My Top 5 Picks for Simple Web Analytics for Websites

You’ve set up a new website, traffic starts rolling in, and naturally, you’re excited. Now, you need a tool to help you understand that traffic—who’s visiting, which pages they’re checking out, and what they’re doing on your site.

That sounds simple enough, and most web analytics tools claim to provide exactly that. But after testing a bunch of them, I found that many make even the basics way more complicated than they need to be. Too often, you’re buried under endless data points, charts, and jargon that, while powerful, aren’t always useful for everyday site owners.

Take Google Analytics, for example—it tracks everything you could possibly want, but using it can feel like drinking from a firehose. The insights you need are there… somewhere. But good luck finding them without hours of learning and setup.

For many people, that just doesn’t make sense. If all you want is a simple, easy-to-read breakdown of what’s happening on your site, you need a tool that gets straight to the point. Something that removes the noise and focuses on the insights that actually help you grow.

After going through most of the simple web analytics options out there, I’ve narrowed it down to my top five picks. These tools give you the data you need—without the extra headache. Let’s dive in.

1. Seline

If you're looking for a web analytics tool that makes sense right from the start—without needing prior experience—I can't think of a more perfect fit. Seline strips away the complexity that comes with today's mostly bloated analytics tools, offering a sleek and compact product without sacrificing the essentials.

Whether you’re a first-time website owner just trying to understand your traffic or an experienced user looking for a simpler, more intuitive analytics solution, you'll easily fall in love with Seline’s minimalist approach to analytics that balances simplicity and functionality.

Seline gives you access to all the core analytics you need:

• Who your visitors are and where they’re coming from all while being GDPR compliant.
• How long they stay on your pages and what they're doing on them.
• The revenue they generate—especially valuable for SaaS businesses
• Which traffic sources bring in the most revenue, helping you optimize your marketing efforts
• Funnel analysis and UTM tracking
• Beyond basic analytics, Seline also includes a User Journey feature, allowing you to track logged-in users and see how they navigate through your website, which pages they visit, and where they drop off in your funnel

Seline helps you do the things that the pros do without necessarily having those advanced web analytics skills that take years to grow. It makes it quite easy to optimize your website conversions and make the best out of your web traffic.

Filtering data is one of the biggest challenges in analytics—you often need to sift through different dimensions, and segment by date ranges, sources, or user behavior. With Seline’s AI filtering–a small handy feature you’ll love—you can simply ask in natural language, and it does the work for you.

For example, you can type:

• "Visitors from January 1st to January 8th."
• "Stats for US"
• “Stats for Canada, from January to May”

Seline is able to handle the filtering you spend most of the time doing with simple natural language prompts like you'd be talking to a tool like ChatGPT—no complex query building, no manual filtering.

For startups, bloggers, freelancers, and businesses that value privacy and simplicity, Plausible offers a refreshingly straightforward approach to web analytics. It’s a transparent, privacy-respecting, and open-source alternative that delivers what you need—without the hassle.

Seline is bootstrapped and built with love by a small innovative team out of Poland. Ready to experience simple web analytics? Get started with Seline.

2. Fathom Analytics

If you’ve ever felt bogged down by the complexities of Google Analytics, Fathom Analytics might just be the fresh approach you’re looking for. Founded with a "back to basics" philosophy, Fathom Analytics focuses on delivering essential insights without the unnecessary layers.

It is perfect for those who want clear, actionable data to support decision-making, especially if you’re looking to get the essentials right. Instead of overwhelming users with endless configurations and metrics, Fathom prioritizes simplicity and effectiveness, making it a great choice for anyone tired of the overly complex ways of traditional analytics tools.

Built by a two-man team, Fathom keeps things lean and focused on what really matters, like privacy and ease of use. It’s GDPR-compliant and emphasizes a clean design, offering users a compact experience that doesn’t compromise on the basics.

Downsides? Not much. However, the support at Fathom can be a bit slow at times. So when you have a problem that needs immediate attention, it might take a little while. Fathom users have also occasionally expressed concerns about filtering bot traffic, but this isn’t a widespread issue.

Overall, Fathom remains a reliable, no-nonsense analytics tool that prioritizes simplicity and privacy, making it an ideal choice for those looking to keep their web analytics simple.

3. SimpleAnalytics

Let’s be honest—one of the biggest reasons people get frustrated with traditional analytics tools like Google Analytics is the endless layers of navigation. You need to create a report, then find the right chart, then click through multiple menus just to see simple insights. Sometimes, you’re just stuck wondering, Where do I even find this data?

