I recently checked back into the Google Analytics dashboard and… wow. It feels like I’m piloting a spaceship now — way too complicated for what I actually need. Plus, Google PageSpeed Insights keeps warning me that it’s slowing down my site.
I’m looking for something lightweight, simple to install, and easy to read.
All I really want is to know how many people landed on my homepage and maybe how many clicked to the next page (not a strict must-have though).
Can anyone suggest a solid free alternative?
I’ve been in the analytics space for a few years, and honestly, when GA4 launched, I felt like I needed a certification just to read basic traffic.
That’s when I found Plausible Analytics, and man, it’s been a breath of fresh air. If you’re looking for a lightweight, free alternative to Google Analytics, Plausible hits the sweet spot.
Super clean dashboard with the essentials: page views, top content, bounce rates, referral links — all that without cookies or user tracking.
It’s privacy-focused, GDPR compliant, and takes like 60 seconds to install. There’s a free trial, and even the paid plans are pretty reasonable if you outgrow the free tier. Honestly, most small projects won’t even need to upgrade.
Yeah, Plausible’s great, I used it for a while too. But if you’re a bit more hands-on and prefer having total control, you should definitely try Umami. I’ve been working in dev and analytics for over 6 years, and I can say it’s a solid option if you’re looking for a lightweight, free alternative to Google Analytics that you can self-host.
Once you get it up (Docker or Vercel works great), it’s smooth sailing, clean UI, no fluff. Just the core metrics: unique visitors, sessions, and referrers. It’s blazing fast, doesn’t add any bloat, and the best part? Your data stays yours.
No third-party cloud snooping around. Ideal if you’re building something with privacy in mind and want long-term control.
Totally hear both of you, Plausible and Umami are solid. But for anyone running personal sites, portfolios, or side projects, I’d add GoatCounter into the mix.
I’ve been using it for about a year now, and it’s probably the most underrated lightweight, free alternative to Google Analytics out there. It’s 100% free for non-commercial use and takes literally two minutes to embed and forget.
No cookie banners, no setup drama. You still get the basics: real-time visits, top pages, referrers , all wrapped in a clean, minimalist UI. For people who just want to know “who’s visiting and from where” without digging through layers of dashboards, this is gold.