Not everyone needs the depth of Matomo or the simplicity of Plausible. Sometimes you want something lightweight, self-hostable, and beautifully simple. That's where Fathom and Umami come in.
This comparison covers pricing, data ownership, features, and who each tool is actually for.
1. At a Glance
| Dimension | Fathom Analytics | Umami |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $14/mo (100k pageviews) | Free (self-hosted) / $29/mo (Cloud) |
| Self-Host Option | ❌ Cloud only | ✅ Free, open-source |
| Cookie-Free | ✅ Yes, no banner needed | ✅ Yes, no banner needed |
| Dashboard | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful, minimal | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Clean, functional |
| Real-Time | ✅ Real-time visitors | ✅ Real-time dashboard |
| Team Features | ⭐⭐⭐ Limited | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Multi-user & role-based |
| Best For | Simplicity-first site owners | Developers & self-hosters |
2. Pricing
Fathom Analytics
Fathom is a hosted SaaS: $14/mo for 100k pageviews, $54/mo for 500k, $114/mo for 1.5M. All features included at every tier — no feature gating. 30-day free trial available.
Umami
Umami offers free self-hosting (one-line Docker install), or Umami Cloud ($29/mo for 100k events, $99/mo for 500k). The cloud version is simpler but pricier than Fathom at low volumes.
3. Core Features
Fathom Analytics
Fathom's dashboard is a work of art — beautifully minimal, fast, and instantly understandable. It shows visitors, pageviews, top pages, referrers, countries, devices, and custom events. The shareable reports feature is great for client reporting.
Umami
Umami is open-source and offers more customization: custom dashboards, website groups, role-based access, and API access. It supports multiple websites out of the box. The interface is clean but slightly less polished than Fathom's.
4. Ease of Use
Fathom wins hands down — one JavaScript snippet, beautiful dashboard, zero configuration. Umami takes slightly more effort to set up (especially self-hosted) but rewards you with more flexibility and data control.
5. Verdict
• You're happy paying a monthly fee for zero maintenance
• You need GDPR compliance without a cookie banner
• You want to set it up in under 5 minutes
• You want full data ownership via self-hosting
• You need multi-user access with role-based permissions
• You want to track multiple websites across different environments
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