Every successful company relies on its capacity to comprehend and make use of the data offered by its clients, opponents, and collaborators. With the help of free website analytics tools and software, you can accurately assess the success of your marketing initiatives, identify and fix any issues with your online services, and develop customer profiles to increase the effectiveness of your advertising and sales activities.
Why are website analytics tools important?
Website analytics tools are an essential component of digital marketing. They offer valuable insights into how users interact with a website. These tools track and measure various aspects of website traffic, including the number of visitors, the pages they visit, their duration of stay on the site, and where they came from.
Having this information can be incredibly valuable for a variety of reasons, including:
- Understanding user behavior. Website analytics tools can provide insights into user behavior, highlighting popular areas of a site and identifying pain points for users.
- Identifying opportunities for improvement. By analyzing data from website analytics tools, it is easier to identify opportunities for improving user experience. This includes optimizing content for search engines, improving the overall functionality of the site or adjusting layout or design.
- Measuring the effectiveness of marketing efforts. With website analytics tools it’s more simple to measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts, such as email campaigns or social media posts. You can track the number of visitors and conversions from your social media channels to identify the most successful marketing strategy and allocate resources accordingly. To generate more follows from target customers on social media you can also make a custom QR code that will be shared with potential clients.
- Setting and tracking goals. Website analytics tools allow you to set and track specific goals for your website, such as increasing the number of conversions or improving the average time spent on the site. By regularly reviewing data from these tools, it is possible to measure the progress toward these goals and identify areas for improvement.
We have compiled the 11 best free website analytics tools that you should use in 2024 as well as their advantages and disadvantages, according to which you will be able to choose the best option for you.
1. UXtweak
UXtweak has all of the features you’ll need to build the perfect website that visitors will want to return to. It perfectly visualizes customer frustration to better understand their issues in the form of pixel-perfect session replays, heatmaps, and many other powerful analytics tools. Track users’ clicks, scrolls, and mouse moves and discover new ways to improve your website.
Features:
- Website Testing
- Card Sorting
- Tree Testing
- Session Recording
- Prototype Testing
- Mobile Testing
- Preference Testing
- Five Second Test
- Surveys
- First click testing
Unique tools also include the Onsite Recruiting widget, a built-in reward feature to motivate respondents and Own Database – a CRM-like tool for user management.
Try UXtweak features in these demos⬇️
Pros
- Easy to use even for a complete beginner
- Unlimited studies – with UXtweak you can test as much as you want
- Free plan for smaller projects
- It offers advanced analytics that are easy to read
Cons
- Supports only 10 languages
Pricing:
UXtweak offers a free subscription for unlimited time. You may also select a pro plan for only 80€ per month or customize a plan to fit your demands.
2. Google Analytics
So well known, and used, this tool hardly needs an introduction. Google Analytics is a free website analytics tool for user behavior, such as page view tracking, funnel analysis and conversion tracking. It is easy to set up and is completely free in its full functionality. To set up more advanced tracking and reporting the help of Google Tag Manager and some technical skills might be needed.
Features:
- Page view tracking
- Event tracking
- Referral source tracking
- Funnel analysis
- Goal conversion tracking
Pros
- The full functionality and all reports are available in the free version
- Pleasant UI
- Easy setup of basic tracking
Cons
- A bit of a learning curve
- Technical skills needed to set up more complex reporting
- The free version functions in a way that only about 20% of the data is real user data, the rest is obtained through mathematical-model data approximation – as such it might differ from reality slightly in some cases
- The paid version – GA 360 – is targeted at large enterprises and the price tag is quite high
Pricing:
Free. The yearly price for the paid plan is $150,000.
3. Mixpanel
A website analytics software that allows you to track the performance of your digital product. You can get insights into website behavior, demographics, user funnels, why users drop off and do not convert, and much more. It is also easy to integrate with many other popular tools.
Features:
- Real-Time Reporting
- Custom Reports and Dashboards
- Account-Level Analytics
- User-Level Analytics
- Segmentation
- Funnels
- Event Tracking
- Conversion Tracking
Pros
- Mixpanel is highly customizable
- Many possible integrations with a range of other tools
Cons
- The UI can be too complex and could benefit from simplifying
- Difficult onboarding for non-technical users
Pricing:
A free plan is available up to 20M monthly events. The paid Growth plan is $20+ and the Enterprise plan is $833+ a month.
4. Hotjar
Hotjar is a single solution that integrates several website analytics tools and features with various feedback options. Its most important feature is heatmaps. Hotjar can also collect important input from users through polls, surveys, and other means. Their solutions work together to enable you to track website analytics while also delivering actionable behavior insights. It can keep track of clicks, movements, and scrolls and display them. Replaying visitor records allows you to view the actual behavior of users.
Features:
- Heatmaps
- Visitor recordings
- Conversion funnels
- Feedback polls
- Incoming Feedback
Pros
- Attributes and triggers that provide effective targeting
- Each feature has an unlimited number of responses
- Does not limit the number of people on your team that may access the platform
Cons
- Limited range of features and metrics
- Not possible to download recordings
Pricing
Free plan up to 35 daily sessions. $39/month for Plus plan.
