Plausible vs Fathom vs MetricMind: which one for a small business?

How do the three compare?

Everything about Plausible and Fathom below comes from their own pages, which we read on 2 November 2026. Prices change, so check before you decide.

One thing a table flattens: Plausible has been running since 2018 and says it has about 22,000 paying subscribers. Fathom says thousands of companies use it. MetricMind is in private beta. If you need a tool with years of use behind it, that alone may decide this.

When is Plausible the better choice?

• You want one simple page of numbers, and your team won't use more.
• You want your GA4 history in the new tool, and you've read the limits on what comes across.
• Keeping visitor data in the EU matters to you. Plausible says it never leaves.
• You want open source code, or Search Console terms beside your traffic.
• You have a shop on Shopify and want a guide that isn't in beta. Ours is. See analytics for a Shopify store.

When is Fathom the better choice?

• You look after many small sites. Every plan includes 50, with one shared allowance. For a freelancer or an agency that's hard to beat.
• You sit near 100,000 pageviews a month, where it's the lowest list price of the three.
• You want a clear policy on EU traffic, with a company structure that matches it. It's a Canadian company, and it explains the routing in detail.
• You want few choices. Its pricing page says every plan has the same analytics features.

When is MetricMind the better choice?

When your questions go beyond traffic, and you'd otherwise pay for several tools. One script of about 12 KB records contacts, site search, forms, rage and dead clicks, JavaScript errors and Web Vitals, with no code. Uptime checks, feature flags and experiments are in the same place. On any plan you can ask the analyst why something changed, and read the query behind the answer. Morning investigations start with Pro, at 3 a month. Every new site gets one free first report.

The price of all that: no GA import, no Search Console data, a default mode that stores an ID on the device, and much less history as a company.

What will it cost you in practice?

Plausible and Fathom price on pageviews. Fathom counts custom events in the same allowance. MetricMind counts page views and the events you send yourself, so it works much like Fathom. Speed measurements, errors, exit events, click summaries, contacts, searches and forms are free. Across the three sites we checked in the 30 days to 2 November 2026, each page view made between 1.06 and 1.35 counted rows: our demo site with sample data, a marketplace, and our own site with about 100 page views. That's a small sample, so work out your own.

Read that table with care. Near 100,000 pageviews, Fathom and Plausible Starter cost about half of what we do. Above Hobby's 30,000 the next step is $39, so a site with 30,000 pageviews pays the same as one with 500,000. Our prices are also new and apply after the beta, while the other two have been charging theirs for years. If all you want is pageviews and sources near that range, choose one of them and keep the money. Plausible also has a one-site limit on Starter, while funnels and revenue sit on its Business plan, at $19 for 10k pageviews and $39 for 100k.

Which one should you pick? A rule

Work down this list and stop at the first yes.

1. Must your GA history sit in the new tool? Plausible or Fathom. We can't import it.
2. Must visitor data stay in the EU? Plausible says it does. MetricMind hosts in Germany, though analyst answers use an AI model provider. Fathom stores anonymized data in the US.
3. More than about five sites, all small? Fathom. Its 50 included sites settle it.
4. Do most customers call, message or fill in a form, and do you want to know why they don't? Try MetricMind. Check question 2 of how to choose a Google Analytics alternative first if you're leaving GA.
5. None of the above? Plausible. It's simple, proven and fairly priced for one site.

How can you check this yourself in an afternoon?

1. Plausible and Fathom both have a free trial and a live demo. Start one trial and add its script next to your current tag.
2. Tap your own phone link, send your own form and search your own site. Note what appears, and what you had to set up.
3. Compare a week of pageviews with your current tool. They won't match. Here's how to tell if the gap is a problem.
4. Note the price at your own traffic, on the day you read it.