Software · head to head
Simple Analytics vs Countly
Simple Analytics
Software
Privacy-friendly analytics without cookies
- From
- $20/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Countly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Simple Analytics the free plan requires a Simple Analytics badge on your site and is limited to 1 user, 5 websites and 30 days of history; Countly the private cloud plan starts at $175 a month and is described as usage based without stating the unit
- They diverge on capability: Simple Analytics covers Page view tracking, Countly covers Event tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Simple Analytics and Countly actually diverge.
| Attribute | Simple Analytics | Countly |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Web, Mobile, Api |
| Founded | 2016 | 2012 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Simple Analytics
- Page view tracking
- Goal tracking
- Real-time analytics
- Privacy-focused
- GDPR compliant
- English language support
Only in Countly
- Event tracking
- Crash reporting
- Analytics dashboard
- User retention
- Open-source
- On-premise deployment
- Mobile support
- Api support
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Simple Analytics
- Cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent bannernot Countly
- Keeping visitor data hosted in the EU for GDPR purposesnot Countly
- Replacing or running alongside Google Analytics with a single-page dashboardnot Countly
Countly
- Product analytics for mobile and web applicationsnot Simple Analytics
- Self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisationnot Simple Analytics
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Simple Analytics
- The free plan requires a Simple Analytics badge on your site and is limited to 1 user, 5 websites and 30 days of history
- Data older than 30 days is automatically deleted on the free plan
- The paid plan starts at $20 per month for 100,000 pageviews and includes only 1 user, with each extra user costing another $20 per month
- Single Sign-On, role-based access, SOC 2 documentation, an SLA and raw data export are Enterprise features quoted only by demo request
- On yearly plans, exceeding your estimated limit gives you one week to raise it before Simple Analytics raises it for you
- Paying by Bitcoin adds 10% and is only offered on yearly billing
- Bank transfer is only available for bills from $500 and adds 10% in banking and service fees
- Unlimited pageviews on the free plan are subject to a fair use policy rather than a stated number
Countly
- The private cloud plan starts at $175 a month and is described as usage based without stating the unit
- No event cap, data point limit or user limit is published for either paid plan
- The self hosted Enterprise edition is custom priced and billed annually
- Adaptivity and intelligence features are separately priced add ons on the cheaper plan
Pricing, plan by plan
Simple Analytics
$20/month- Standard$20/month
- Up to 100k page views
- Real-time analytics
Countly
Free- Open SourceFree
- Open-source
- Self-hosted
- Full features
Which should you pick?
Choose Simple Analytics if
- You need page view tracking.
- You also want goal tracking.
Choose Countly if
- You need event tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
- You also want crash reporting.
Questions people ask
- Is Simple Analytics or Countly better?
- Neither clearly leads. Simple Analytics starts at $20/month and Countly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Simple Analytics or Countly?
- Countly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/month for Simple Analytics and Free for Countly.
- Does Simple Analytics or Countly run on more platforms?
- Simple Analytics runs on Web. Countly runs on Web, Mobile, Api.
- Can I use Countly for free?
- Yes. Countly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Simple Analytics starts at $20/month.
- What is Simple Analytics best used for?
- Simple Analytics is most often used for cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent banner, keeping visitor data hosted in the eu for gdpr purposes, replacing or running alongside google analytics with a single-page dashboard. Of those, cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent banner and keeping visitor data hosted in the eu for gdpr purposes are not what Countly is typically brought in for.
- What can Simple Analytics do that Countly cannot?
- Simple Analytics covers Page view tracking, Goal tracking, Real-time analytics, Privacy-focused. Countly covers Event tracking, Crash reporting, Analytics dashboard, User retention. Both handle Cloud deployment, Web support.