Marketing · head to head
Fathom Analytics vs Umami

Umami
Marketing
Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Umami has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Fathom Analytics there is no free tier, only a 7 day trial; Umami there is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
- They diverge on capability: Fathom Analytics covers Page view tracking, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fathom Analytics and Umami actually diverge.
| Attribute | Fathom Analytics | Umami |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $14/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | Per month by event count |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Linux |
| Founded | 2014 | Unknown |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Fathom Analytics
- Page view tracking
- Goal tracking
- Real-time analytics
- Referrer tracking
- Privacy-focused
- GDPR compliant
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
Only in Umami
- Cookie-free tracking
- Self-hosting
- Small tracking script
- Custom events
- Funnels and goals
- Multi-site and teams
- Public dashboards
- API access
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Fathom Analytics
- Privacy-focused web analytics without cookie bannersnot Umami
- A lightweight Google Analytics replacementnot Umami
- Tracking many sites from one accountnot Umami
- Long-term historical reporting while subscribednot Umami
Umami
- A developer who wants traffic numbers on a personal or client site without adding a consent bannernot Fathom Analytics
- An organisation whose legal or procurement team has ruled out sending visitor data to a US advertising companynot Fathom Analytics
- A high-traffic site where hosted analytics priced by pageview band has become expensive and self-hosting removes the ceiling entirelynot Fathom Analytics
- A team that wants analytics data in a database they already control so they can query and join it themselvesnot Fathom Analytics
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fathom Analytics
- There is no free tier, only a 7 day trial
- Priced on pageviews, from $45 a month at the 500,000 pageview level
- Custom events count against the pageview allowance rather than being tracked separately
- Site allowances come in packs, with additional 50-site packs at $10 a month
- Data is retained forever only while the subscription is active
Umami
- There is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
- Self-hosting is only free in licence terms; you own the database, the upgrades, the backups and the query performance at scale, and a busy site's events table grows quickly enough to need real attention.
- Because it stores no persistent identifier, it cannot follow a user across devices or sessions in any meaningful way, which makes returning-visitor and lifetime-value questions unanswerable by design rather than by omission.
- Cloud overage is billed per event beyond the plan allowance, so a traffic spike or a badly instrumented custom event can produce a bill materially above the $20 or $200 headline before anyone notices.
- It is maintained by a small team, so the pace of new capability is modest and enterprise expectations such as SSO, granular role permissions and formal support agreements are limited compared with commercial analytics vendors.
Pricing, plan by plan
Fathom Analytics
$14/month- Starter$14/month
- Unlimited page views
- 1 site
- Real-time analytics
Umami
Free- Self-hostedFree
- MIT licensed, no licence fee
- No event limit imposed by the software
- Unlimited websites and users
- Cloud HobbyFree
- Up to 100,000 events per month
- 3 websites
- 6 months data retention
- Cloud Pro$20/month
- Up to 1,000,000 events per month
- Unlimited websites
- Unlimited team members
- Cloud Business$200/month
- Up to 10,000,000 events per month
- All Pro features
- Higher volume overage rate
Which should you pick?
Choose Fathom Analytics if
- You need page view tracking.
- You also want goal tracking.
Choose Umami if
- You need cookie-free tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux.
- You also want self-hosting.
Questions people ask
- Is Fathom Analytics or Umami better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fathom Analytics starts at $14/month and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fathom Analytics or Umami?
- Umami has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $14/month for Fathom Analytics and Free for Umami.
- Does Fathom Analytics or Umami run on more platforms?
- Fathom Analytics runs on Web. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
- Can I use Umami for free?
- Yes. Umami has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fathom Analytics starts at $14/month.
- What is Fathom Analytics best used for?
- Fathom Analytics is most often used for privacy-focused web analytics without cookie banners, a lightweight google analytics replacement, tracking many sites from one account, long-term historical reporting while subscribed. Of those, privacy-focused web analytics without cookie banners and a lightweight google analytics replacement are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
- What can Fathom Analytics do that Umami cannot?
- Fathom Analytics covers Page view tracking, Goal tracking, Real-time analytics, Referrer tracking. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Fathom Analytics: How much does Fathom Analytics cost?
Fathom's entry-level plan costs $45/month for up to 500,000 pageviews. Higher volume tiers exist (1M, 2M, 10M, 25M+ pageviews) with custom pricing. Yearly billing provides 2 months free.
SourceUmami: Is Umami really free?
Self-hosted, yes; it is MIT licensed with no event cap. You pay for the server and database. Umami Cloud has a free tier at 100,000 events a month and paid tiers from $20.
Fathom Analytics: Is there a free trial for Fathom Analytics?
Yes, Fathom offers a 7-day free trial. There is no free tier after the trial ends.
SourceUmami: Do I need a cookie consent banner?
For Umami analytics specifically, generally no, because it sets no cookies and stores no personal data. Other tags on your site may still require one.
Fathom Analytics: What happens if my pageviews exceed my plan limit?
Fathom handles usage overage graciously, only upgrading your plan after two consecutive months over your limit. There are no immediate overage charges.
SourceUmami: Can it replace Google Analytics?
For traffic, referrers and event counts, yes. For attribution modelling, audiences and advertising integration, no.
Fathom Analytics: Can I add extra sites to my Fathom plan?
Yes, extra sites cost $10/month per 50-site pack, or $100/year (which includes two months free). All plans include a minimum of 50 included sites.
SourceUmami: What does it need to run?
A container and a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. Most people deploy it on infrastructure they already pay for.
Fathom Analytics: Can I cancel Fathom without a long contract?
Yes, there are no contracts and cancellation is flexible. Fathom does not lock customers into agreements.
SourceRelated pages
More on Fathom Analytics
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