---
title: "Cookieless Analytics: Best Tools & How They Work in 2026"
description: "The complete guide to cookieless analytics platforms. Compare the best cookie-free analytics tools, learn how tracking without cookies works, and find the right solution for your site."
tag: Guide
team: OpenPanel Team
date: 2025-06-17
updated: 2026-02-16
cover: /content/cookieless-analytics.jpg
---
import { Faqs, FaqItem } from '@/components/faq';
import { Figure } from '@/components/figure';

Third-party cookies are dying. Safari and Firefox blocked them years ago. Chrome is finally following through. And privacy regulations keep getting stricter.

If your analytics still depends on cookies, you're working with incomplete data — and possibly breaking the law. **Cookieless analytics** gives you accurate visitor insights without cookies, consent banners, or compliance headaches.

This guide covers how cookieless tracking works, why it matters, and which tools do it best.

## Why Cookies Are Going Away

The shift away from cookies didn't happen overnight. It's been building for years.

### Browser restrictions

Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) started blocking third-party cookies in 2017. Firefox followed with Enhanced Tracking Protection in 2019. Both browsers now block third-party cookies by default and limit first-party cookie lifetimes.

Chrome — which holds roughly 65% of browser market share — announced its cookie deprecation plans in 2020. After multiple delays, Google is now phasing out third-party cookies through its Privacy Sandbox initiative. The timeline has shifted, but the direction is clear: third-party cookies are on borrowed time.

### Privacy regulations

GDPR requires explicit consent before setting non-essential cookies. That means cookie banners, consent management platforms, and the constant risk of getting it wrong. Fines can reach €20 million or 4% of global revenue.

CCPA, Brazil's LGPD, and similar laws in other regions add their own requirements. The regulatory trend is unmistakable: more restrictions, not fewer.

### Ad blockers and privacy tools

Over 40% of internet users run ad blockers or privacy tools. Most of these block analytics cookies too. That means cookie-based analytics is already missing a large chunk of your traffic.

### The result

If you're still relying on cookies for analytics, you're getting incomplete data from a shrinking pool of users — and jumping through legal hoops to do it. Cookieless analytics solves all three problems at once.

## How Cookieless Tracking Works

Cookieless analytics doesn't mean you stop collecting data. It means you collect it differently. Here are the main approaches:

### Server-side tracking

Instead of running JavaScript that sets cookies in the browser, server-side tracking captures events on your backend. The user's browser never receives a tracking cookie because the data collection happens on your server.

This approach is immune to ad blockers, doesn't require consent banners for basic analytics, and gives you more control over what data you collect.

### Session-based identifiers

Some tools create a temporary, non-persistent identifier for each visit. This ties actions together during a single session — page views, clicks, form submissions — without storing anything in the browser. When the session ends, the identifier is discarded.

This gives you meaningful session-level data (bounce rate, pages per visit, conversion paths) without the privacy implications of persistent tracking.

### First-party data

Your own signup forms, user accounts, and preference settings are first-party data. You collected it directly from the user with their knowledge. Cookieless analytics tools can combine anonymous session data with authenticated user data when someone logs in — no cookies needed.

### Hashed identifiers

Some tools generate a daily hash from non-identifying signals like the visitor's IP address, user agent, and screen size. This lets you count unique visitors without storing personal data or setting cookies. The hash changes daily, so there's no long-term tracking.

OpenPanel uses this approach: a daily rotating hash that counts unique visitors accurately without storing any personal information.

## Best Cookieless Analytics Tools Compared

Not all cookieless analytics tools are the same. Some focus on simple pageview tracking. Others offer full product analytics with funnels, retention, and user journeys. Here's how the main options compare:

| Tool | Type | Cookieless | Open Source | Self-Host | Cloud Pricing (from) | Best For |
|------|------|-----------|-------------|-----------|---------------------|----------|
| **OpenPanel** | Web + Product | Yes | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | Free | $2.50/mo | Teams wanting product analytics without cookies |
| **Plausible** | Web | Yes | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | Free | $9/mo | Simple, lightweight pageview analytics |
| **Fathom** | Web | Yes | No | No | $15/mo | Privacy-focused teams wanting managed hosting |
| **Simple Analytics** | Web | Yes | No | No | $9/mo | Simplest possible analytics setup |
| **Pirsch** | Web | Yes | Yes (AGPL-3.0) | License | $6/mo | Server-side analytics without JavaScript |

### OpenPanel

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/openpanel.png"
  caption="OpenPanel's web analytics dashboard — cookieless by default"
/>

[OpenPanel](/) is an open source analytics platform that combines web analytics and product analytics — all without cookies. You get pageviews and traffic sources alongside funnels, retention, custom events, and user journeys.

**What sets it apart:** Most cookieless tools only track pageviews. OpenPanel gives you Mixpanel-level product analytics (event tracking, [funnels](/features/funnels), [retention](/features/retention), user properties) without setting a single cookie. And you can [self-host it for free](/articles/how-to-self-host-openpanel).

