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Google Analytics alternatives in 2026: what are you actually using?

I stopped using Google Analytics ages ago. GA4 feels like opening a cockpit when all I want to know is "which traffic made money?"

The 2023 thread on this sub is pretty outdated now, so I figured I'd start a fresh one. The space has changed a lot, we have revenue analytics, AI session replays, and a bunch of new players.

Here's my current shortlist for 2026:

Revenue / Founder analytics

  • DataFast - connects Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, etc with traffic so you see revenue per source, not just visitors. This is the one I open first now.
  • PostHog - product analytics, funnels, replay, feature flags. Overkill for a blog, perfect for SaaS.

Privacy-first / simple

  • Plausible - cookieless, clean, readable before coffee
  • Simple Analytics - intentionally limited (the limitation is the feature)
  • Fathom - agency-friendly, multi-site
  • Rybbit - newer, "Plausible plus funnels and replay"

Self-hosted / open source

  • Matomo - the grown-up GA replacement, enterprise-friendly
  • Umami - lightweight, devs love it

Free / supplementary

  • Cloudflare Web Analytics - free baseline if you're already on Cloudflare
  • Microsoft Clarity - heatmaps + session recordings, free, great alongside another tool

My personal stack:

  • DataFast for revenue + traffic
  • PostHog for product events
  • Plausible for marketing sites
  • Clarity when I need heatmaps

The way I think about it now: pick the tool that answers your real question.

  • "How many visited?" → Plausible / Fathom
  • "What did users do?" → PostHog / Rybbit
  • "What made money?" → DataFast

That last one is usually the one that actually matters.

What are you running in 2026? Anyone still on GA4 by choice?

submitted by /u/illyism
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