8 Best Google Analytics Alternatives (for Simplicity & Privacy) in 2025

Last Updated May 2, 2025

8 Best Google Analytics Alternatives (for Simplicity & Privacy) in 2025

If you’re interested in learning about Google Analytics alternatives, you’ve come to the right place today. I wrote this article for a few reasons:

Firstly, Google replaced Universal Analytics with Google Analytics 4 (GA4) last year. And if you found Universal Analytics already a bit complex, you probably hate GA4 (as do I, with passion).

Secondly, I care about my website visitors’ privacy. Yes, I’d like to know how they enter my site, what pages they click, and how my content is performing, but I don’t intend to resell their data for Google to print money (this basically what Google does and why Google Analytics is free).

Still, Google Analytics has an 81.6% market share, making it the biggest player, but alternatives are emerging. Let’s explore what the market has to offer.

1. Simple Analytics

If you hate GA4 and its complexity, you’ll love Simple Analytics. As the name suggests, it’s super simple and easy to install. Like Google Analytics, you’ll need to add their script to your website (or use Google Tag Manager). Within minutes, your dashboard starts filling with data and looks like this:

Simple Analytics is privacy-first and doesn’t collect personal data from your website visitors, while providing necessary insights. You can create events to count button clicks and website checkouts and setup conversions.

It’s free. You can set up Simple Analytics for free and use it forever. Only if you want to retain your data longer or need more features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan starting at $15 per month.

Features:

Privacy-first: No cookies or personal data collection.
Clean dashboard: Essential metrics only.
Event tracking: Custom events for clicks, checkouts, etc.
Adblocker bypass: bypass adblockers for accurate website visits
Google Analytics importer: Preserve historical data
Email reports: Scheduled summaries.

2. Matomo

Of all the alternatives, Matomo might come closest to resemble Google Analytics. It bears most of the complexities, but is privacy-friendly. They still track and collect personal data, but do this in a more secure way (according to their website).

You retain 100% data ownership and your data isn’t sold to third parties. With Matomo, you get the complexity and functions of Google Analytics but in a privacy-friendly way.

Matomo starts at $22/month for 50K pageviews. There’s no free plan, but you can self-host Matomo.

Features:

Full-featured: Ecommerce, heatmaps, A/B testing, etc.
100% data ownership: No third-party access.
GDPR compliant: Privacy-focused.
Self-hosted or cloud: Flexible deployment options.
Google Analytics importer: Migrate existing data

3. Fathom Analytics

Fathom analytics is again a ‘simple’ analytics tool. They focus on user experience with a simple dashboard showing all the needed metrics. No heatmaps, segments, or customization options. Just straightforward analytics.

You can self-host Fathom Analytics. The self-hosted version is called Fathom Lite. Comparing it to our first alternative, Simple Analytics, it’s probably a matter of taste. They are both privacy-friendly and easy to use. One thing to note is that Fathom still collects personal data (securely), whereas Simple Analytics doesn’t.

Features:

Simple UI: Real-time metrics on a single page.
Event tracking: Custom events for user interactions.
Email reports: Scheduled summaries.
Google Analytics importer: Preserve historical data.
No cookies: GDPR compliant without banners.

4. Plausible

Plausible is similar to Fathom and Simple Analytics. It’s a straightforward and easy-to-use analytics tool. It’s open-source and can be self-hosted. A notable difference is how Plausible collects data. Instead of collecting only non-personal data, it collects, stores and processes IP-address (in a hashed way).

Pricing starts at $9 per month for the basic plan. There’s a 14-day free trial, but no free offering (or you must use the open-source version). In their business offering, Plausible offers a richer feature set that includes funnels and custom properties.

Features:

Lightweight script: Fast loading, minimal impact.
No cookies: Fully GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant.
Open-source: Self-host or use hosted version.
Goal tracking: Conversions, revenue, campaigns.

5. Clicky

Clicky is an OG analytics tool (and you can tell). It’s barebones and looks like a product build in 2006. However, it does the job and is the cheapest.

If you need a simple analytics tool with insights in one dashboard (just not very slick), this might be an interesting shout. Clicky starts free for 3k daily pageviews.

There’s a 21-day free trial for premium features like heatmaps, uptime monitoring, segments, and Goals & Revenue.

Features:

Real-time analytics: Immediate data updates.
Heatmaps: Visualize user interactions.
Uptime monitoring: Track site availability.
Custom dashboards: Tailor reports to your needs.

6. Piwik

Piwik used to be part of Matomo (number two on this list). However, after disagreements in vision it split off into Piwik. They share the same premise: A privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative.

Piwik is more commercially focused than Matomo and lacks an open-source version. Last year Piwik was acquired by Cookie Information, but still operates as an independent analytics vendor.

Piwik matches Google Analytics 4 in features and customization. However, for a straightforward option, better alternatives exist. Pricing is enterprise-y.

Features:

Enterprise-focused: Advanced analytics suite.
Consent manager: Handle user permissions.
Tag manager: Manage tracking scripts.
Customer data platform: Integrate user data.
Flexible hosting: Cloud, on-premise, or private cloud.

