and similar to Plausible/Fathom in look and feel.
  • You want a vendor outside the US tech ecosystem for risk-spreading reasons.
skip for
  • You need open-source / self-host — Pirsch is proprietary.
  • You want session recordings or feature flags — Pirsch is web-pageview-shaped only.
  • Brand recognition is the deciding factor for stakeholders — Plausible/Fathom are better-known.
scoreboard / category matrix

Category scoreboard

Six dimensions, 5tools. The olive dot marks the clear winner per row when there is one — most rows have multiple credible answers. Use this for shape-spotting, not for ranking.

dimension
Plausible
Fathom
PostHog
Umami
Pirsch
Free tier
self-host · forever
30-day trial
1M events/mo
self-host + 10k cloud
30-day trial
Cheapest paid tier
$9/mo · 10k
$14/mo · 100k
metered
$9/mo · 100k
$6/mo · 10k
Open source
yes · AGPL
no
yes · Apache 2.0
yes · MIT
no
Self-hostable
yes · Docker
no · cloud only
yes · Helm
yes · Docker
no · cloud only
Beyond pageviews
events + funnels
events + goals
session rec + flags + AB
events
events + goals
Data residency
EU (hosted) / anywhere
Canada
US (hosted) / anywhere
anywhere · self-host
EU · Germany
decision / when to pick which

When to pick which

Five user shapes, fivepicks. The right answer depends on what you’re optimizing for — revenue model, content shape, growth lever, ownership appetite.

  1. Want open-source + cheap + dev-team-friendly dashboard
    Plausible

    If you're a developer or technical team and want analytics that you can self-host (or pay $9/mo for hosted), Plausible is the answer. Dense default dashboard, no fluff, AGPL source. Most cheapstack readers default to this.

  2. Polished dashboard for non-technical stakeholders
    Fathom

    If you share analytics with clients/marketing/execs and the dashboard polish matters, Fathom's UX is meaningfully nicer. The $5/mo premium over Plausible buys you that polish + the 'support an indie founder' values pitch.

  3. Product analytics — funnels, retention, session recordings, feature flags
    PostHog

    If you need to know what users do (not just where they came from), PostHog bundles session recordings, feature flags, A/B tests, and funnels. Free tier covers 1M events/mo. Skip if you only need pageview analytics — overkill.

  4. Cost is zero, ops appetite exists, ready to self-host
    Umami

    If you have a $5 VPS and a Postgres, Umami runs free forever. MIT-licensed, simple, and the cheapest possible production analytics. Trade ops for $0/mo cost. Cloud Hobby tier ($0/mo for 10k events) exists if you'd rather not operate it.

  5. EU data residency is a feature, not a checkbox
    Pirsch

    If your audience is EU-heavy and your buyers ask 'where does my data live,' Pirsch's German hosting and GDPR-by-default posture is a meaningful answer. Slightly cheaper than Plausible/Fathom; less brand recognition.

honest mentions / runners-up

Honest mentions

Tools that show up in adjacent searches but didn’t make the editorial five. Listed for context — not a recommendation, not a takedown.

  • Google Analytics 4

    Free, ubiquitous, and the reason this category exists. Cookies, complex UI, privacy-policy-heavy. Listed for context — privacy-first analytics are the alternative.

  • Mixpanel

    Product analytics established player. Free tier exists; pricing scales aggressively. Picked when PostHog's bundle is overkill but you need event-level analytics.

  • Amplitude

    Product analytics enterprise-tier. More polished than PostHog but more expensive. Right for funded startups, overkill for indie.

  • Cloudflare Web Analytics

    Free, basic, runs without a snippet (uses Cloudflare's CDN insights). No bells and whistles. Pick when you only need traffic counts and you're already on Cloudflare.