The best privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternatives are Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics and Umami, hosted tools that don’t use cookies and cost from free to $20 a month. Cloudflare Web Analytics is a free option, Matomo suits you if you want to self-host something closer to Google Analytics, and on WordPress you can keep your stats on your own server with Koko Analytics, Independent Analytics or Burst Statistics.
Every one of them loads far less code than Google. On November 2, 2026, we downloaded each tool’s standard tracking script and compressed them all the same way: Google’s GA4 tag came to 155 KB, while Plausible’s was 1.3 KB. Full numbers are in the table below. We use Simple Analytics on SmartWP, and the Fathom and Simple Analytics links in this post are affiliate links.
- Google’s GA4 tag (gtag.js) measured 446 KB raw and 155 KB gzipped. The privacy-friendly trackers ranged from 1.3 KB (Plausible) to 22 KB (Matomo).
- Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics, Umami and Cloudflare Web Analytics all say they don’t use cookies. Matomo uses a cookie by default but has a setting to turn cookies off.
- Free options: Cloudflare Web Analytics, Simple Analytics’ free plan (30 days of history), Umami Cloud’s free tier (100,000 events a month), and self-hosting Umami or Matomo.
- Paid plans start at $9 a month (Plausible), $15 (Fathom), $20 (Simple Analytics and Umami) and $26 (Matomo Cloud).
- On WordPress, Koko Analytics, Independent Analytics, Burst Statistics and WP Statistics store stats in your own database, with no outside service.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Tracking script (gzipped) | Cookies | Free option | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics 4 (for comparison) | 155 KB | Yes | Free | Free (GA4 360 is paid) |
| Plausible | 1.3 KB | No | 30-day trial | $9/mo (10,000 pageviews) |
| Fathom | 2.1 KB | No | 7-day trial | $15/mo (100,000 pageviews) |
| Umami | 3.9 KB | No | Cloud: 100,000 events/mo. Self-hosting is free. | $20/mo (1 million events) |
| Simple Analytics | 4.8 KB | No | Free plan with 30 days of history | $20/mo (100,000 pageviews) |
| Cloudflare Web Analytics | 10.3 KB | No | Free | Free |
| Matomo | 22.2 KB | By default, can be turned off | Self-hosting is free | $26/mo Cloud (50,000 hits) |
Why switch from Google Analytics?
The first reason is page weight. Google’s tag is roughly 70 to 120 times the size of the smallest tools here, and it runs on every page view. If you are working on speeding up WordPress, the analytics script is an easy place to cut.
The second is consent. Google Analytics sets cookies, so in many countries it needs a consent banner, and visitors who decline aren’t counted. The tools below say they work without cookies or personal data, which is why most of them advertise “no cookie banner needed” for their own tracking. Whether your site needs a banner still depends on your other scripts and your local law.
The third is simplicity. Since Google retired Universal Analytics in 2023, GA4 is the only version, and many site owners who just want pageviews, referrers and top pages find it hard to use.
1. Plausible
Plausible is a lightweight, open-source analytics tool hosted in the EU. Its standard script was the smallest we measured, at 1.3 KB gzipped. The dashboard is a single page covering visitors, pageviews, bounce rate, visit duration, sources, pages, locations and devices, with goals and custom events when you need them.
Plausible says it uses “no cookies, no persistent identifiers, no cross-site or cross-device tracking.” The Starter plan is $9 a month for up to 10,000 monthly pageviews, after a 30-day free trial. The official WordPress plugin adds the tracking script for you.
2. Fathom
Fathom is a hosted, privacy-first analytics service. Its script measured 2.1 KB gzipped, and it covers the essentials: top pages, referrers, countries, browsers, devices and goals.
Plans start at $15 a month for up to 100,000 monthly pageviews across up to 50 sites, with a 7-day free trial, and Fathom lists “No cookie banners required” as a feature. It has an official WordPress plugin, but at the time of writing it was last updated in November 2025 and lists WordPress 6.8 as the latest version tested. Fathom works fine without it, since you can paste its script tag into your theme or a header plugin instead.
3. Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics is what SmartWP uses, served from our own subdomain. It is EU-hosted, its script measured 4.8 KB gzipped, and it says, “We do not use cookies and never collect information that could be used to fingerprint a user.”
It has a free plan with unlimited pageviews for up to five websites, but it only keeps the latest 30 days of data. The paid self-serve plan starts at $20 a month for 100,000 pageviews. Simple Analytics also pitches running alongside GA4 to see the visitors Google misses when they decline cookies. Its WordPress plugin is maintained and tested with WordPress 7.1.
4. Umami
Umami is open source, so you can self-host it for free, and its script measured 3.9 KB gzipped. Umami says it “does not use cookies, does not collect personal data, and does not track users across websites.”
If you would rather not run a server, Umami Cloud’s free Hobby plan covers up to 100,000 events a month for one website, with six months of data retention. The Pro plan is $20 a month for 1 million events. There is no official WordPress plugin, so you add its script tag to your site.
5. Cloudflare Web Analytics
Cloudflare Web Analytics is free, and you don’t need to route your site through Cloudflare to use it. You can paste its JavaScript beacon into any site, or enable it from the Cloudflare dashboard if your site already runs through Cloudflare. The beacon measured 10.3 KB gzipped.
Cloudflare says it “does not use any client-side state, such as cookies or localStorage,” and doesn’t fingerprint visitors. The trade-off is depth: it focuses on traffic and Core Web Vitals, without the goals and funnels the paid tools offer.
6. Matomo
Matomo is the closest thing here to a full Google Analytics replacement, with goals, ecommerce tracking and much deeper reporting than the lightweight tools. You can self-host the open-source On-Premise version for free, or use Matomo Cloud, which starts at $26 a month for 50,000 hits with a free trial and no credit card required.
It is also the heaviest of the alternatives, at 22.2 KB gzipped for its standard matomo.js. Matomo uses a first-party visitor ID cookie by default, but you can turn cookies off with one line of tracking code, or with the Disable cookies setting in Matomo for WordPress. That free plugin runs Matomo inside your WordPress site and has more than 100,000 active installs.
Analytics plugins that run inside WordPress
If you would rather not send data to any outside service, these free plugins store your stats in your own WordPress database.
- Koko Analytics (70,000+ installs) is minimal and privacy-focused. It can run without any cookies, and it processes no personal data.
- Independent Analytics (100,000+ installs) “does not use cookies, store personal data, or communicate with external servers,” according to its listing.
- Burst Statistics (200,000+ installs) keeps all stats on your server and has an option for cookieless tracking.
- WP Statistics (500,000+ installs) is the most established, with cookie-less tracking by default.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free Google Analytics alternative?
For a hosted tool, Cloudflare Web Analytics is free with no traffic limit, and Umami Cloud’s free plan covers 100,000 events a month. Simple Analytics has a free plan that keeps 30 days of data. On WordPress, Koko Analytics, Independent Analytics and Burst Statistics are free plugins that keep your stats on your own server.
What is the best privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics?
Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics and Umami are the most popular cookie-free options, and all four say they collect no personal data. Plausible had the smallest script in our test, at 1.3 KB gzipped. Fathom and Simple Analytics have the most polished hosted dashboards, and Umami is the best fit if you want open source you can self-host.
Do privacy-friendly analytics tools need a cookie banner?
Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics, Umami and Cloudflare Web Analytics all say they don’t use cookies, and most of them say no banner is needed for their tracking. Your site may still need one for other scripts, such as ads or embeds, and the rules depend on where you and your visitors are.
Can I run Google Analytics and an alternative at the same time?
Yes. Many sites run both while they compare numbers, and Simple Analytics promotes it as a way to see visitors who decline Google’s cookies. Just remember that you are then loading both scripts.
Which analytics script is the smallest?
In our November 2026 measurement, Plausible’s standard script was the smallest at 1.3 KB gzipped, followed by Fathom (2.1 KB), Umami (3.9 KB) and Simple Analytics (4.8 KB). Google’s GA4 tag was 155 KB.
Looking for more ways to tidy up your site? See our list of the best WordPress plugins.
2 Responses
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Cloudflare analytics is awesome in that case give us most accurate information after the analytics. Thanks for the article.