Plausible vs Fathom (2026): Pricing, Features, and the Honest Truth
I ran Plausible and Fathom side by side for 6 months. Real pricing, GDPR comparison, EU hosting, and an honest verdict on which privacy-first analytics tool wins.
March 2026 Update: After writing this comparison, we switched eupick.com to Fathom. Why? We’re that 1 in 10. Our reasoning: simpler dashboard for a non-technical team, and we valued Fathom’s 8-year track record for a business site. The analysis below still stands — Plausible is the better value for most people. Try Fathom free for 7 days | Try Plausible
Let me save you some time: Plausible wins for 9 out of 10 people.
There. I said it. You can stop reading now if you want.
Still here? Good. Because the why matters, and the edge cases matter, and maybe you’re that 1 in 10 where Fathom makes more sense.
Plausible
Estonia • Open Source • €9/mo
Fathom
Canada • Closed Source • $15/mo
The Uncomfortable Question Nobody Asks
Why are we even comparing these two?
Both do the same thing. Both respect privacy. Both work without cookies. Both look nearly identical. So why does one cost 40% more than the other?
I genuinely wanted to find out. So I ran both on the same sites for 6 months. Identical setups. Same traffic. Real comparison.
Hot take incoming: The price difference isn’t about features. It’s about what you’re paying for when you choose “safe” over “best value.”
The Numbers (Because That’s Why You’re Here)
| What You Get |  🇪🇪Plausible | 🇨🇦Fathom |
|---|---|---|
| 10K pageviews | €9/mo | ~€14/mo |
| 100K pageviews | €19/mo | ~€23/mo |
| 1M pageviews | €69/mo | ~€74/mo |
| Script size | ~1 KB | ~1 KB |
| EU servers | Frankfurt | Frankfurt |
Over a year at 100K pageviews, that’s €48 saved with Plausible. Not life-changing. But not nothing either.
Full Feature Comparison
Here’s every feature that actually matters, side by side:
| Feature | 🇪🇪Plausible | 🇨🇦Fathom |
|---|---|---|
| Pageviews & visitors | Yes | Yes |
| Referrers | Yes | Yes |
| UTM tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Goal/event tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Revenue tracking | Yes | No |
| Funnel analysis | Yes | No |
| Custom properties | Yes | Yes |
| Google Search Console | Built-in | No |
| Uptime monitoring | No | Yes |
| Email reports | Weekly/monthly | Yes |
| API access | Full REST API | Full API |
| Shared dashboards | Yes (public link) | Yes (public link) |
| Team members | Unlimited | 20+ on higher plans |
| Custom domain proxy | Yes | Yes |
| Cookieless | Yes | Yes |
| Bot filtering | Yes | Yes |
| Data export | CSV, API | CSV, API |
| Data retention | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Plausible has 2-3 more meaningful features. Fathom’s unique add is uptime monitoring — useful, but you probably already have that covered by Uptime Robot or similar.
Where Plausible Pulls Ahead
1. It’s Actually Open Source
This isn’t just a marketing checkbox. You can:
- Read every line of code
- Self-host if you’re paranoid (or just cheap)
- Know exactly what’s running on your visitors’ browsers
- Never get locked in
Fathom? You trust them. That’s it. Black box.
2. EU Company, EU Rules
Plausible is Estonian. That’s European Union. GDPR isn’t a compliance burden for them, it’s home turf.
Fathom is Canadian. Good privacy laws, sure. But when your German client’s legal team asks “who controls the data?”, there’s a difference between “an EU company” and “well, technically Canada has adequacy status…”
3. More Features, Same Price
Plausible actually ships more:
- Revenue tracking – see which pages drive money
- Funnel analysis – basic, but it exists
- Google Search Console integration – your keywords, in your dashboard
Fathom has… uptime monitoring. Which is nice. But also weird? Why is that in my analytics tool?
Where Fathom Holds Its Ground
The “Nobody Gets Fired For…” Factor
Fathom launched in 2018. Six years of track record. Bigger team. More established.
If you work somewhere that values “proven solutions” over “best value,” Fathom is the easier sell. It’s the analytics equivalent of IBM in the ‘80s.
Marginally More Polished
This is subjective, but Fathom feels like it had a bigger design budget. The dashboard has that extra 5% of polish. Little animations. Slightly smoother interactions.
Plausible is clean and functional. Fathom is clean, functional, and pretty.
Does it matter for reading your pageview counts? No. Does it feel nice? A little.
The Dashboard Test
I showed both dashboards to three non-technical people. Asked which they preferred.
Results: 1 picked Plausible, 1 picked Fathom, 1 said “they look the same.”
Conclusion: This isn’t a meaningful differentiator.
Both dashboards take about 30 seconds to understand. If you need more than that, neither tool is your problem.
Real Talk: What Actually Matters
After 6 months of parallel testing, here’s what I actually care about:
Accuracy: Identical. Within 1-2% of each other, always.
Speed: Both instant. Both ~1KB scripts. No difference.
