Main table
| Tool | Cookies (their own pages) | Heatmaps | A/B tests | Tells you what to fix | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plausible | "No cookies" | No | No | No | $9 a month |
| Fathom | "Doesn't use cookies" | No | No | No | $15 a month |
| Simple Analytics | "No cookies, no consent banners" | No | No | No | Free hobby plan; paid from $20 a month |
| Matomo | Cookieless tracking as an option ("Consent-Free Tracking") | Yes (Cloud) | Yes (Cloud) | No | Cloud from 29 a month (50k hits) |
| Microsoft Clarity | Sets cookies; consent mode in the EEA, UK and CH | Yes, with recordings | No | AI summaries | Free |
| Rubric | None, for analytics or A/B | Click heatmap from real visitors + predicted heatmap | Yes | Yes: an audit ranked by severity, ending in a fix list | $39 a month |
Facts from each vendor's public pages on 2 Nov 2026 (plausible.io, usefathom.com, simpleanalytics.com/pricing, matomo.org/pricing, clarity.microsoft.com). Clarity's cookie and consent details were read on 30 Oct 2026. Prices are list prices per month and change; check each site.
How to choose
- You only need traffic numbers, cookie-free: Plausible, Fathom or Simple Analytics. They're simpler and cheaper than Rubric.
- You want analytics as deep as Google Analytics, self-hosted, with heatmaps and A/B: Matomo.
- You want recordings for free and can use a consent banner: Clarity.
- You want to know what to fix on the site, test the fix, and set no cookies: Rubric.
Good to know
Is Rubric a Google Analytics replacement?
For most site owners' needs (pages, sources, goals, funnels, forms), yes. For deep custom reporting, a full analytics suite does more.
Can I use Rubric next to another tool?
Yes. You can keep your traffic or replay tool and add Rubric for the audit and the fix list. The scripts don't conflict.
