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Google Analytics 4

Free plan

No feature only Google Analytics 4 has.

Matomo Analytics

Free plan

Only Matomo Analytics has:

  • Data Sampling
  • Heatmaps
  • Session Recordings
  • A/B Testing

Fathom Analytics

From $15 p/m

No feature only Fathom Analytics has.

Simple Analytics

From €15 p/m

No feature only Simple Analytics has.

Google Analytics 4
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Matomo Analytics
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Fathom Analytics
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Simple Analytics
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Summary
A customisable and free web analytics tool. Get insights into user behavior with an event-based tracking model, and know what drives sales and traffic with extensive attribution methods.
A free privacy focussed open-source web analytics tool, which gives you 100% data-ownership. You can even use Matomo without needing to ask for consent.
Privacy-focused website analytics without compromise. Fathom doesn’t compromise visitor privacy for data. It made website analytics easy to use and respectful of privacy laws.
One easy dashboard to see how many visitors are coming to your website, where they come from and what they do once they're there. Without cookies. Without stalking. Still lightweight.
Pros
  • GA4 is free to use
  • Many functionalities
  • The reports are customisable
  • Large community
  • Extensive documentation
  • GA4 is easily scalable
  • Data display
  • Flexible data visualisation
  • Engagement reporting
  • Privacy oriented
  • Privacy friendly
  • Easy to use
  • Customer support
  • Ad-blocker bypassing
  • Privacy focused
  • Cookieless
  • Lightweight script
  • Good support
  • Easy to use
Cons
  • Steep learning curve
  • Implementation can be hard
  • Inaccurate data sampling
  • UI is not easy to use
  • Integrations
  • Branding method
  • No data import
  • Short free trial
  • Limited features
  • Limited features due to cookieless
  • Not very customisable
  • No free version

Pricing information

Starting Price
  • StandardFree
  • GA4 360$50k+ per year
  • On-PremiseFree
  • Cloud€19+ p/m
  • 100k page views$15 p/m
  • 200k page views$25 p/m
  • 500k page views$45 p/m
  • 1 Million page views$60 p/m
  • 2 Million page views$100 p/m
  • Starter€15 p/m
  • Business€40 p/m
  • EnterpriseOn req.
Free trial period
Free plan
21 days
30 days
14 days

Account Management

Trackable Items
100
30
50
5-10+ depending on plan
User Seats
Unlimited
Unlimited
Unlimited
1-10+ depending on plan
Account Security
  • Single Sign-on
  • Two-factor Authentication
  • Single Sign-on
  • Two-factor Authentication
  • Single Sign-on
  • Two-factor Authentication
  • Single Sign-on
  • Two-factor Authentication

Data Processing

Data Center Locations
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
  • United States
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
Software Hosting
  • Public Cloud
  • Private Cloud
  • On-Premise
  • Public Cloud
  • Private Cloud
  • On-Premise
  • Public Cloud
  • Private Cloud
  • On-Premise
  • Public Cloud
  • Private Cloud
  • On-Premise
Data Ownership
Google Analytics 4
You
You
You
Data Freshness
4-8 hours (most reports), up to 24-48 hours
15 minutes or more
Realtime
Realtime
Data Retention
Customizable up to 14 months
Unlimited and customizable
Unlimited
Unlimited
Data Sampling
Explorations might use sampled data
Matomo doesn’t use data sampling
Data Import
Import cost, offline or user/client ID data
Import Google Analytics data, search keywords & server logs
Google Analytics importer
GA importer included
Data Export
With sheets, BigQuery or API
to CSV, XML, Json or Looker Studio or via HTTP API
One-click CSV export
As CSV or via API
Compliance
  • GDPR
  • CCPA
  • GDPR
  • CCPA
  • ePrivacy
  • GDPR
  • CCPA
  • ePrivacy
  • COPPA
  • PECR
  • GDPR
  • CCPA
  • ePrivacy
Cookieless
Google Analytics relies on first-party cookies.
Matomo offers cookieless tracking.
Fathom is cookieless by default.
Simple Analytics is cookieless by default.

Alerts & Automation

Custom Alerts
Custom insights, in interface or via email
Receive alerts from every report by email or SMS
Email Reports
Recurring shared reporting
Detailed daily, weekly and monthly reports
Weekly or monthly reporting
Daily, weekly, monthly

Reporting

Trend Reporting
Curved and linear trend lines
Device Reporting
Device type, browser, OS and more
Device type, browser & OS
Funnel Reporting
Customisable funnel exploration
Basic funnel reporting
Line up goals for simple funnel
User Flow Reporting
Flexible Sankey chart exploration
With flexible Sankey chart
Segmentation
Segment creation and overlap exploration
Based on visit, interaction, campaign, ecommerce, demographics & device
Instant filters on any data point
Filter dashboard with visitor attributes
Cohort Reports
Cohort exploration
Analyse and segment by cohort
Retention Reporting
Combined with CLTV metrics
Attribution Reporting
Attribution models comparison
Model comparison report
Ecommerce Reporting
Extensive e-commerce reports
By means of custom events

User Experience Features

Heatmaps
GA4 does not offer heatmaps
Filter specific pages or hide elements on the page
Session Recordings
GA4 does not offer recordings
Record specific pages or only after activity or duration
A/B Testing
A/B Testing Platform (premium feature)
User Feedback

Customizability

Custom Properties
25 user-scoped & 50 event-scoped dimensions
5-15 for each scope and can't delete them
Custom Metrics
50 event-scoped metrics
Custom Reports
All reports are customisable
Flexible report design
Custom Events
25 parameters per event
Can include: name, ID & value
Annotations
Notes feature added in 2024
On any graph or via API
Able to include links in annotations

Support

Support description
Support is available via chat and the support center.
Matomo offers extensive documentation and video tutorials. Because Matomo is an open source product, you can also get help from a large community. Do you need personal help? Contact Matomo's support team for general issues or contact Innocraft for Matomo Cloud-hosted services.
Fathom offers extensive support and video walk-throughs. For issues you can always contact their knowledgable email support.
Simple Analytics offers knowledgable support through phone and email.
Support Options
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Live Chat
  • Ticketing system
  • Knowledge base
  • Community
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Live Chat
  • Ticketing system
  • Knowledge base
  • Community
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Live Chat
  • Ticketing system
  • Knowledge base
  • Community
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Live Chat
  • Ticketing system
  • Knowledge base
  • Community
Google Analytics 4
Visit ↗
Matomo Analytics
Visit ↗
Fathom Analytics
Visit ↗
Simple Analytics
Visit ↗

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