Reliability: Neither went down during my test. Not once.
Support: Both responsive via email. Fathom maybe 2 hours faster on average.
Features I use: Pageviews, referrers, geography, UTMs. Both have them. Both work.
The EU Factor (It’s Bigger Than You Think)
For European businesses specifically:
Plausible isn’t just “GDPR compliant.” It’s an EU company processing data in the EU under EU law. That’s a fundamentally different legal position than a Canadian company that happens to have EU servers.
When the next Schrems ruling drops, guess which one has less to worry about?
GDPR & Compliance Comparison
| Compliance Factor | 🇪🇪Plausible | 🇨🇦Fathom |
|---|---|---|
| Company HQ | Tallinn, Estonia (EU) | Victoria, Canada |
| Data processing | EU only (Hetzner, Frankfurt) | EU option (Frankfurt) |
| Cookie consent required | No | No |
| DPA available | Yes (standard) | Yes |
| Subprocessors | Hetzner (DE), Bunny CDN (SI) | AWS (EU region), Bunny CDN |
| Subject to CLOUD Act | No | No (Canada) |
| GDPR Article 28 compliant | Yes, natively | Yes, via adequacy |
| Data controller | EU entity | Canadian entity |
| Schrems II risk | None (intra-EU) | Low (adequacy decision) |
Both tools work without cookies and don’t collect personal data — so neither requires a cookie banner. But there’s a legal nuance: Plausible’s data never leaves EU jurisdiction. Fathom routes through EU servers, but the company is Canadian. For most businesses this doesn’t matter. For German public sector or regulated industries, it can be a dealbreaker.
Integrations & API
Both tools keep integrations minimal by design. But there are differences worth knowing:
Plausible integrations:
- Google Search Console (keywords in your dashboard)
- WordPress plugin (official)
- Carrd, Squarespace, Webflow (community)
- Zapier / Make via API
- Full Stats API for custom dashboards
Fathom integrations:
- WordPress plugin (official)
- Carrd, Squarespace, Webflow (community)
- Zapier (official)
- Full API for custom dashboards
- Uptime monitoring (built-in)
The Google Search Console integration in Plausible is genuinely useful — you see which keywords drive traffic without switching tabs. Fathom doesn’t offer this.
If you need to pipe analytics data into other tools, both APIs are well-documented and capable. No clear winner there.
My Decision Framework
Choose Plausible If
- You’re in the EU or serve EU customers
- Open source matters to you
- You want self-hosting optionality
- Budget is a factor
- You’re a developer who likes transparency
Choose Fathom If
- ”Nobody ever got fired for…” is your vibe
- Your company values track record over cost
- You want uptime monitoring bundled in
- That extra design polish genuinely matters to you
- You don’t care about open source at all
The Verdict
Plausible
Cheaper, open source, EU-based, more features. Unless you have a specific reason to choose Fathom, Plausible is the rational choice.
I used Plausible for months before switching eupick.com to Fathom — yes, the “loser” of this comparison. Why? Read the callout at the top.
But for most people, the €48/year savings and open-source transparency make Plausible the better pick.
Both tools are excellent. You won’t go wrong with either. But if you’re reading a comparison article to help you decide, the answer is probably Plausible - because you’re optimizing for value, and Plausible delivers more of it.
FAQ
Is Plausible or Fathom better for GDPR compliance?
Both work without cookies and don’t require consent banners. But Plausible is an EU company (Estonia) processing data in EU data centers, making it natively GDPR compliant. Fathom is Canadian with EU servers — compliant via adequacy decision, but a different legal position.
Can I migrate my data from Fathom to Plausible (or vice versa)?
No. Data structures are incompatible. You start fresh with either tool. Both offer CSV export, but there’s no import function for the other’s format.
Do ad blockers block them?
Both can be blocked by extensions like uBlock Origin. Both offer custom domain proxy setups to work around this, routing the analytics script through your own domain.
Which is more accurate, Plausible or Fathom?
Identical in my testing — within 1-2% of each other over 6 months. Pick based on other factors.
Can I self-host Plausible or Fathom?
Plausible offers a self-hosted Community Edition (free, open source). You run it on your own server with full control. Fathom is closed source and only available as a hosted service.
Is Fathom worth the higher price?
For most people, no. Plausible offers more features at a lower price. Fathom’s advantages are its longer track record (since 2018), slightly more polished dashboard, and built-in uptime monitoring. If those matter to your org, it might justify the premium.
What about Simple Analytics or Umami?
Different comparison. But if you’re considering those, Plausible’s self-hosted option competes with Umami, and Simple Analytics sits somewhere between these two. Dutch company, EU servers, no cookies — worth a look.
Try them yourself:
- Fathom – 7-day free trial
- Simple Analytics – EU-based, no cookies
- Plausible – 30 days free, no card required
Related reads:
- Plausible vs Matomo – Open source showdown
- Plausible vs Umami – Self-hosted options
- Why EU Software Matters
Last updated: March 2026
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