📊 Analytics & Monitoring Comparison
Fathom Analytics vs Plausible
A detailed comparison to help you choose the right tool for your needs.
Last updated: 2026-01-31
Fathom Analytics
From $14/mo
Strengths
- + No cookies means no cookie consent banner — one less annoyance for visitors
- + Single dashboard shows everything you need in one screen
- + Script loads in under 1KB, so it does not slow your site down
Weaknesses
- − No free tier — $14/month minimum is a real cost for pre-revenue founders
- − Far fewer features than Google Analytics 4 (no funnels, no cohorts, no custom reports)
- − No event tracking on the lowest plan
Plausible
From $9/mo, or self-hosted free
Strengths
- + Script is under 1KB — does not slow your site down at all
- + No cookies means no GDPR consent banner needed
- + Self-host for free if you have the technical skills
Weaknesses
- − No free hosted plan — $9/month minimum
- − No funnels, cohorts, or advanced analysis
- − Self-hosting requires server maintenance
The verdict
Which one is right for you?
Choose Fathom Analytics if you want
- → No cookies means no cookie consent banner — one less annoyance for visitors
- → Single dashboard shows everything you need in one screen
Choose Plausible if you want
- → Script is under 1KB — does not slow your site down at all
- → No cookies means no GDPR consent banner needed
In depth
About each tool
Fathom Analytics
Privacy-focused website analytics — no cookies, no banners, one simple dashboard
Fathom gives you the analytics you actually look at — visitors, page views, top pages, referrers — and nothing else. No cookie consent banners (because there are no cookies), no complex custom reports, no spending an hour configuring dashboards. Open it, see your numbers, close it.
Founded by Jack Ellis and Paul Jarvis (of Company of One fame). At $14/month with no free tier, you are paying for simplicity and privacy. If you need funnels, cohort analysis, or event tracking, PostHog or even GA4 gives you more. If you just want to know “how many people visited and where did they come from,” Fathom respects both your time and your visitors’ privacy.
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative that does not need cookie consent
Plausible gives you clean website analytics in a script that weighs less than 1KB. No cookies, no consent banners, no complex setup. It is fully GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant out of the box because it does not collect personal data.
The dashboard shows visitors, page views, referrers, and top pages — the metrics you actually check. If you need user-level tracking, funnels, or A/B testing, this is not the tool. If you want to know “is my content working?” without the guilt of tracking your visitors, Plausible is the cleanest option. Self-hosting is free if you are comfortable managing a server; the hosted service starts at $9/month.
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