Best Fathom Alternative

Love Fathom's simplicity and privacy focus? OpenPanel adds product analytics capabilities - funnels, cohorts, retention, and user identification - plus self-hosting options and a free tier.

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Open-source
Privacy-first
Self-hostable
Free Tier

This is our web analytics dashboard, its an out-of-the-box experience so you can start understanding your traffic and engagement right away.

Why consider OpenPanel over Fathom Analytics?

Fathom Analytics is a well-respected privacy-first analytics tool known for its clean interface and cookie-free tracking. It's a solid choice for websites that need simple traffic metrics without the complexity of Google Analytics. But Fathom is intentionally limited to web analytics — there's no user identification, no funnels, no retention analysis, and no self-hosting option.

OpenPanel shares Fathom's commitment to privacy and simplicity but extends far beyond basic web metrics. You get full product analytics capabilities including funnel analysis, retention tracking, cohort breakdowns, and individual user profiles. This means you can track not just how many visitors you get, but how they convert, where they drop off, and whether they come back.

Pricing is another significant difference. Fathom has no free tier — plans start at $15 per month with no way to try the product beyond a brief trial. OpenPanel offers 10,000 free events per month on its cloud tier, and unlimited events when self-hosted. Self-hosting is available as a simple Docker deployment, giving teams full data ownership that Fathom's cloud-only model can't provide.

If you love Fathom's privacy-first approach but need deeper analytics to understand user behavior and grow your product, OpenPanel gives you that depth while keeping things simple and affordable.

OpenPanel vs Fathom: Which is right for you?

Both are privacy-focused analytics platforms. Fathom focuses on simple web traffic metrics. OpenPanel adds product analytics with user identification and self-hosting.

Choose OpenPanel if...

SaaS products needing user-level analytics and retention tracking

Teams wanting self-hosting for complete data control

Startups needing a free tier to get started

Choose Fathom Analytics if...

Simple content sites and blogs wanting traffic stats only

Teams valuing Fathom's beautiful, minimal dashboard design

Users wanting excellent Google Analytics import tool

Comprehensive analytics dashboard with real-time insights and customizable views.

Key differences at a glance

Here's how OpenPanel and Fathom compare on key factors.

Feature	OpenPanel	Fathom Analytics
Analytics Depth	Web + Product Analytics	Web Analytics Only
Self-Hosting	Full self-hosting available	Cloud-only (no self-host option)
Free Tier	10,000 events/month free	No free tier (7-day trial only)
User Identification	Yes - Track individual users	No - Anonymous aggregate only
Cookie-Free	Yes (by default)	Yes (by default)
Page Views & Visitors
Traffic Sources
Geographic Data		Both offer country and region-level data
Device & Browser
UTM Campaign Tracking
Real-Time Dashboard
Custom Event Tracking		Fathom events count toward pageview quota
Funnel Analysis		Fathom tracks simple conversions but no multi-step funnels
Retention Analysis		Fathom's anonymous model doesn't support retention
User Profiles		Fathom intentionally doesn't track individual users
Cohort Analysis		Fathom provides aggregate data only
User Path Analysis		Fathom shows top pages but not user journeys
A/B Testing		Fathom is analytics-only, no experimentation
Revenue Tracking		Fathom supports event values in cents
Email Reports		Both offer scheduled email reports
Dashboard Sharing		Both support public and private dashboard sharing
Google Analytics Import		Fathom has a well-regarded GA importer
Ad-Blocker Bypass		Both support custom domains to bypass blockers
Cookie-Free by Default		Both are cookieless by default
No Consent Banner Required		Both claim no consent needed for basic analytics
GDPR Compliant
EU Data Residency		Fathom has EU Isolation enabled by default for all customers
Self-Hosting Option		Fathom is cloud-only; Fathom Lite is legacy and uses cookies
Data Processing Agreement
REST API		Fathom has a comprehensive API
Data Export		CSV export available on both
WordPress Plugin		Fathom has official WordPress plugin
NPM Package		fathom-client package available

Feature comparison

Both are privacy-focused, but with different capabilities and depths.

