- Pick it if you are:
- Bloggers and content sites; Agencies managing many client sites
- Top complaint:
- Is Fathom Analytics free? No free plan, and the trial needs a card
- Price:
- From $15/mo
- Pick it if you are:
- Hobby site and blog owners; Privacy and GDPR-focused businesses
- Top complaint:
- Simple Analytics not tracking: blocked by ad blockers
- Price:
- Free plan, paid from $20/mo
Score Comparison
Signals Comparison
Fathom Analytics
- Is Fathom Analytics free? No free plan, and the trial needs a card(6/10)
- Why is Fathom Analytics so expensive for small sites?(5/10)
- Custom events count toward the Fathom pageview limit(5/10)
- Fathom Analytics doesn't give refunds(5/10)
Simple Analytics
- Why is Simple Analytics so expensive? $20/month starting point(6/10)
- Pricing grows with traffic and can auto-upgrade you(6/10)
- Is Simple Analytics free? Free plan needs a badge and keeps 1 month of history(6/10)
- Simple Analytics refund policy: no general refunds(6/10)
Fathom Analytics
- Fathom dashboard locked after going over the plan limit(7/10)
- Fathom blocked by ad blockers after custom domains were removed(6/10)
- Fathom removed uptime monitoring in 2023(3/10)
- Fathom Analytics not tracking visits after installation(6/10)
- Fathom only showing the homepage in stats(5/10)
- Fathom numbers don't match Google Analytics(4/10)
Simple Analytics
- Simple Analytics not tracking: blocked by ad blockers(7/10)
- Simple Analytics shows no data after install(7/10)
- Do Not Track visitors are excluded by default, so numbers run lower(5/10)
Fathom Analytics
- No funnels, user flows or heatmaps in Fathom(5/10)
Simple Analytics
No signals
Fathom Analytics
- Fathom can't be self-hosted and isn't open source(4/10)
Simple Analytics
No signals
Fathom Analytics
- Fathom not tracking page changes in single-page apps(5/10)
- GA4 import into Fathom leaves out events(4/10)
Simple Analytics
- Google Analytics import covers GA4 page views only(4/10)
Fathom Analytics
No signals
Simple Analytics
- Why are Simple Analytics visitors lower than pageviews?(6/10)
- Too simple: limited features and integrations for the price(6/10)
- Simple Analytics navigation is confusing at first(4/10)
- Free plan data disappears after one month(5/10)
Fathom Analytics
No signals
Simple Analytics
- Simple Analytics events not showing in dashboard(6/10)
Fathom Analytics
No signals
Simple Analytics
- Cancel has a trap: pay by PayPal or invoice and you must email support(5/10)
Pricing Comparison
Fathom Analytics
Storage: Full history kept while subscribed
Limits: No funnels, user journeys, heatmaps or session replay. No self-hosting.
Storage: Full history kept while subscribed
Limits: Same as monthly plan.
Simple Analytics
Users: 1 user, 5 websites
Storage: 1 month of history
Limits: 1 month of history, 5 websites, 1 user, badge required, paid-only features not listed on the pricing page
Users: 1 user included, extra users $20/month each
Limits: Prices for higher volumes only visible in the slider after sign-up
Users: 1 user included, extra users $20/month each
Limits: Annual per-month price not published on the page
Users: Custom
Limits: No public price
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Fathom Analytics | Simple Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | ||
| Cookieless tracking | ||
| EU data isolation EU visitor data processed in the EU automatically | ||
| EU hosting Amsterdam-based company | ||
| Tracking | ||
| Custom events and revenue fathom.trackEvent() with optional _value | ||
| Funnels / user journeys | ||
| Heatmaps / session replay | ||
| Custom domain / ad-blocker bypass Removed March 2023 | ||
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan 5 sites, 1 month history, badge required | ||
| Analytics | ||
| Events Inline, automated and server-side | ||
| Goals | ||
| Custom views | ||
| Session replay / heatmaps Not offered | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Google Search Console integration | ||
| GA4 importer Free on all plans; daily data, no events | ||
| Analytics API | ||
| API and export Stats, Export and Admin APIs | ||
| MCP server and AI chat Listed in docs | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ad-blocker bypass Custom subdomain via CNAME or proxy; not guaranteed | ||
| Migration | ||
| Google Analytics import GA4 page_view events only | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Shared dashboards Public or password-protected | ||
| Email reports and CSV export | ||
| Email reports | ||
| Monitoring | ||
| Uptime monitoring Removed October 2023 | ||
| Hosting | ||
| Self-hosting Cloud only, closed source | ||
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