7. Posthog

Posthog is a great tool. Their product is well organized and looks clean. Their branding is on point. Users love Posthog but it has a learning curve. Posthog is primarily a product analytics tool that also provides website analytics.

If you need an all-in-one solution to replace Google Analytics and are willing to get your hands dirty, this might be a good try. It’s open source with a generous free plan. The only downside is that it’s overkill if you just want website stats.

All-in-one platform: Analytics, session replay, feature flags.
Open-source: Self-host or use cloud version.
Product analytics: Funnels, cohorts, retention.
A/B testing: Run experiments easily.
Surveys: Collect user feedback.

8. Umami

Lastly, Umami is one of the newest analytics tools. They’ve focused on their open-source offering, but recently started offering a hosted solution as well.

Umami offers basic analytics but gets the job done. It’s a straightforward, easy-to-use tool with a generous free plan for up to 100K pageviews (6 months data retention) and is the cheapest option (along with Clicky).

Features:

Privacy-focused: No cookies or personal data collection.
Open-source: Self-hosted solution.
Real-time data: Immediate insights.
Custom events: Track specific user actions.
Intuitive dashboard: Clean and simple interface.

Is a Google Analytics Alternative Right for You?

There are plenty of analytics tools available. Don’t worry about finding the right replacement for Google Analytics; surely there’s one that fits your use case.

For a one-to-one GA4 replacement: Check out Matomo, Piwik, or Posthog for product analytics
For privacy-friendly and simple: Try Simple Analytics or Fathom
For a cheap option: Take Umami or Clicky for a spin

If you want to explore simpler analytics but wonder if you’d miss something in GA4, Simple Analytics wrote a great deep dive blog post about the differences in metrics, features, and overall comparison with Google Analytics.

Let me know if you have any questions or recommendations. Happy to help!

What should I look for when choosing a Google Analytics alternative in 2025?

Start by deciding how simple or advanced you need your analytics to be. If you only want basic stats like pageviews, top pages, and referrers, tools like Simple Analytics, Fathom, Plausible, or Umami are usually enough.

Next, think about privacy and data laws. If you want to avoid cookie banners or tracking personal data, focus on tools that are privacy-first and do not collect personal info.

You should also check pricing, data retention, and whether the tool lets you import your old Google Analytics data. This makes the switch smoother and keeps your historical trends in one place.

Finally, think about how analytics fits into your content workflow. If you plan to track which articles drive the most growth, pair your tool with a clear process for measuring content performance.

Can I fully replace GA4 with a privacy-friendly analytics tool?

Yes, you can replace GA4 with a privacy-friendly tool, but you must be clear on what you really need. For most blogs and small businesses, basic stats, events, and simple conversions are enough.

If you need a one to one match with GA4 features, Matomo, Piwik, or Posthog come closer in depth. They support advanced tracking, funnels, and more complex reporting.

If your main goal is simplicity and respecting visitor privacy, Simple Analytics, Fathom, Plausible, or Umami are better fits. They cut out the noise while still showing how your content and traffic are doing.

Before switching, list the 5 to 10 reports you use most in GA4 and confirm your new tool can give you those same insights. That makes it much easier to feel confident letting GA4 go.

How do privacy-focused analytics tools affect SEO and growth?

Privacy-focused tools do not hurt your SEO. Search rankings depend on your content, site performance, links, and user behavior in search, not on which analytics tool you use.

What does change is what you can see. You may lose some ultra-detailed user tracking, but you still get key metrics like traffic trends, top content, and referrers.

For most blogs, this level of data is enough to guide smart SEO decisions, like which topics to double down on or which posts to update. A lean, clear dashboard can even help you act faster because you spend less time digging through complex reports.

To turn those insights into growth, you can combine your analytics tool with SEO reporting basics so you focus on the metrics that actually move rankings and revenue.

How can I track content performance if I move away from Google Analytics?

You can still track content performance very well with a simple analytics tool plus a clear system. Focus on a few core metrics like pageviews, time on page, bounce rate, and conversions or email signups from each post.

Many of the tools in this list support custom events and goals. You can set these up to track key actions, such as email opt ins, product clicks, or form submissions, even without GA4.

To get cleaner source tracking, use UTM tags on your social and email links. RightBlogger's free UTM tracking builder makes this easy so you can see which channels drive the most engaged readers.

You can then use a simple reporting routine, like the one in RightBlogger's guide to analyzing content performance, to decide which posts to update, promote, or expand.

How can RightBlogger help me get more value from a Google Analytics alternative?

RightBlogger cannot replace your analytics tool, but it can help you act on the data much faster. Once you know which posts bring the most traffic, you can use the AI Article Writer to create related posts, supporting articles, or content updates around those winning topics.

If your new analytics shows that certain pages have high traffic but low conversions, you can adjust your copy and CTAs with tools inside RightBlogger. This helps you quickly test new hooks, intros, and offers without writing everything from scratch.

You can also use RightBlogger to maintain a consistent voice across posts while you scale up content based on what your analytics is telling you. Features like MyTone keep your style stable as you publish more.

Over time, this combo of simple analytics plus faster content creation and optimization can give you more results than GA4 alone, with less stress and setup.