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Marketing · head to head

Simple Analytics vs Umami

Simple Analytics logo

Simple Analytics

Marketing

Privacy-friendly analytics without cookies

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Umami logo

Umami

Marketing

Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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; 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: Simple 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 Simple Analytics and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Simple Analytics and Umami differ
AttributeSimple AnalyticsUmami
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by event count
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Simple Analytics

  • Page view tracking
  • Goal tracking
  • Real-time analytics
  • Privacy-focused
  • GDPR compliant
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • English language 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.

Simple Analytics

  • Cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent bannernot Umami
  • Keeping visitor data hosted in the EU for GDPR purposesnot Umami
  • Replacing or running alongside Google Analytics with a single-page dashboardnot Umami

Umami

  • A developer who wants traffic numbers on a personal or client site without adding a consent bannernot Simple Analytics
  • An organisation whose legal or procurement team has ruled out sending visitor data to a US advertising companynot Simple Analytics
  • A high-traffic site where hosted analytics priced by pageview band has become expensive and self-hosting removes the ceiling entirelynot Simple Analytics
  • A team that wants analytics data in a database they already control so they can query and join it themselvesnot 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

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

Simple Analytics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 30-day data retention
    • Fair use policy applies
    • Unlimited pageviews within fair use
  • Self-Serve$20/month
    • Monthly or annual billing (2 months free with yearly)
    • 1 user included; additional users $20/month each
    • Up to 5 sites per user
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom pricing available upon demo request
    • Traffic recovery (20-60% of invisible traffic)
    • Raw data access

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 Simple Analytics if

  • You need page view tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want goal tracking.
Simple Analytics review

Choose Umami if

  • You need cookie-free tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want self-hosting.
Umami review

Questions people ask

Is Simple Analytics or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Simple Analytics starts at Free and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Simple Analytics or Umami?
Simple Analytics starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does Simple Analytics or Umami run on more platforms?
Simple Analytics runs on Web. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Simple Analytics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Simple Analytics do that Umami cannot?
Simple Analytics covers Page view tracking, Goal tracking, Real-time analytics, Privacy-focused. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Simple Analytics: How much does Simple Analytics cost?

Simple Analytics offers a free plan forever and a Self-Serve plan at $20/month per user (or $240/year with 2 months free). Enterprise pricing is available upon request.

Source
Umami: 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.

Simple Analytics: What currencies does Simple Analytics accept?

Simple Analytics accepts Euros, US Dollars, and British Pounds. Payment methods include credit/debit cards, Bitcoin (with +10% fee), Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Bank transfers are available for invoices $500+, with 10% additional fees applied.

Source
Umami: 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.

Simple Analytics: How long is the free trial?

Simple Analytics offers a 14-day free trial that requires no credit card to start.

Source
Umami: Can it replace Google Analytics?

For traffic, referrers and event counts, yes. For attribution modelling, audiences and advertising integration, no.

Simple Analytics: Can I cancel Simple Analytics anytime?

Yes. You can cancel your subscription at any moment without penalties or notice requirements.

Source
Umami: What does it need to run?

A container and a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. Most people deploy it on infrastructure they already pay for.

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