5. Smartlook
Smartlook can be your free website analytics tool if you utilize its free plan that allows you to track 3,000 monthly sessions. It is a similar tool to Hotjar with in-depth heatmaps, scroll maps, and click maps that provide insights into visitor actions.
Features:
- Heatmaps
- Funnels
- Events
- Session Recordings
Pros
- Advanced analytics
- Well-designed and pleasant UI
- Good filters
Cons
- Narrow scope of tools
- Recordings cannot be organized or tagged
Pricing
Free plan up to 3000 monthly sessions. The paid plans start at €55/month.
6. Matomo (formerly Piwik)
Matomo is a Google Analytics alternative that boasts a great data privacy policy and is used even by the likes of NASA, the United Nations, and the European Commission. It tracks website visitor sessions, pageviews, events, conversions, funnels, and much more.
Features:
- Website visitor tracking
- Event & conversion tracking
- Funnels
- Acquisition
- Session recording & heatmaps
- Customizable reports
Pros
- 100% data ownership and zero privacy concerns for website visitors
- You can import historical data from Google Analytics if you decide to switch to Matomo
Cons
- Rather outdated and confusing UI
- Weak support
- Difficult to install for non-technical users
- Can sometimes be slow to display large data
Pricing
Matomo is free to use and requires a server and some technical knowledge to install. The Cloud version (that doesn’t need to be hosted on your server and is much easier to install) is €19/month.
7. Open Web Analytics
A free website analytics software offers an alternative to Google Analytics with similar features and tracking reports.
Features:
- Conversion tracking
- Page views & sessions
- Event Tracking
- Tracking of Campaigns
- E-Commerce
- Customizable reporting
- Heatmaps
Pros
- You get traditional website analytics tool functionality with the added bonus of a heatmap feature
- JavaScript and PHP-based APIs for web analytics page integration
Cons
- No integration with Google Analytics, so if you want to make the switch from that tool, you will lose all your historical data
- Weak support
- Requires technical knowledge to set-up
Pricing
Open Web Analytics is a free open-source analytics software.
8. Woopra
A comprehensive tool for website analytics and visitor tracking that focuses on tracking individual users, their engagement, and retention. By tracking customer journeys from end to end, Woopra is a helpful tool for many departments form product, sales, and marketing to support teams.
Features:
- Sessions
- Engagement
- Entry and Exit Pages
- Event Tracking
- Retention & Return
- Conversions
- Custom Reports and Dashboards
Pros
- Nice and clear reports
- Quality support
Cons
- Big learning curve for novice users
- Limited customization
- Somewhat complex and unintuitive UI
Pricing
The free plan of Woopra offers tracking of 500K actions/month, 90-day data retention and Core Analytics. The paid plan is $999/month.
9. Clicky
Clicky is a website analytics platform similar to Google Analytics with an emphasis on data privacy. Track website behavior, event tracking, real-time visitor tracking, etc., and utilize its free plan for up to 3000 daily pageviews.
Features:
- Sessions
- Engagement
- Entry and Exit Pages
- Event Tracking
- Reporting
- Real-Time Reporting
- Custom Reports and Dashboards
- Campaign tracking
Pros
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- Easy collaboration
Cons
- Limited customizability
- UTM parameters are not tracked all (source and medium are ignored)
- Graphs are only able to show 1 year of history
- Weak support
Pricing
A free plan for 3,000 daily pageviews. A free 21-day trial for all plans is also available.
10. HubSpot
HubSpot is most known for its CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool, however, has become a more versatile tool. It offers free website tools for marketing automation and content management is the most versatile platform on this list. You can track the performance of your marketing campaign and landing pages, basic website analytics, and even use HubSpot tool for some SEO.
Features (HubSpot Marketing Hub):
- Building and Personalizing Emails
- Online Marketing
- Landing Pages and Forms
- Online Behavior Tracking
- Reporting & Analytics
- Basic Reporting & Web Analytics
Features (HubSpot CMS):
- Content Management
- SEO
- Content dashboard and reports
Pros
- A complex set of tools for every need
Cons
- New features sometimes have bugs
- Complex UI
- Customization options limited
Pricing
HubSpot Marketing Hub is free, the paid plans start at $50/month.
HubSpot CMS Hub starts at $25/month.
11. Semrush
Semrush is more a complementary tool, than a real website analytics tool, however, if you are interested in SEO and keyword optimization, you will be pleased to hear that it offers a free plan. The free plan of Semrush has some limitations, nevertheless, to start optimizing your webpage for search engines it is enough.
Features:
- Keyword & domain research
- Backlink analytics
- Page crawler to find & fix site errors
- Social media tracking & analytics
- Scheduled PDF reports
- Content Marketing Platform: plan, write & optimize content in 1 place
Pros
- A broad range of tools and features
- Regular updates and new tools
Cons
- The mechanism used for calculating traffic can be somewhat inaccurate
- The free plan is only helpful for small-scale SEO
- Difficult to use for new users
Pricing
A free plan is available, with limitations. The paid plans have a pricing range of $129.95/month – $499.95/month.
Chose your top free website analytics tool yet?
We are here to make tracking website behavior possible for you! We hope this free website analytics tools comparison was useful and you are now ready to improve your website. Make it a place where your users will be pleased to return! Create a free account if UXtweak caught your attention or book a demo call.