When building a website, analytics are often an afterthought—until you realize the default tools come with hidden costs. Google Analytics (GA) dominates the market, but its reliance on surveillance, legal risks, and bloat made it a non-starter for me. I never used GA, and I didn’t want to get pulled into Google’s ecosystem just to track basic visitor data.

Instead, I chose Umami —a lightweight, privacy-focused alternative that aligns with my values. Here’s why.

The Problem with Google Analytics

1. Surveillance by Default

GA isn’t just a tool—it’s part of Google’s ad empire. Every visit, click, and interaction feeds into a system designed to profile users. Even if you’re not running ads, your data contributes to a machine that prioritizes tracking over transparency.

For me, this was a hard pass. I didn’t want my site to become part of that ecosystem.

GA’s data collection has repeatedly clashed with privacy laws, especially in the EU. Courts have ruled that its default setup violates GDPR because it transfers data to U.S. servers without proper safeguards. The result? Endless cookie banners, compliance risks, and potential fines —all for a tool that’s supposed to simplify analytics.

3. Overkill for Most Use Cases

GA’s dashboard is packed with features most small sites don’t need. Do you really need real-time user-level drilling for a personal blog or portfolio? Probably not. What matters:

  • Traffic sources (Where are visitors coming from?)
  • Popular pages (What content resonates?)
  • Basic trends (Are visits growing?)

GA’s complexity slows down your site (thanks to its ~45KB script) and distracts from what’s useful.

4. Performance and Ad-Blocker Issues

GA’s script is heavy and frequently blocked by privacy tools like uBlock Origin. If visitors block GA, you lose data—and their trust.

Why Umami Won Me Over

I evaluated several alternatives (Matomo, Plausible, Umami) and chose Umami for its balance of simplicity, privacy, and ease of use.

1. Lightweight and Fast

Umami’s tracking script is ~1KB—a fraction of GA’s size. That means:

  • Faster page loads (no bloat).
  • Fewer blocked requests (better data accuracy).

Umami doesn’t use cookies or collect personally identifiable information (PII). No GDPR banners. No legal risk. Just clean, compliant analytics.

3. Free for Small Sites (Hobby Tier)

Umami’s Hobby plan is completely free and includes:

  • 100K events/month (plenty for small sites).
  • Up to 3 websites.
  • 6-month data retention.

For solo creators, nonprofits, or side projects, this is a perfect starting point.

4. Ad-Blocker Resistance (Even Without Self-Hosting)

Many ad blockers target known analytics scripts (e.g., google-analytics.com). Umami’s script can be renamed and hosted on your own domain to reduce blocking. For example:

  • Rename umami.js to insights.js.
  • Store it in your website’s directory (e.g., /js/insights.js).
  • Update the script src in your HTML to point to your domain.

How to Get Started with Umami

Option 1: Free Hosted Plan (Fastest Setup)

  1. Sign up at umami.is.
  2. Add your website domain in the dashboard.
  3. Copy the tracking script into your site’s <head>.
  4. Done. Data starts flowing immediately — no credit card required.

Option 2: Self-Hosted (Advanced Control)

If you prefer ownership (or EU compliance), follow Umami’s official hosting guide.

Why this is

By choosing Umami you:

  • Protect visitor privacy (no surveillance, no PII collection).
  • Avoid legal risks (GDPR-friendly by default).
  • Improve performance (tiny script, no bloat).
  • Support ethical tech (open-source, community-driven).

Your Next Steps

  1. Test Umami’s live demo.
  2. Sign up for the free Hobby plan or explore self-hosting.
  3. Rename the script (e.g., insights.js) to improve ad-blocker resistance.

Final Thought

The web doesn’t have to rely on surveillance-based tools. Umami proves that ethical, lightweight analytics are possible—and practical.