Simple Analytics Problems & Issues
Real user-reported problems, complaints, and limitations for Simple Analytics. Based on analysis of 14 signals.
Overall score: 71/100
Issues by Category
Why is Simple Analytics so expensive? $20/month starting point
The self-serve plan starts at $20/month for 100k pageviews on the official pricing page, with extra users at $20/month each. G2 reviewers call it a little costly and comparison writers rate it above Plausible and Fathom at entry level. Prices at higher volumes sit behind a slider.
Pricing grows with traffic and can auto-upgrade you
On monthly plans the fee follows your pageviews (last month, then a three-month average). On yearly plans you estimate traffic up front, get an email when you exceed it and have one week to raise the limit before it is raised for you. The terms also let the vendor move you to a more expensive plan based on a three-month average.
Is Simple Analytics free? Free plan needs a badge and keeps 1 month of history
The free plan covers 5 websites and 1 user but requires a Simple Analytics badge on every page and stores only one month of history. If the badge disappears for 14 days, dashboard, API and export access is locked for that site (collection continues). The free plan has unlimited pageviews only under a fair-use policy.
Simple Analytics refund policy: no general refunds
The terms say plans bought after a free trial cannot be revoked free of charge, the payment obligation arises on acceptance even if the service is not fully used, and ending in the first term means paying the whole agreed period. The cancel docs do not mention refunds; you must contact support.
Why are Simple Analytics visitors lower than pageviews?
The dashboard's visitors are really unique pageviews: only pages entered with no referrer or an external referrer count, with no sessions or IDs. Internal navigation, reloads and single-page-app navigation add pageviews but not visitors. Users expecting GA-style users are surprised, and a G2 reviewer notes cookieless tools lose the full customer journey.
Too simple: limited features and integrations for the price
G2 and Capterra reviewers and a dev.to comparison say it is a bit too simple for its price point, with fewer integrations with large products and less depth than Google Analytics. Funnels-style analysis and deep attribution are not the focus.
Free plan data disappears after one month
Free websites keep 1 month of history, so month-over-month or yearly comparisons need a paid plan or manual exports. Paid downgrades also warn that users, websites, custom views or goals beyond the lower plan limits will be deleted.
Simple Analytics navigation is confusing at first
G2's summary lists navigation difficulty as the most common dislike and one reviewer calls the interface tricky. The sample is small (about 23 G2 reviews at 4.4/5) and other reviewers had no cons.
Simple Analytics not tracking: blocked by ad blockers
The default script comes from scripts.simpleanalyticscdn.com, which ad blockers can block (shows as blocked:other in the Network tab). The vendor's own fix is a custom subdomain via CNAME or a proxy, and it admits bypass is not guaranteed. Developer audiences are hit hardest.
Simple Analytics shows no data after install
Common reasons: script missing from some pages, page-view requests from preview or proxy domains (vercel.app, lovable.app, translate.goog) dropped unless the hostname is added, localhost tests without data-hostname, or a Content Security Policy blocking the script. The vendor also points to a Network-tab check for latest.js.
Do Not Track visitors are excluded by default, so numbers run lower
Visits from browsers with Do Not Track on are not recorded unless you add data-collect-dnt="true" to the script. Totals can be below other tools and below server logs.
Simple Analytics events not showing in dashboard
Event names are case-sensitive, unsupported characters become underscores, names of 1,000+ characters do not appear, events fired before the script loads are lost without the placeholder function, and a custom namespace needs matching data-sa-global for automated events.
Google Analytics import covers GA4 page views only
The importer accepts GA4 properties, brings in only page_view events and discards other events and user data. Imports never overwrite existing data and end at your first Simple Analytics pageview.
Cancel has a trap: pay by PayPal or invoice and you must email support
The dashboard's Cancel subscription at period end button works for card subscriptions. Invoice or PayPal customers must contact support, and during a trial the account-settings cancel button cancels immediately. Accounts are deleted 90 days after cancelling per the terms.
Regret Patterns
Common reasons users regret choosing Simple Analytics.
Expected more depth than a one-page dashboard
Reviewers say it is a bit too simple for its price and lacks the depth of GA.
Ad blockers silently undercount traffic
Default script is blockable and the bypass needs DNS or proxy work and is not guaranteed.
Free plan badge missing and dashboard locked
Removing the badge for 14 days locks dashboard, API and exports.
Traffic growth pushes the bill up
Monthly fees follow pageviews and yearly plans are raised automatically after a week's notice.
Visitors number confuses stakeholders
Unique-pageview visitors and no sessions differ from GA users.
Hit 1 month history limit on free plan
Cannot compare months or years without upgrading or exporting.
When Simple Analytics Breaks Down
Specific scenarios where Simple Analytics fails or underperforms.
Audience heavy on ad blockers
Default script is blocked; need CNAME or proxy and results are not guaranteed.
Single-page app with expectations of visitors per session
Only the first pageview can count as unique, so visitors stay low.
Preview or staging domains
Pageviews from vercel.app, lovable.app and similar are dropped unless the hostname is added or overwritten.
Strict Content Security Policy
The script and queue hosts must be allowed in script-src, connect-src and img-src.
Growing traffic on a yearly plan
Exceeding your estimate triggers an email and an automatic limit raise after a week.
Product analytics needs
No funnels or session replay, so product teams outgrow it.