Independent · No vendor sponsorships · Updated weekly

Privacy-first analytics tools — independent reviews of 21 Google Analytics alternatives

Looking for a Google Analytics alternative? Skip the GA4 cookie banner with one of these cookieless, GDPR-compliant trackers — self-hostable, EU-only, or both. I run them, break them, and tell you which one fits. No affiliate links. No sponsored placements.

🧭 Find your tool in 60 seconds 3 questions, 1 recommendation ↓ Skip to the 21 tools
🇪🇺 EU-hosted 🍪 Cookieless 📜 GDPR-clean 🏠 Self-hostable

01 All 21 tools, side by side

Filter by what matters to you. Cards link to the full review with pricing, screenshots, and disqualifiers.

Hosting
Pricing
Strength
of 21 tools

Plausible

🇪🇪 Estonia AGPL-3.0

Privacy-first GA alternative, EU-hosted, simple dashboard

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted Open source

Matomo

🇳🇿 New Zealand GPL-3.0

Open-source self-hosted analytics, formerly Piwik

Self-host EU-hosted Open source

Fathom Analytics

🇨🇦 Canada Closed-source

Cookieless privacy analytics with EU Isolation by default, founder-led since 2018

Cookieless EU-hosted

Umami

🇺🇸 USA MIT

Open-source self-hosted privacy analytics

Cookieless Self-host Open source

Simple Analytics

🇳🇱 Netherlands Closed-source

No-cookie analytics with AI-powered insights

Cookieless EU-hosted

Ackee

🇩🇪 Germany MIT

MIT Node.js + MongoDB self-host-only OSS analytics — solo German maintainer Tobias Reich. GraphQL API + 14 framework integrations. No SaaS option, no paid tier

Cookieless Self-host Open source

Cabin

🇬🇧 United Kingdom Closed-source

Privacy-first carbon-aware analytics — built-in CO2 reporting per pageview, only directory tool with sustainability dashboard. UK solo-maintained Nic Mulvaney LTD

Cookieless EU-hosted

Counter.dev

Not disclosed AGPL-3.0

Minimalist OSS hit-counter — solo-dev project, 1.1KB tracker, Pay-What-You-Want free model, no IP processed at backend

Cookieless Self-host Open source

DataFast

🇸🇬 Singapore Closed-source

Multi-processor revenue attribution for indie founders — Stripe + LemonSqueezy + Polar + Paddle + Shopify + Dodo + Woo + custom API. Singapore JustShipIt Pte Ltd. $9 entry

Databuddy

🇺🇸 United States AGPL-3.0

AI-native observability suite — analytics + Web Vitals + errors + feature flags + uptime + short links + Databunny AI chat in one AGPL tracker, EU-hosted Hetzner DE

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted Open source

GoatCounter

🇮🇪 Ireland EUPL-1.2

Solo-developer cookieless analytics — single binary on SQLite, EUPL-1.2 license

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted Open source

Humblytics

🇺🇸 United States Closed-source

CRO suite — A/B testing + heatmaps + funnels + AI hypothesis generation in one $19 cookie-free tracker. Replaces deprecated Google Optimize and budget-tier Hotjar+Optimizely

Cookieless

Litlyx

🇮🇹 Italy Apache 2.0

Italian Apache-2.0 cookieless web + product + UTM marketing analytics with AI chat — Hetzner Germany, €8.99 entry, 48h breach notification

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted Open source

OpenPanel

🇸🇪 Sweden AGPL-3.0

Open-source bridge web→product analytics — Mixpanel power, Plausible simplicity, $2.50 entry, EU-hosted Sweden

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted

Pirsch

🇩🇪 Germany Closed-source

Cookieless EU-hosted analytics built in Germany, with open-source AGPLv3 core

Cookieless EU-hosted

Piwik PRO

🇵🇱 Poland Closed-source

Enterprise GDPR-strict analytics suite — ISO 27001 + SOC 2 Type II + HIPAA BAA, multi-region SaaS, Polish closed-source (forked from Matomo 2016)

Cookieless EU-hosted

Rybbit

🇺🇸 United States AGPL-3.0

Modern open-source GA replacement with cookieless tracking, session replay, and Web Vitals — AGPL, EU-hosted, lightweight

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted Open source

Seline

🇵🇱 Poland Closed-source

SaaS-friendly cookieless analytics with funnels, user profiles, and AI chat — flat $14/mo, EU-hosted Germany

Cookieless EU-hosted

Swetrix

🇬🇧 United Kingdom AGPL-3.0

Open-source privacy-first analytics with errors, funnels, A/B, feature flags — AGPL-3.0, EU-hosted, 50 sites included

Cookieless Self-host EU-hosted Open source

Visitors

🇺🇸 United States Closed-source

Real-time globe + RUM Web Vitals + revenue attribution, GPC + DNT honored — only directory tool checking GPC. US Delaware LLC, EU-hosted Hetzner

Cookieless EU-hosted

Wide Angle Analytics

🇩🇪 Germany Closed-source

Strict EU-only privacy-first analytics on OVHcloud — German GmbH, external DPO, 50-100 sites per plan, $15 entry

Cookieless EU-hosted

02 Compare any two tools Side-by-side

Already narrowed it to two? Pick A and B — get pricing, workflow, attribution, and migration verdicts side by side.

vs

⚠ Pick two different tools — same tool against itself isn't a comparison.

✓ Verdict ready — vs

Or build it on the full comparison hub →
Or pick a popular matchup:
vs Matomo vs Piwik PRO Matomo (founded 2007, GPL-3.0, NZ-operated) and Piwik PRO (founded 2013, closed-source, Polish) share a lineage — Piwik PRO… vs Plausible vs Umami Plausible is the polished SaaS at $9/mo with no free tier. Umami is open-source MIT, self-host for free,… vs Matomo vs Plausible Matomo is the heavyweight: every feature, self-hostable for free, but a 25KB script and a complex UI. Plausible… vs Fathom Analytics vs Plausible Both are top-tier privacy-first GA alternatives. Plausible is cheaper, has funnels in Business+, and is open-source. Fathom is… vs Matomo vs Umami Matomo is a 2007-era PHP analytics platform with a deep plugin ecosystem (heatmaps, session replay, A/B, ecommerce, multi-site… vs Fathom Analytics vs Matomo Fathom is closed-source SaaS, premium price, polished UI. Matomo is open-source, self-hostable for free, deeper feature set but…

03 Mark's editorial picks

Three tools that earn their place across the broadest set of buyer profiles. Curated, not algorithmic.

01

Plausible

🇪🇪 Estonia

Privacy-first GA alternative, EU-hosted, simple dashboard

  • Cleanest cookieless deploy
  • <2KB tracker, instant page load
  • EU-hosted Estonia, AGPL
Read full review →
02

Matomo

🇳🇿 New Zealand

Open-source self-hosted analytics, formerly Piwik

  • Real GA4 feature parity
  • Self-host free for unlimited sites
  • GDPR + ISO 27001 + HIPAA
Read full review →
03

Fathom Analytics

🇨🇦 Canada

Cookieless privacy analytics with EU Isolation by default, founder-led since 2018

  • Boring in the right way
  • Stable API since 2019, EU isolation
  • No surprises on the invoice
Read full review →

04 Browse by what matters

Filtered editorial subsets — same 21 tools, different lens.

COOKIELESS

Cookieless analytics tools that work without a cookie banner

Browse → GDPR

GDPR-compliant analytics tools — verified, not just claimed

Browse → OPEN SOURCE

Open-source analytics tools — auditable code, owned data

Browse → SELF-HOSTED

Self-hosted analytics — run it on your own server

Browse →

05 Frequently asked

Plain answers to the questions buyers actually send Mark.

What is the best Google Analytics alternative in 2026?
There is no single answer because "best" depends on what you're replacing GA4 for. If you want a privacy-first cookieless tracker for a content site, Plausible wins. If you need feature-parity with goals + funnels + ecommerce + custom dimensions, Matomo wins. If you ship a mobile app, those need a separate directory. The 21 tools below are filtered for genuine privacy-first web analytics — not lookalike data brokers.
Are these tools really GDPR compliant?
A subset are — and we audited them. Self-attested "GDPR compliance" is meaningless without checking sub-processors, hosting jurisdiction, and DPA availability. The GDPR-compliant tools list shows only tools that survive a Schrems II review.
What is a cookieless analytics tool?
A web analytics tracker that uses zero cookies — no tracking cookies, no fingerprinting cookies, no consent cookies — and identifies unique visitors via daily-rotated salted hashes (typically IP + user-agent + domain). The result: no consent banner required under GDPR's legitimate-interest path. See the cookieless tool list →
Is there a free Google Analytics alternative?
Yes. Umami (MIT, self-host on $5 VPS), GoatCounter (free SaaS tier under 10k pageviews/mo), Matomo on-premise (free for unlimited sites if you self-host). Avoid "free" tools that hide their monetization in user-data resale.
Can I migrate historical data from GA4?
Partially. Matomo and Fathom both ship official GA4 importers that bring over pageviews + sources. Custom events and audience segments don't carry; you re-instrument. The standard pattern: install the new tool, run both for 30 days, validate numbers match within 5-15%, then turn off GA4. Detailed in the Matomo vs Plausible migration section.
Why are there no affiliate links?
The directory is built and maintained as an independent reference — no vendor pays for placement, no sponsored slots, no affiliate URLs. Outside of writing, the author is available for analytics implementation advice and second-opinion consulting on request (see About), but those conversations are kept separate from how the directory is researched and ranked.

06 Spotted an error?

If a fact is wrong, a price has changed, a vendor link is broken, or a claim no longer holds — let me know. I review every report and update the affected page when the correction is verified.

Hand on heart — accuracy beats opinion.

Vendor pricing changes. Frameworks rebrand. ISO certs expire. If you find anything off, this is the fastest path to a fix.

  • Wrong fact, broken link, outdated price
  • A claim that no longer holds
  • Typos and missing context
Every report read. Verified corrections are reflected on the affected page with a visible "updated" date.

    Mark Sutton
    About this directory

    Independent. No affiliate links.

    I'm Mark Sutton — sole author and editor of this privacy-first analytics tools directory. Every GA alternative here is reviewed against the vendor's documentation, sub-processor list, DPA and pricing before earning a spot — and re-checked when those change. Read the methodology →

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