Question 2: Which website analytics tools work without tracking cookies and do not need a consent banner?

There are several excellent website analytics tools that work without tracking cookies and can generally be used without a cookie consent banner.

They're often called cookieless analytics or privacy-friendly analytics. They measure website traffic without relying on persistent visitor identifiers or traditional tracking cookies.

Here are the best options, depending on how much detail you need.

Best cookie-free website analytics tools

1.

Plausible Analytics

Best overall

No cookies by default.

Simple, attractive dashboard.

Page views, visitors, referrals, campaigns, goals and conversions.

Open source, with a self-hosted option.

Particularly good for marketing websites and blogs.

Website: plausible.io

2.

Fathom Analytics

Best for simplicity

Cookieless tracking by default.

No traditional cookie consent requirement for its analytics.

Traffic sources, page views, events and conversions.

Clean interface and straightforward reporting.

Paid service.

Website: usefathom.com

3.

Umami Analytics

Best free / self-hosted option

No tracking cookies by default.

Open source.

Free to self-host.

Page views, referrers, events and custom properties.

Lightweight and easy to integrate.

Website: umami.is

4.

Simple Analytics

No cookies.

Privacy-focused data collection.

Visitor statistics, referrers, events and campaigns.

No complicated configuration.

Good for businesses wanting minimal data collection.

Website: simpleanalytics.com

5.

Cloudflare Web Analytics

Best free option

Free website analytics.

No cookies.

No traditional visitor tracking.

Page views, performance metrics and traffic trends.

Particularly convenient for websites already using Cloudflare.

Website: cloudflare.com/web-analytics

6.

Matomo

Can be configured without tracking cookies.

Self-hosted option gives you control over your data.

More advanced reporting than most lightweight alternatives.

Heatmaps, session recordings and detailed analytics are available, but these features can introduce additional consent requirements.

Website: matomo.org

Quick comparison

Tool

Cookies by default

Free option

Self-hosted

Plausible

No

Community edition

Yes

Fathom

No

Trial

Limited

Umami

No

Yes

Yes

Simple Analytics

No

Limited

No

Cloudflare Analytics

No

Yes

No

Matomo

Configurable

Yes

Yes

Important: Does cookieless mean no consent banner is legally required?

Not automatically. There are two separate considerations:

Cookies and device storage: Some privacy laws require consent before storing or accessing information on a visitor's device, including technologies other than cookies.

Personal data: Even without cookies, analytics can process personal data, such as IP addresses or persistent identifiers.

For EU and UK visitors, the distinction is particularly important. Some jurisdictions allow exemptions for strictly limited, anonymised audience measurement, subject to specific conditions.

For example, Matomo has a specific configuration for qualifying under the French CNIL analytics exemption.

Matomo

Also, removing analytics cookies doesn't eliminate the need for a banner if other website services use cookies or similar tracking technologies.

My recommendation

I'd narrow it down to three:

Plausible: Best balance of useful marketing analytics and privacy.

Umami: Best if you want a free, open-source solution.

Cloudflare Web Analytics: Best if you want basic analytics without paying anything.

One question that would help me narrow this down:

Are you primarily looking to avoid cookie banners for visitors in the EU/UK (GDPR/ePrivacy), or do you want a cookie-free website for visitors worldwide, including the US?

The legal requirements differ, and that affects which tools I'd recommend.