An honest comparison. See why thousands of websites are switching to a free, privacy-first Google Analytics alternative.
Google Analytics is powerful but complex — 200+ reports, cookies required, GDPR configuration needed, and your data is used for Google's ad network. Conteo is a free, simple alternative: one dashboard with the metrics that matter, no cookies, GDPR compliant by default, and a tracking script that's 45x smaller. For most websites, Conteo is all you need.
| Feature | Google Analytics | Conteo (free) |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (you pay with your data) | Free up to 10K visits/mo, then $9/mo |
| Script size | ~45KB | <1KB (45x lighter) |
| Cookies | Yes (requires consent banner) | None — zero cookies |
| GDPR compliance | Requires configuration + consent | Compliant by default, no setup |
| Setup time | Hours (GA4 is complex) | 2 minutes, one line of code |
| Real-time data | Limited, processed with delay | Yes, live sub-second updates |
| Dashboard | 200+ reports, steep learning curve | Single page, everything you need |
| Data ownership | Google uses it for ads | Yours. Never sold or shared |
| Cookie banner needed | Yes | No |
| Data retention | Configurable | 30 days free, 90 days Pro, unlimited Business |
| Personal data collected | Yes (IP, demographics, interests) | None |
Google Analytics loads a ~45KB script on every page view. Conteo's tracking script is under 1KB — 45 times smaller. This means faster page loads, better Core Web Vitals scores, and a better experience for your visitors. And it's completely free for sites under 10,000 visits per month.
Every kilobyte matters for SEO and user experience. Google itself ranks faster websites higher. By switching from Google Analytics to Conteo, you're removing 45KB of JavaScript from every page load — for free.
Google Analytics requires cookies and a consent banner to comply with GDPR. Managing cookie consent is a headache: you need a Cookie Management Platform (CMP), you lose data from visitors who reject cookies, and you risk fines if your implementation is wrong.
Conteo uses zero cookies. No consent banner needed. No CMP costs. No GDPR configuration. It's free, private analytics that works out of the box.
When you use Google Analytics, Google processes your visitors' data and uses it across their advertising network. Your visitors become data points for Google Ads. That's the real cost of "free."
With Conteo, your analytics data is yours. We never sell it, share it, or use it for advertising. We make money from paid plans, not from your data. Free plan included.
We believe in honesty. Google Analytics is better if you need:
For everything else — knowing how many people visit your site, which pages they view, where they come from, and what devices they use — Conteo's free plan gives you everything you need without the complexity, cookies, or privacy concerns.
You should switch if you run a blog, portfolio, landing page, or small business website and only need to know visitors, top pages, traffic sources, countries, and devices. Conteo's free plan covers all of this with a real-time dashboard and CSV export.
You should switch if you're tired of configuring cookie consent banners, managing GDPR compliance, or explaining to clients why Google Analytics requires a legal disclaimer on every page. Conteo is compliant by design — no configuration needed.
You should switch if your website's page speed scores are suffering from a 45KB analytics script. Conteo's script is under 1KB — 45 times smaller — and it's free for sites under 10,000 visits per month.
Keep Google Analytics if you need advanced e-commerce funnels, custom event tracking, Google Ads integration, or audience segmentation for remarketing. For everything else, Conteo is simpler, faster, and more private.
Yes. Conteo is free for websites with up to 10,000 visits per month. Unlike Google Analytics, Conteo doesn't use cookies, doesn't collect personal data, and doesn't use your visitors' data for advertising. It's the free, privacy-first alternative to GA4.
No, never. Conteo is 100% cookie-free. It uses a privacy-preserving method to count unique visitors without tracking individuals. This means you don't need a cookie consent banner, saving you the cost and complexity of a cookie management platform.
Yes. You can run both simultaneously. Many users start with both and eventually remove Google Analytics once they realize Conteo provides all the metrics they actually need — without the complexity and privacy concerns.
Yes, by design. Conteo doesn't collect personal data, doesn't use cookies, and doesn't track users across websites. No consent banner needed. No Data Processing Agreement required. It's GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant out of the box.
For most websites, Google Analytics is overkill. Its 200+ reports create complexity without value. Conteo gives you the metrics that matter — visitors, top pages, sources, countries, devices — in a single real-time dashboard. Plus it's free, privacy-first, and takes 2 minutes to set up.
Both have free tiers, but the cost model is different. Google Analytics is "free" but monetizes your visitors' data for ads. Conteo is genuinely free up to 10,000 visits/mo with no data sharing. Pro is $4.90/mo for 50K visits, Business is $9.90/mo for 100K visits. Your data is never sold.
Free forever for sites under 10,000 visits/mo. Setup in 2 minutes. No cookies.
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