What is the difference between Simple Analytics and Countly?

Simple Analytics is best for Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics, while Countly is best for Mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo and Countly starts at Free.

Is Simple Analytics or Countly cheaper?

Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. Countly starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Simple Analytics?

Yes, Countly offers a free tier.

Simple Analytics vs Countly

Simple Analytics is privacy-first analytics that doesn't track users or use cookies, while Countly is open-source product analytics for mobile, web, and desktop with crash reporting. The biggest difference up front: Countly is free, while Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. Simple Analytics is built for privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics, whereas Countly targets mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics.

At a glance

	Simple Analytics	Countly
Best for	Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics	Mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics
Starting price	$9/mo	Free
Free tier	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	—	✓
Open source	—	✓
Crash Reports	—	✓
Events	✓	—
GDPR Compliant	✓	—
Goals	✓	—
Mobile Analytics	—	✓
No Cookies	✓	—
Push Notifications	—	✓
Surveys	—	✓

Simple Analytics

Strengths

Includes No Cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes GDPR Compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Affordable at $9/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the analytics category
Includes events alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

No free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Simple Analytics → Full review

Countly

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Mobile Analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results

Try Countly → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Countly is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Simple Analytics offers Events, GDPR Compliant and Goals that Countly lacks. Countly brings Crash Reports, Mobile Analytics and Push Notifications that Simple Analytics does not have.

Team fit: Simple Analytics is geared toward small teams teams, while Countly is aimed at mid-size teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Countly is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Simple Analytics is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Simple Analytics's biggest strengths are: includes no cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. Countly's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes mobile analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows.

Watch out for: With Simple Analytics, users commonly note that no free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it. With Countly, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Simple Analytics if...

You need a tool built for privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics
You specifically need Events and GDPR Compliant
You care about includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Simple Analytics is designed for

Choose Countly if...

You need a tool built for mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics
Budget is a hard constraint — Countly is free, Simple Analytics is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Crash Reports and Mobile Analytics
You care about includes mobile analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows