TL;DR:
Plausible and Fathom are both cookieless, privacy-first and simple; the practical difference is pricing shape. Plausible is $9/mo per site, best for a single site; Fathom is $15/mo flat across unlimited sites, best if you run several. Neither attributes revenue back to its source, Open Analytics does, at $9/mo, which is why it leads this comparison.
Plausible and Fathom are the two names privacy-conscious teams weigh most often against each other. They are strikingly similar (cookieless, no banner, a single readable page, open-source roots) so the decision usually comes down to how many sites you run and how you like to pay. Here is the honest split, plus where a third option leads.
At a glance
| Open Analytics | Plausible | Fathom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| From | $9/mo | $9/mo per site | $15/mo unlimited sites |
| Meters | Events | Pageviews | Pageviews |
| Best for | Revenue + depth | A single site | Many sites |
| Self-host | Yes (AGPL) | Yes (AGPL) | Lite only |
| Revenue attribution | Yes | No | No |
| Visitor journey | Yes | No | No |
The three, and what each is best at
- 01
Open Analytics
That's usThe pick when you want Plausible/Fathom simplicity plus revenue attribution and a per-visitor journey.
Price: From $9/mo for 50,000 events (a pageview or anything you tag), 3-day free trial.
Strengths
- Revenue attributed back to the visit and source that earned it
- Built-in MCP server: ask your analytics in plain English
- Realtime journeys, funnels and Core Web Vitals in one script
- Open source (AGPL) and self-hostable
Trade-offs
- Newer than Plausible or Fathom
- Meters events, so tagged conversions count
- No free plan, only the trial
Best for a single site at the lowest entry price.
Price: From $9/mo for 10,000 pageviews, per site.
Strengths
- Cheapest single-site entry
- EU-owned and EU-hosted
- The cleanest dashboard
Trade-offs
- Per-site pricing scales with properties
- Events share the pageview meter
- 03
Fathom
Best if you run several sites and want one flat bill.
Price: From $15/mo for 100,000 pageviews across unlimited sites.
Strengths
- Unlimited sites on every plan
- Large pageview allowance
- Imports from UA and GA4
Trade-offs
- Steep for a single small site
- Aggregate-only, no journey
The rule of thumb: one site, pick Plausible; several sites, pick Fathom; want revenue tied to its source, pick Open Analytics. Figures checked 2026-08-07.
Open Analytics is the events-metered, revenue-aware option with an AI-queryable dataset. Try it free for three days.
Start free trialFrequently asked questions
- Is Plausible or Fathom cheaper?
- For a single site, Plausible at $9/mo is cheaper than Fathom's $15/mo. But Fathom's $15 covers unlimited sites, so once you run several properties it becomes the cheaper option. Count your sites: that single fact decides it. Open Analytics also starts at $9/mo, on events.
- What is the difference between Plausible and Fathom?
- They are very similar, both cookieless, simple and privacy-first. The main differences: Plausible is priced per site and is EU-owned and self-hostable; Fathom is flat-priced across unlimited sites and imports from Universal Analytics and GA4. Neither keeps a per-visitor journey or attributes revenue to its source.
- Do Plausible and Fathom have revenue attribution?
- No. Both can record revenue values on events you instrument, but neither ties a payment back to the visit, page or channel that produced it. If revenue attribution matters, Open Analytics adds it via a Stripe connection at the same $9 entry price.