Page Views & Visitors

Traffic Sources

Geographic Data

Device & Browser

UTM Campaign Tracking

Real-Time Dashboard

Custom Event Tracking

Funnel Analysis

Track events in real-time as they happen with instant updates and live monitoring.

Technical comparison

For developers evaluating analytics tools, here's the technical breakdown.

Feature	OpenPanel	Fathom Analytics
SDK Size	2.3 KB (gzipped)	~2 KB (gzipped)
Platforms	JavaScript/TypeScript React Next.js Vue React Native iOS Android Node.js Python PHP Go Rust	JavaScript (browser) WordPress Webflow Next.js Vue.js Ghost ConvertKit Various CMS integrations
Open Source	Yes - MIT License	No - Closed sourceFathom Analytics is closed-source. Fathom Lite (legacy) is open-source but limited and uses cookies.
Self Hosting	Docker (simple single-container setup)	Not available (cloud-only service)
Database	ClickHouse	Proprietary cloud infrastructure (serverless on AWS)
Data Retention	Unlimited (self-hosted), configurable (cloud)	Forever (as long as you're a customer)
Language	TypeScript/Node.js	Unknown (closed-source)

Pricing comparison

Fathom has no free tier. OpenPanel offers free cloud and self-hosting.

OpenPanel

Event-based, transparent

Simple pricing with 10,000 free events per month.

All features included at every tier.

Self-host for free with unlimited events.

Free tier:Self-hosting (unlimited events)

Free trial:30 days

Fathom Analytics

Pageview-based with 7-day trial

100K pageviews: $15/month ($150/year).

Up to 50 sites included.

All features included.

Custom events count as pageviews.

Annual billing saves 2 months.

Fathom has no free tier and never does discounts.

Free tier:No free tier (7-day trial only)

View pricing

Migrating from Fathom to OpenPanel

Both use lightweight scripts and simple event tracking, making migration straightforward.

Difficulty:easy

Estimated time:30 minutes to 2 hours

Install OpenPanel SDK

Add the OpenPanel SDK to your application. Both use lightweight scripts, so the transition is straightforward.

Map Events

Fathom's trackEvent() becomes OpenPanel's op.track(). Event values translate directly.

Set Up User Identification (New)

Unlike Fathom, OpenPanel can identify users. Add op.identify() calls to unlock retention, cohorts, and user profiles.

Configure Product Analytics (New)

Set up funnels, retention reports, and cohorts. These features aren't available in Fathom.

Remove Fathom Script

Once verified, remove the Fathom tracking script. Both are cookie-free so no consent changes needed.

SDK Compatibility

Both use simple event tracking APIs. Fathom's trackEvent() becomes OpenPanel's op.track().

Historical Data Import

Most teams start fresh with OpenPanel and run both tools in parallel briefly.

Where OpenPanel is a better fit than Fathom

Choose OpenPanel when you need product analytics beyond simple web traffic.

SaaS Products Needing User Analytics

Fathom shows aggregate website traffic. If you need to understand individual user journeys, retention, and behavior within your product, OpenPanel adds these capabilities while staying privacy-friendly.

Teams Who Want Self-Hosting

Fathom is cloud-only with no self-hosting option. If data sovereignty or compliance requirements mean you need to host your own analytics, OpenPanel provides full self-hosting in a single Docker container.

Startups Needing a Free Tier

Fathom has no free option, requiring a minimum $15/month commitment. OpenPanel offers 10,000 free events monthly, perfect for early-stage products or side projects.

Mobile App Analytics

Fathom is designed for websites and doesn't provide native mobile SDKs. OpenPanel offers native iOS, Android, and React Native SDKs with full product analytics capabilities.

Teams Needing Funnel Analysis

Fathom tracks simple conversions but doesn't offer multi-step funnel analysis. If understanding conversion paths matters, OpenPanel provides detailed funnel visualization.

Generate detailed reports and insights with customizable metrics and visualizations.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about switching from Fathom to OpenPanel.

Related resources

Explore more comparisons and guides to help you choose the right analytics tool.

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