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Comparisons Tested Updated 3 min read

Analytics tools compared with Google Analytics

Nine popular alternatives, each set beside Google Analytics 4 and Nora Analytics, with numbers we measured ourselves and facts from each maker's own pages.

What each script weighs

Kilobytes a visitor downloads, compressed. Less is faster.

  • Google Analytics 4 154 KB
  • PostHog 105 KB
  • Matomo 66 KB
  • Microsoft Clarity 27 KB
  • Rybbit 11 KB
  • Cloudflare Web Analytics 10.2 KB
  • Simple Analytics 3.8 KB
  • Nora Analytics 2.7 KB
  • Plausible 2.5 KB
  • Umami 2.3 KB
  • Fathom 2.1 KB

Measured in our tracker lab on 13 October 2026; Google's tag is at its lightest here, with nothing configured.

Nora LabResearch team at Nora Analytics

We tested 11 analytics tools on 13 October 2026: each script alone on a test page in Chrome 155, visited by a scripted reader and three kinds of automated browser, then checked against the EasyPrivacy blocklist. Prices and features come from each maker's own pages, each linked. We make Nora Analytics, so it's in every test, tested the same way. How we tested this

At a glance

ToolScript, KBCookies it setsPrice at 100k viewsAI agents told apartComparison
Google Analytics 4154_ga_<property>, _ga$0NoAll alternatives
Plausible2.5None$19Novs Google Analytics
Fathom2.1None$15Novs Google Analytics
Simple Analytics3.8None$20Novs Google Analytics
Umami2.3None$0Novs Google Analytics
Matomo66_pk_id, _pk_ses$42Partlyvs Google Analytics
PostHog105ph_<project>_posthog$0Partlyvs Google Analytics
Microsoft Clarity27_clck, _clsk$0Novs Google Analytics
Cloudflare Web Analytics10.2None$0Novs Google Analytics
Rybbit11None$19Partlyvs Google Analytics
Nora Analytics2.7None$0Yes—

Script weight and cookies measured in our tracker lab on 13 October 2026; prices and features from each maker's pages. We make Nora Analytics.

The comparisons

Plausible vs Google Analytics

Paid, private and simple, hosted in the EU.

Fathom vs Google Analytics

Paid and private, one plan with everything.

Simple Analytics vs Google Analytics

Dutch and private, with a free plan.

Umami vs Google Analytics

Open source, free to self-host.

Matomo vs Google Analytics

The closest to GA in features, cloud or self-hosted.

PostHog vs Google Analytics

Product analytics with web analytics added.

Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics

Free heatmaps and recordings, usually beside GA.

Cloudflare Web Analytics vs Google Analytics

Free, built into Cloudflare.

Rybbit vs Google Analytics

Open source and new, with a bots report.

Nora Analytics is free for up to 1 million visitors a month. No cookies, a 2.7 KB script, and every page view sorted into people, AI agents and bots.

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