Simple Analytics

What is Simple Analytics?

Simple Analytics is a privacy-first, minimalist web analytics platform that focuses on delivering essential website insights without collecting personal data or requiring cookie consent banners.
Built in the Netherlands, it provides a compliant, ethical alternative to Google Analytics, emphasizing simplicity, transparency, and performance for businesses, publishers, and developers.

Simple Analytics is ideal for users who want actionable website data without complexity, invasive tracking, or privacy risks.

Key Features

• No cookies, no personal data: 100% GDPR, PECR, and CCPA compliant out of the box.

• Minimalist dashboard: Clear insights like pageviews, sources, referrers, top pages, and devices without clutter.

• Lightweight script: Small tracking script (

• Event tracking: Custom events (like button clicks, purchases, downloads) easily implemented.

• Email and Slack reports: Automated summaries sent to your inbox or team channels.

• Embeddable dashboards: Create public or private live analytics pages.

• API access: Pull analytics data programmatically for custom dashboards or reports.

• Adblocker bypass: Unique strategy to avoid being blocked by most adblockers without compromising user privacy.

• Team features: Invite unlimited team members at no extra cost.

Technical Foundation

• Backend: Built with fast, modern infrastructure, optimized for data security and minimal resource usage.

• Hosting: Fully European hosting to guarantee GDPR compliance.

• Data processing: Aggregated and anonymized instantly; no raw IP addresses, fingerprints, or unique user IDs stored.

• Integration: Simple copy-paste JavaScript snippet or integrations for platforms like WordPress, Ghost, and static site generators.

Use Cases

• Startups and small businesses: Looking for a simple way to track website performance without legal headaches.

• Content creators and blogs: Needing clean, privacy-compliant traffic insights.

• Privacy-first organizations: NGOs, educational sites, and ethical brands.

• Developers and SaaS teams: Wanting lightweight analytics with strong API options for custom needs.

• Agencies: Managing client reporting easily through shared dashboards.

Pricing

Simple Analytics follows a clear, traffic-based pricing model:

• Free trial available (14 days, no credit card required)

• Paid plans based on monthly pageviews

• Unlimited websites and team members included

• Yearly discounts offered

• Data retention for 14 months by default, with longer periods on higher tiers

Typical plan features:

• Access to all core analytics features

• API access

• Event tracking

• Email and Slack reports

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Instantly GDPR, PECR, and CCPA compliant

• Very intuitive, no training needed

• Lightweight and fast-loading script

• Good developer support (API, libraries)

• Fair pricing with no user or website limits

• Transparent and ethical business model

Cons:

• Limited advanced features (e.g., no deep segmentation, cohort analysis, multi-step funnels)

• No built-in consent management (because none is needed, but could be confusing for teams used to consent workflows)

• Custom event tracking requires some manual JavaScript implementation

• Basic compared to enterprise analytics suites

How It Differs From Alternatives

• Versus Google Analytics: No personal data collection, much simpler dashboard, instant compliance.

• Versus Plausible: Both focus on simplicity and privacy; Plausible offers slightly deeper reporting (e.g., goal tracking, UTM filtering), while Simple Analytics emphasizes extreme simplicity and embeddable reports.

• Versus Pirsch: Pirsch offers stronger API flexibility for backend integration; Simple Analytics focuses on an even faster and more minimalist frontend experience.

• Versus Fathom Analytics: Fathom and Simple Analytics are both privacy-first, but Fathom leans slightly more towards businesses managing multiple sites with bulk controls.

Typical Metrics You Can Track

• Pageviews and unique visitors

• Bounce rates

• Referrer websites and referrer pages

• Top content (pages and downloads)

• Browser types, operating systems, and device categories

• Countries (anonymized and aggregated)

• Custom events (e.g., clicks, signups, video views)

Best Practices for Using Simple Analytics

• Install early: Embed the tracking script on your site during development or launch.

• Use events thoughtfully: Define a few key events that really matter to your goals (e.g., signup clicks, purchases).

• Set up Slack/email notifications: Stay on top of traffic changes without needing to check the dashboard manually.

• Publish an open dashboard: If transparency is important for your brand (e.g., in public or nonprofit sectors), enable embeddable dashboards.

• Use the API for custom reporting: Especially if you want to combine analytics data with internal KPIs or CRM metrics.