For a long time, Google Analytics has been a mainstay in the analytics world; no other free tool comes close to gauging what this tool can achieve. It is, however, quite intrusive and collects information from your website. If you care about your users’ online privacy, this makes it a poor pick. In that case, we’ve put together a list of the top Google Analytics alternatives that are much more cautious with data and privacy. It took me 16+ hours to research each tool for you so that you may save time and focus on your analysis without fear of e-privacy violations.

Google Analytics is a fantastic analytics tool for tracking and measuring website traffic. It’s also the most used analytics tool on the internet, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.

People choose a Google Analytics alternative for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is a desire for greater privacy. They don’t want to share their product or customer data with Google because they run an e-commerce site.

However, there are numerous more reasons why you would prefer a more private analytics solution.

A tracking consent screen or cookie consent popup must be displayed on a website that uses Google Analytics. You don’t have data ownership with Google Analytics.

It does not give you control over your information. But what if you’re just looking for a good Google Analytics substitute? Continue reading to learn more about your alternatives.

1. Matomo

Matomo is one of the most privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternatives. It’s also one of the most popular, with over 1 million websites utilizing it in over 190 countries–even world-famous enterprises and organizations like the UN, NASA, and the European Commission favor Matomo. Isn’t it enough to say about this tool’s privacy focus?

While you can utilize Matomo without tracking user consent, Google Analytics does not allow you to do so. Unlike GA, Matomo gives you complete control over the data it collects and adheres to privacy standards.

Pricing
If you run Matomo on your own servers, it will always be free; however, as some users have suggested, it may consume too much of your resources. On the other side, the Matomo-hosted solution starts at 19EUR for 50,000 monthly traffic.

2. TinyAnalytics

TinyAnalytics is one of the most popular free Google Analytics alternatives. Tiny Analytics is a website analytics service that makes them simple to use while adhering to UK privacy rules.

What is TinyAnalytics and how does it work?
To enable TinyAnalytics to collect data about your website visitors, you must first embed a tracking code, a JavaScript code, on your web pages.
TinyAnalytics does not collect any data at all. It doesn’t collect visitor data, for example, when:

A website visitor turned on the do-not-track feature in their browser, and your settings are as follows: TinyAnalytics (tracking code) > Tag Manager > Tags > TinyAnalytics tag (tracking code) > Visitors’ privacy should be respected (on)

You selected an IP address, user agent, or query URL to be excluded.

On your website, a visitor refused to allow data gathering and use.

TinyAnalytics also works in tandem with your Consent Manager, if you have one. As a result, you may rest assured that your visitors’ privacy will be respected.

Pricing
TinyAnalytics is always free, and its price is based on a quote.

3. Plausible Analytics

Plausible Analytics is an open-source Google Analytics alternative that protects consumers’ online privacy. Plausible, like GA, operates by putting a script on your website, but it’s 45x smaller, making it load faster. By default, this program keeps your statistics data private, but it also allows you to make them public so that anybody with the URL can see them.

On a side note, Plausible is now publicly available on GitHub. Lack of support: When you need help, you have just your community to rely on. It’s not suitable for business use.

Plausible’s price is based on the number of page views, which may be confusing for certain consumers.

Privacy Compliance
GDPR, PECR, and CCPA laws are all met with Plausible Analytics. More significantly, it does not store or sell any of your acquired data to third parties. It also doesn’t track between sites or devices, has no identifiers, and doesn’t use cookies.

Pricing
Its pricing is based on the number of monthly pageviews, therefore the starting price is $9/mo for 10K monthly pageviews.

4. Fathom Analytics

An open-source alternative to Google Analytics is Fathom. Fathom is another Google Analytics competitor that focuses on privacy. Fathom, like Plausible, is an open-source project.

Privacy Compliance
This program gives you complete control over the data you collect and ensures that it is kept private. Furthermore, it adheres to e-privacy guidelines.

Pricing
There is a 7-day free trial available. Plans start at $14 per month for 100,000 page views, with up to 50 sites allowed.

5. Smartlook

In comparison to the other tools on our list, Smartlook is a unique Google Analytics option. Because this software is more advanced, it can follow user behavior and provide greater insights for both websites and mobile apps. It’s a tool for analyzing user behavior.

Privacy Compliance
Smartlook guarantees that legal requirements are met and that customer data is handled in accordance with the relevant rules and the user’s wishes. It’s also PCI DSS certified and uses the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) method to encrypt data at rest.

Pricing
Smartlook offers a free subscription with restricted capabilities that allows for up to 1,500 sessions per month. The monthly subscription levels start at $39 per month.

6. Simple Analytics

Simple Analytics is a data visualization and analytics platform based in the Netherlands. This software collects only the information you need from your website visitors while maintaining their privacy. It also respects users’ privacy choices; by default, Simple Analytics does not collect or store any data if Do Not Track is enabled.

Privacy Compliance
Simple Analytics is GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant and respects data privacy.

Pricing
The initial pricing for this tool is €19 per month.

7. Indicative

Indicative is another Google Analytics option that prioritizes privacy. Because it integrates all of your data sources and marketing channels, this software calls itself an “omnichannel customer journey analytics” platform. Indicative also adheres to the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework.

Privacy Compliance
While Indicative adheres to the Privacy Shield Framework, you should check to see if the data they gather is subject to the e-privacy legislation in your country or region.

Pricing
Indicative offers a free plan with limited features, and paid subscriptions start at $249 per month.

8. Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics is a marketing and product analytics solution that you can use instead of Google Analytics. Unlike GA, Kissmetrics takes a user-centric approach to analytics, allowing you to visualize the whole customer experience and assign every action on your site to a real person.

At first view, this product appears to target two distinct industries: SaaS and E-commerce. Furthermore, unlike GA, Kissmetrics allows you to link all data to a single person, even if they visit your website or SaaS using different devices or browsers.

Privacy Compliance
Kissmetrics adheres to GDPR regulations. Furthermore, it provides a variety of options for aligning the program with your privacy policy, such as;
Only first-party cookies are allowed. Not collecting sensitive information on forms with the Do Not Track header Server-side API

Pricing
The initial pricing for Kissmetrics is $229 per month, invoiced annually.

9. Web Analytics by GoSquared

GoSquared is a growth suite that is an alternative to GA. For the sake of this article, we’re interested in its Web Analytics service. Because the goal of this product is to make analytics and insights as simple as possible, it includes a simple and user-friendly dashboard.

Privacy Compliance
By default, Gosquared Web Analytics anonymizes the data you collect, and it is GDPR-compliant. Furthermore, it only captures the information that is required for your insights.

Pricing
Web analytics plans from Gosquared start at $9 per month for up to 100,000 pageviews.

10. Base Analytics

Base Analytics is a web analytics platform with both basic and extensive features. It allows the website owner complete control.It allows you to track your date and impression in real-time. Unlike other analytics tools, it has no cookies. You may also follow your user’s journey, replay sessions, gather heatmaps, and more.

If you are interested in simplistic designs and an easy tool, check this link.