Analytics Alternatives
Free Analytics Tools
Free analytics tools always have a catch. Here's what you're trading for that $0 price tag.
The cost of "free" analytics
Google Analytics is free because Google monetizes your users' data for ad targeting. Microsoft Clarity is free because it feeds data into Microsoft's ad platform. Self-hosted tools like Umami and Matomo are "free" but require server costs and engineering time to maintain.
Happenstance starts at $10/month — less than a coffee subscription. For that, you get fully managed analytics with automatic event tracking, error capture, and zero maintenance. No privacy trade-offs, no server management.
What "free" really costs
| Tool | Price | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics | Free | Your users' data trains Google's ad models. Requires cookie consent banners. |
| Microsoft Clarity | Free | No event tracking. Heatmaps and recordings only. Data used by Microsoft. |
| Umami (self-host) | Free* | *Server costs ($5-20/mo). Requires setup, maintenance, and updates. |
| Matomo (self-host) | Free* | *Server costs. PHP + MySQL stack. Regular security patches needed. |
| Happenstance | $10/mo | No catch. Fully managed. Automatic tracking. Privacy-friendly. |
Detailed comparisons
Better analytics for $10/month
Less than a coffee subscription. Automatic tracking, zero maintenance, privacy-friendly.
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