GhostStat vs Fathom Analytics: simple or deep, both cookieless

Fathom Analytics is one of the original privacy-first alternatives to Google Analytics: no cookies, a clean dashboard and a clear price. GhostStat starts from the same principles. So how do GhostStat and Fathom differ? Mostly in depth, data location and how you get started. Every statement about Fathom below links to usefathom.com.

Last checked: 11 October 2026. If anything here has changed, let us know.

Fathom vs GhostStat at a glance

What Fathom and GhostStat share

Both tools count visitors without cookies. Fathom’s home page says it “doesn’t use cookies, so no consent banner is required for your analytics”. GhostStat sets no cookies either, and also uses no localStorage, sessionStorage or fingerprinting.

The way both tools recognise a visitor within a day is similar, too. Fathom’s data journey page explains that it creates a SHA-256 hash from the IP address, user-agent, site and a daily salt that resets at midnight UTC, and that ordinary pageview records keep no raw IP field. GhostStat uses an identifier that is salted per site and rotates daily, and the IP is only used in memory for a location lookup before it is dropped. Our privacy policy lists exactly what we collect.

Data location

Fathom is a Canadian company and points to Canada’s EU adequacy decision. Its home page says EU traffic is “automatically routed through European-owned infrastructure”, and its data page describes the pageview being “anonymized before it’s sent to the US”.

GhostStat stores its data in Dronten, the Netherlands, inside the EU. If your organisation prefers analytics data to stay in Europe, that is a simple difference to explain to a privacy officer.

Features: simple dashboard or deep plugins

Fathom’s pricing page lists what every plan includes: event and revenue tracking, UTM campaign tracking, saved views and shared dashboards, automatic bot filtering, an analytics API, and email reports and exports. It is deliberately focused, and for many sites that is exactly right. It does not list heatmaps, session recordings or funnels.

GhostStat has the same core reports and adds more when you need to see why visitors behave as they do. Every plugin is available on every plan, Free included:

• Heatmaps and session recordings, with form inputs masked by default.
• Funnels, goals and form analytics to find where people drop out.
• A/B tests, ecommerce, cohorts and retention.
• Visitor intelligence: intent, friction and attention per visit.
• Public stats pages and counters to share your numbers.

You switch on only the plugins you want, so the dashboard stays as simple as you like.

Sites, price and getting started

Fathom’s plans start at $15 a month for up to 100,000 monthly pageviews, then $25 for 200,000 and $45 for 500,000. Every plan includes at least 50 sites, with extra packs of 50 sites available, and your full history is kept while you subscribe. The free trial lasts 7 days and needs a card.

GhostStat has a Free plan you can use without a card and without a trial clock. On Free, each plugin has a monthly view allowance; paid plans remove it. Prices, sites and retention per plan are on the pricing page, read live from our billing system.

Self-hosting

Fathom also offers Fathom Lite, a free self-hosted version, but notes that “with Lite, you’re on your own” for support. GhostStat is a hosted service; for enterprise customers it sets up custom installations on their own infrastructure, with no public download. If you want to download and self-host analytics yourself, see our comparisons with Umami and Matomo.

Questions to ask before you choose

• Do we only need traffic numbers? If page views, sources and campaigns answer every question you have, both tools work, and Fathom’s deliberate simplicity is a strength.
• Will we want to see behaviour later? Heatmaps, recordings and funnels tend to become important when you start optimising a sign-up or checkout. With Fathom that means adding another tool; with GhostStat it means switching on a plugin.
• How many sites do we run? Fathom’s 50 included sites suit agencies with many small sites. Check the site limits per GhostStat plan on the pricing page.
• Where must the data live? If your privacy officer prefers data to stay in the EU, GhostStat’s storage in the Netherlands is the simpler answer.
• Do we want to start without a card? GhostStat’s Free plan lets you try everything first; Fathom’s trial needs a card.

Trying GhostStat next to Fathom

You do not have to switch in one go. Add the GhostStat snippet next to your Fathom script, leave both running for a few weeks and compare the numbers. Small differences are normal, because each tool counts visitors in its own way. Watch the trends rather than the exact totals, and switch on one or two plugins, such as heatmaps on your most important page, to see what the extra depth tells you. If you decide to stay with Fathom, remove the GhostStat snippet and nothing else changes on your site. Setup help is here.

Fathom or GhostStat: how to choose

Choose Fathom if you manage many small sites, want a deliberately simple paid tool, and do not need heatmaps, recordings or funnels.

Choose GhostStat if you want the same cookieless approach plus heatmaps, recordings, funnels and visitor intelligence, data stored in the Netherlands, and a Free plan to start on. Start free.

Also see GhostStat vs Plausible and the best Google Analytics alternatives.

Sources

• Fathom: Home page
• Fathom: Pricing and Fathom Lite
• Fathom: Our data journey