Stack
Simple Analytics
An EU-hosted, cookieless web analytics service with a free plan that accepts unlimited pageviews but keeps only the last month of data.
What it actually does
Simple Analytics is a one-page traffic dashboard that records pageviews, referrers, top content, and goals without cookies, so it is GDPR-compliant without a consent banner and hosts data in the EU.
Its free plan is unusual in accepting unlimited pageviews under a fair-use policy, which means a traffic spike costs nothing, but it retains only the last 30 days of data and requires a visible badge on your site. Paid plans lift the history cap and remove the badge, with pricing scaling on a datapoint slider.
It also offers an AI chat feature for querying analytics in plain language, which the other simple dashboards in this category do not provide.
Simple Analytics vs its main rivals
The tools people actually weigh against Simple Analytics: Plausible, Fathom, Matomo. Same criteria for every column, including where Simple Analytics loses.
| Simple Analytics |  Plausible |  Fathom |  Matomo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing & access | ||||
| Free tier | YesUnlimited views, 1 mo history | NoNo | NoNo | YesFree (self-host) |
| Starting price | ~$22/mo | $9/mo | $15/mo | $0 self-host |
| Open source / self-host | NoNo | YesAGPL | NoNo | YesGPL |
Privacy & hosting | ||||
| Cookieless, no banner | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | YesOptional |
| EU data hosting | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | YesSelf-host |
Analytics depth | ||||
| Goals / events | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes |
| Funnels | NoNo | YesBusiness plan | NoNo | YesYes |
| AI natural-language query | YesYes | NoNo | NoNo | NoNo |
Developer & API | ||||
| REST / export API | Paid | Paid | Free | Free |
Scaling & limits | ||||
| Free-tier history | 1 month | None (trial) | None (trial) | Unlimited (self-host) |
| Included pageviews (paid entry) | 100k | 10k | 100k | Unlimited (self-host) |
| Data retention (paid) | 3-5 yr | 3+ yr | Forever | Unlimited |
- Free plan accepts unlimited pageviews, so traffic spikes cost nothing
- Cookieless, EU-hosted, and GDPR-compliant without a consent banner
- AI chat lets you query analytics in plain language, plus a 14-day paid trial with no card
- Free plan keeps only 1 month of history and forces a badge on your site, blocking month-over-month comparison without paying
- Paid entry near $22/mo is more than double Plausible's $9 Starter for a similar feature set
- No open-source self-host option and each extra user adds another monthly fee
Pay less for it
4 ways foundUnlimited pageviews at $0 if you only need the last 30 days and accept the badge
Paying yearly gives 2 months free versus monthly billing
14-day paid trial with no credit card before committing
Umami — A free tier that keeps history and does not force a badge, at a lower paid price than Simple Analytics
StackTracker tracks what you actually pay for Simple Analytics and every other tool, flags overpayment, and shows the dollars you would save by switching.
Is it the right tool for you
- You want a free dashboard that survives traffic spikes
- You only care about the last 30 days of data
- You value EU hosting and plain-language AI queries
- You need history on a free tier without a badge → use Umami
- You want the cheapest paid privacy dashboard → use Plausible
- You need product analytics or replays → use PostHog
Track what Simple Analytics and the rest of your stack cost
StackTracker adds up every subscription, plus your hours, so you see the real number.
Prices and limits last verified 2026-07-20.