Hosted, self-hosted or part of your host
Free analytics comes in three kinds. Pick the kind first, then compare the limits:
| Kind | Examples | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted free plan | Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Cloudflare Web Analytics, Umami Cloud Hobby, Simple Analytics, GoatCounter | Add a script, the vendor stores and shows the data |
| Self-hosted open source | Matomo On-Premise, Plausible Community Edition, Umami, Swetrix Community Edition, PostHog | Run the software on your own server and keep it updated |
| Built into your host | Vercel Web Analytics, Cloudflare Web Analytics on proxied sites | Switch it on for sites you already host there |
Self-hosting costs nothing in license fees, but you pay for the server and do the work. Plausible says plainly that with its Community Edition you handle installation, maintenance, upgrades, uptime, backups and security yourself.
Free limits compared
These are the numbers we found on the official pages:
| Tool | Free limit |
|---|---|
| Umami Cloud Hobby | Up to 100K events a month, 1 website, 6 months of data |
| Simple Analytics | Unlimited page views under fair use, 5 websites, 1 user, 30 days of history, badge required |
| Vercel Web Analytics | 50,000 events a month on Hobby, 1 month reporting window |
| Cloudflare Web Analytics | 10 sites when they are not proxied by Cloudflare, no limit for proxied sites |
| Microsoft Clarity | No traffic limits; up to 100,000 recorded sessions per project a day |
| Contentsquare Free | Up to 200k sessions a month, 1 month of data access |
| PostHog Cloud | First 1 million events and 5k recordings each month |
| Mixpanel Free | Up to 1M events and 10K session replays a month |
| Google Analytics | Event data kept 2 or 14 months, cut to 2 months for Large properties |
Retention matters more than it looks. With 30 days of history you cannot compare this month with the same month last year.
Cookies and privacy statements
Several tools say they work without cookies. Cloudflare states that its Web Analytics does not use any client-side state, such as cookies or localStorage. Umami describes itself with no cookies, GoatCounter says it counts unique visits without cookies, and counter.dev and Swetrix also say they use no cookies.
These are the vendors' own statements. Whether your site needs a consent banner depends on the laws that apply to you and on everything else your site loads, so read the vendor's privacy page and get advice if you are unsure.
Measure campaigns and fix what you find
Analytics only tells you where visitors come from if your links carry that information. Tag the links in newsletters, ads and social posts with the UTM builder, and analytics tools that read UTM parameters can sort the traffic by campaign.
- Meta tag generator: write the title and description that search results show.
- Open Graph checker: see how a page looks when it is shared.
- XML sitemap generator: help search engines find all your pages.
- Website speed test: check whether a slow page explains a high bounce rate.
We opened each tool's official page on the date in the table and wrote down only what it says. An empty cell or "Not stated" means the page does not say it. Need a place to host the site itself? See free website hosting.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Analytics really free?
Yes. Google says Google Analytics gives you the tools free of charge. On standard properties you can keep event data for 2 or 14 months, and Large properties are cut to 2 months.
Which free analytics tools work without cookies?
Cloudflare Web Analytics, Umami, GoatCounter, counter.dev and Swetrix all state on their own pages that they do not use cookies. Check the current privacy page of the tool you pick, because these statements can change.
Can I self-host website analytics for free?
Yes. Matomo On-Premise Community is free forever with unlimited users and hits, Plausible Community Edition is free to self-host under the AGPL, and Umami says it can be self-hosted for free. You pay for your own server and maintain it yourself.
Is there a free tool for heatmaps and session recordings?
Microsoft Clarity is free forever with heatmaps and session recordings and no traffic limits, keeping recordings for 30 days. Contentsquare, which now includes Hotjar, has a free plan with up to 200k sessions a month. PostHog and Mixpanel also include free replays.
Does Plausible have a free plan?
Not in the cloud. Plausible offers a 30 day free trial of Plausible Cloud. The Community Edition is free to self-host under the AGPLv3, without features like funnels, ecommerce revenue goals and premium support.