That’s why you’re here. That’s why you’re looking for a simpler web analytics tool.

As the name suggests, SimpleAnalytics strips away the unnecessary complexity. But unlike some of the other lightweight analytics tools we’ve covered, it is still on the heavy side—while still keeping things easy to use.

Ease of use is partly driven by its AI-powered insights tool. Instead of manually creating reports and charts, you can just chat with SimpleAnalytics like you would with an AI chatbot and ask it what you'd typically have to create a report for. SimpleAnalytics will generate the insights instantly, saving you from digging through menus and setting up reports manually.

While the AI-powered insights feature won’t replace every manual analytics function, it significantly reduces the time you spend navigating the tool. If you’re tired of complex dashboards and just want a straightforward way to access your web analytics, SimpleAnalytics is a solid alternative.

SimpleAnalytics’ biggest highlights?

• Ease of use
• 100% GDPR-compliant and meets EU data protection regulations.
• No personal data is stored, ensuring full privacy protection.
• Data is encrypted and security is taken seriously.
• You own your data—nothing is shared or resold.

SimpleAnalytics is a privacy-focused, user-friendly tool that cuts through the clutter—giving you key insights without the navigation headache.

4. Plausible Analytics

If you’re a fan of open-source tools and believe that web analytics shouldn't feel like rocket science, Plausible Analytics is worth a look. It’s a privacy-friendly, lightweight alternative to Google Analytics that gives you clear insights without the complexity.

Plausible is fully open-source, meaning anyone can inspect the code to verify its claims, and If you prefer to self-host your analytics, you can deploy Plausible on your own infrastructure.

Unlike traditional analytics tools that track users aggressively, Plausible is built with privacy in mind—it doesn’t use cookies or collect personal data, making it fully GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant. Everything is aggregated and anonymous, with no persistent identifiers or invasive tracking.

Despite being lightweight, Plausible provides essential analytics features like traffic insights, referral tracking, as well as UTM tracking, so you can analyze your marketing campaigns, track e-commerce revenue, and measure Google Ads conversions.. The interface is clean and easy to use, cutting through the noise to show only the most relevant data. Unlike bloated analytics tools, Plausible’s tracking script is under 1 KB, ensuring your website stays fast and efficient.

Plausible Analytics is an excellent choice for those who want straightforward, privacy-respecting, and open-source analytics.

5. Umami Analytics

Umami Analytics is a strong contender if you're looking for a simple, self-hosted alternative to Google Analytics. It is an open-source tool, and you get to retain a significant if not complete control over your data. Compared to tools like Plausible, Umami feels more customizable, though slightly less polished in design.

The setup is fairly straightforward and once running, it provides all the essential metrics—page views, referrers, and visitor data—without unnecessary complexity. One of its biggest advantages is its lightweight footprint. Many users switched from Plausible to Umani because of Clickhouse’s resource demands, whereas Umami runs smoothly on smaller servers. I slightly prefer Plausible’s UI but Umami is much lighter in weight and does everything you’ll need (and a bunch you might never need).

Like most Google Analytics alternatives, Privacy is a major selling point. Umami doesn’t track users across sites, and it won’t get blocked by ad-blockers like uBlock, which is a problem you might face with similar tools. Umani is GDPR-compliant. You’ll also find it to be compliant with several data privacy and security laws that matter to your business.

That said, it’s not perfect. Event tracking is limited, and you don’t get advanced features like funnels or deep filtering. Support is also minimal since it’s community-driven. However, if all you need is clean, no-frills analytics that won’t slow your site down, Umami is an excellent choice. It’s free if self-hosted, privacy-friendly, and delivers just what’s needed—nothing more, nothing less.

Seline — the simple analytics to get you started

If you’ve been searching for a web analytics tool that’s simple but not limited, Seline is the answer.

It gives you everything you need—without the unnecessary complexity:

• Instant traffic insights – See who’s visiting, where they’re coming from, and what they’re doing—without digging through menus.
• AI-powered filtering – Just type what you need in plain English, and Seline finds the data for you.
• Funnel & UTM tracking – Know exactly which marketing efforts bring in results.
• User journey analysis – Track logged-in users to understand how they navigate your site.
• Privacy-first & GDPR-compliant – No cookies, no invasive tracking—just clean, ethical analytics.

Other tools might get the job done, but Seline does it better—with a sleek, modern experience that makes analytics effortless.

Skip the complexity. Try Seline today and see the difference!