Minimal Analytics vs Simple Analytics (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Minimal Analytics and Simple Analytics share a 2.6 GPA, both have a free plan, and Minimal Analytics has no paid plan to buy, against $20 a month for Simple Analytics.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Minimal Analytics grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Simple Analytics grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Minimal Analytics
A 1.5 kB snippet that sends page views to Google Analytics
Simple Analytics
Cookieless web analytics hosted in the EU
Which one is for you
Pick Minimal Analytics if
- Fits if you already use Google Analytics and want a very small script
- Works for developers comfortable pasting a snippet
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a dashboard, as it has none
- Watch out: the ID placeholder and /collect endpoint follow the older format, and GA4 is not mentioned
- Skip it if you need advanced features such as AdWords tracking, as the page says not to use it for those
- Watch out: the code is a GitHub gist, and the page names no company or support channel
Pick Simple Analytics if
- Fits if you want a single page of traffic numbers with no cookie banner
- Works for someone leaving GA4 who wants to run both side by side
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to follow individual visitors, as it records pageviews with no visitor IDs
- Tight if you stay free: 1 month of history and a badge shown on your site
- Pricey if you add team members, at $20 a month each
- Watch out: bills from $500 paid by bank transfer carry an extra 10% in fees
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAMinimal AnalyticsGood | 2.6GPASimple AnalyticsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe snippet is free to copy, which counts as free and substantial. | C$20 a month for up to 100k pageviews, with extra users $20 a month each. That's just above the analytics cheaper quarter of $16.58. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no paid plans and no caps listed. | BFree plan: 1 user, 5 websites and unlimited pageviews under fair use. It keeps 1 month of history and requires a badge. There's also a 14-day trial with no card. |
| Features | DOne narrow function, sending page views and events to Google Analytics, and it needs Google Analytics to be useful. | CCookie-free pageviews and events, one-page dashboard, API and BI access, Google Analytics import and EU hosting. It does that job fully, but it doesn't follow individual users. |
| Ease of use | CYou paste code and set your tracking ID, with no store rating on record. | BNo store rating on record. You paste in a script and read one page, with nothing to build. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and it sends data to Google Analytics only. | BWeb only, but it works with WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, Wix, Ghost, Cloudflare, Netlify and Google Tag Manager, plus an API. |
| Best for | a tiny snippet that sends page views to Google Analytics | simple, cookie-free site stats |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Minimal Analytics and Simple Analytics. How we grade
Price against what you get
Minimal Analytics has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Simple Analytics starts at $20 a month and scores 2.7.
Simple Analytics scores higher, and starts $20 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other website and product analytics tools on the chart, none scores higher than Minimal Analytics for less, and 1 scores higher than Simple Analytics for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Minimal Analytics also covers page speed.
- Simple Analytics also covers reports.
At a glance
| Minimal Analytics | Simple Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $20 per month for up to 100k pageviews |
| Free plan | The snippet is free to copy from the site; no plans or prices are listed. | 1 user, 5 websites and unlimited pageviews under a fair-use policy, with 1 month of history and a badge required. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial of all features, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Minimal Analytics | Simple Analytics B.V. |
| Price read from | minimalanalytics.com | simpleanalytics.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Minimal Analytics
- It only sends data to Google Analytics; there is no dashboard of its own.
- The page says not to use it for advanced features such as AdWords tracking.
- Its ID placeholder (XX-XXXXXXXXX-X) and /collect endpoint follow the older Google Analytics format; GA4 is not mentioned, so check it records to your property.
- The code is published as a GitHub gist; the page names no company or support channel.
Simple Analytics
- The free plan keeps only the latest month of data and requires a Simple Analytics badge on the site.
- The price follows pageviews, and the paid plan includes one user; extra users are $20 a month each.
- Bills from $500 can be paid by bank transfer, with an extra 10% in banking and service fees.
- It records pageviews and events without visitor IDs, so it does not follow individual users across visits.
Key features
Minimal Analytics
- Small footprint
- The site compares its 1.5 kB snippet with 73 kB for Google Tag Manager plus Analytics.
- Page view tracking
- Sends page views directly to Google Analytics without external libraries, and works with single page apps built with React or Vue.js.
- Custom events
- ma.trackEvent takes a category, action, label and value.
- Exception tracking
- ma.trackException records an error description and whether it was fatal.
- Configurable data
- Options switch IP anonymization, color depth, character set, screen size and language on or off.
Simple Analytics
- No cookies, no personal data
- The service says it sets no cookies, collects no personal data and creates no visitor IDs, so it does not need a consent banner.
- One-page dashboard
- Traffic is shown on a single dashboard that needs no configuration, with a public live dashboard available to view as an example.
- Run beside GA4
- Can run next to Google Analytics 4 to record pageviews and events from visitors who reject consent, so the two datasets can be compared.
- API and BI access
- A full API and exports let teams pull the data into their existing reporting tools. An MCP server and an AI assistant are also listed.
- Google Analytics import
- Historical Google Analytics data can be imported so reporting does not restart from zero after a switch.
- EU hosting
- Data is stored in the EU, with primary infrastructure in the Netherlands, and leaves it only when a customer opts into a feature such as the AI assistant.
Plans
Minimal Analytics
Free snippet$0
Copy the snippet from the page and add your Google Analytics tracking ID.
Simple Analytics
Free$0
For hobby sites: 1 user, 5 websites, the latest month of data and a required Simple Analytics badge.
Self-serve$20
per month for up to 100k pageviews
Price follows pageviews, up to 2.5M on the slider. Includes 1 user; each extra user is $20 a month. Annual billing shows 2 months free.
EnterpriseCustom
Quoted for your traffic, sites, data access and support needs; tied to a 30-day proof of concept run alongside GA4.
Ways to pay less
Minimal Analytics
No public discounts listed.
Simple Analytics
- Annual discount
2 months free on annual billing
The pricing page shows an annual payment option labelled 2 months free; the yearly total depends on the pageview limit you pick.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Minimal Analytics or Simple Analytics?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Minimal Analytics is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $20 a month for Simple Analytics. Minimal Analytics is free, and Simple Analytics starts at $20 per month for up to 100k pageviews.
Which has a free plan, Minimal Analytics or Simple Analytics?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Minimal Analytics and Simple Analytics have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.