Analytics review
Fathom Analytics
Privacy-first analytics with a single-line script and a single-page dashboard. The closest competitor to Plausible and worth comparing both before you commit.
At a glance
- Pricing
- From $15/mo (100k pageviews); 30-day trial
- Category
- Analytics
- Last reviewed
- Best for
- Content creators and consultants who want privacy-safe stats and prefer a Canadian-owned indie company over Google.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I've used and would happily suggest to a friend.
Benchmarks
How Fathom Analytics actually scores.
Five axes that matter for a one-person business. Each score is editorial, 1–10, higher is better. A tool that maxes every axis doesn't exist; the shape of the chart is the signal.
- Price
- Value for a one-person budget
- Solo fit
- Built with solo operators in mind
- Learning curve
- How fast a beginner gets useful work done
- Lock-in
- How easy it is to leave (high = easy)
- Support
- Quality and responsiveness of help
Scores are set by the editor after hands-on use and revised as the tool evolves. They're not paid for and don't change based on affiliate partnerships.
The case for
- Cookie-free out of the box: no consent banner needed under GDPR or PECR
- Generous pageview ceilings on each plan tier
- Public dashboards are clean and shareable, useful for content marketing
- Handles multiple sites under one subscription, no extra fee
The case against
- No free tier beyond a 30-day trial
- Slightly less event/goal flexibility than Plausible at the moment
- Owner-funded but smaller team than Plausible, so feature pace is slower
Fathom or Plausible?
If you have read our Plausible review, you already know the case for replacing Google Analytics on a content site. Fathom is in the same category and largely comparable. The two products converge more than they diverge:
- Both are cookie-free and GDPR-clean
- Both fit on a single screen
- Both have a script size under 2KB
- Both are around $9 to $15 for a small site
The differences are around the edges. Fathom is run from Canada, supports multiple sites under one subscription with generous pageview limits, and has a slightly more polished dashboard. Plausible is open source, EU-hosted, and self-hostable if that matters to you.
For most one-person businesses the choice is taste rather than capability. Try both during the trial periods and pick the one whose dashboard you find calmer to look at.
What Fathom does well
- Email reports. The weekly digest summarises top pages and referrers without you opening the dashboard.
- Public stats pages. Useful as social proof on a marketing site, or as an informal investor update for indie hackers.
- One subscription, multiple sites. If you run a personal site plus a business site plus a side project, Fathom does not nickel-and-dime you.
Where it falls short
Fathom does not have a free tier (Plausible doesn't either, technically). If you are pre-revenue and unwilling to pay $15/mo for analytics, Fathom is not the right answer yet. Use the basic stats your hosting provider gives you until you are ready.
The event tracking depth is slightly behind Plausible right now. Both let you track goals, but Plausible's recent revenue and funnel features are a step ahead.
Verdict
A clean, ethical alternative to Google Analytics. Most solo operators would be served by either Fathom or Plausible. Pick whichever you find prettier and never think about analytics again.
Related reading: the minimum viable software stack for your first year.
Bottom line
Ready to try Fathom Analytics?
Content creators and consultants who want privacy-safe stats and prefer a Canadian-owned indie company over Google.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I've used and would happily suggest to a friend.
Compare Fathom Analytics with the alternatives
Side-by-side reviews of the other Analytics tools we've covered.
4.5/5 vs 4.5/5 · From $9/mo for up to 10,000 monthly pageviews
4.5/5 vs 3.5/5 · Free for 1M events/mo. Self-host free, cloud usage-based after the free tier
Living document
What did we miss about Fathom Analytics?
Every review evolves. Spot something wrong, missing, or out of date — drop a note. The most useful ones land in our monthly "Reader corrections" post, with credit if you're up for it.
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