- Zero cookies, ever
- GDPR and CCPA compliant out of the box
- Real-time dashboards
- Custom events and properties
- Open source with full self-hosting support
- Starts at $2.50/month on cloud

### Plausible

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/plausible.png"
  caption="Plausible's minimal analytics dashboard"
/>

[Plausible](/compare/plausible-alternative) is a lightweight, privacy-first web analytics tool. It tracks pageviews, referral sources, and basic engagement metrics without cookies.

**Best for:** Sites that need simple traffic stats and nothing more. If you don't need event tracking, funnels, or user-level analytics, Plausible keeps things minimal.

- Under 1 KB script size
- No cookies, no consent banner needed
- Self-hostable (community edition)
- Starts at $9/month on cloud

### Fathom

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/fathom.png"
  caption="Fathom's privacy-focused analytics dashboard"
/>

[Fathom](/compare/fathom-alternative) is a privacy-focused, managed analytics tool. It handles cookieless tracking, EU isolation, and compliance so you don't have to think about it.

**Best for:** Teams that want a fully managed solution with zero maintenance. Fathom handles all the infrastructure and compliance details.

- Cookieless by default
- EU data isolation available
- Managed hosting only (no self-host)
- Starts at $15/month

### Simple Analytics

[Simple Analytics](/compare/simple-analytics-alternative) does exactly what its name suggests: simple, privacy-friendly analytics with no cookies, no tracking scripts on the user's device, and a clean dashboard.

**Best for:** Teams that want the absolute simplest analytics setup. No configuration, no complex features — just traffic data.

- No cookies, no fingerprinting
- Lightweight script
- AI-powered insights
- Starts at $9/month

### Pirsch

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/pirsch.png"
  caption="Pirsch's server-side analytics dashboard"
/>

Pirsch takes a different approach entirely: server-side only analytics. There's no JavaScript snippet to load. Instead, you send events from your backend, which means ad blockers can't interfere.

**Best for:** Developers who want 100% accurate tracking that can't be blocked by browser extensions.

- Server-side only, no JavaScript needed
- Cookie-free by design
- Open source core
- Starts at $6/month

## Cookieless Analytics vs Traditional Analytics

Switching from cookie-based analytics (like Google Analytics) to a cookieless platform isn't just a privacy upgrade. It changes what data you get and how you use it.

### What you gain

**Accurate visitor counts.** Cookie-based analytics misses users who block cookies, use private browsing, or decline consent banners. Cookieless tools track everyone because there's nothing to block or decline.

**No consent banners.** If your analytics tool doesn't set cookies, most privacy laws don't require a consent banner for basic analytics. That means no pop-ups, faster page loads, and better user experience.

**Simpler compliance.** No cookies means no cookie audits, no consent management platforms, no records of consent, and no worrying about which cookies are "strictly necessary." Your legal team will thank you.

**Faster pages.** Cookie-based analytics scripts are typically larger and heavier. Most cookieless tools use lightweight scripts under 5 KB. Some, like Pirsch, use no client-side script at all.

**Future-proof data.** Your analytics won't break when Chrome finishes deprecating third-party cookies. You're already ahead.

### What you lose

**Cross-session user tracking (mostly).** Without persistent cookies, you can't easily track the same anonymous visitor across multiple sessions over weeks or months. If a user visits Monday and returns Thursday, most cookieless tools count that as two separate visitors.

However, this matters less than you think. Once a user logs in or signs up, you can track them across sessions using your own first-party data. Tools like OpenPanel support this with authenticated user identification.

**Some Google Analytics features.** GA's remarketing audiences, cross-domain tracking, and integration with Google Ads all rely on cookies. If you depend on these, you'll need alternative approaches.

**Attribution modeling.** Multi-touch attribution across long time windows gets harder without persistent identifiers. But honestly, cookie-based attribution was never as accurate as people assumed — it was already broken by ad blockers and browser restrictions.

### The bottom line

For most sites, cookieless analytics gives you *more* accurate data (because nothing is blocked) while removing the legal and UX overhead of cookie consent. The tradeoff — less cross-session anonymous tracking — is increasingly irrelevant as cookies disappear anyway.

## Getting Started with Cookieless Analytics

Setting up OpenPanel takes about two minutes. No cookies, no consent banners, no complex configuration.

### 1. Add the tracking snippet

```html
<script>
  window.op=window.op||function(){var n=[];return new Proxy(function(){arguments.length&&n.push([].slice.call(arguments))},{get:function(t,r){return"q"===r?n:function(){n.push([r].concat([].slice.call(arguments)))}} ,has:function(t,r){return"q"===r}}) }();
  window.op('init', {
    clientId: 'YOUR_CLIENT_ID',
    trackScreenViews: true,
    trackOutgoingLinks: true,
    trackAttributes: true,
  });
</script>
<script src="https://openpanel.dev/op1.js" defer async></script>
```

### 2. Track custom events

```javascript
window.op('track', 'signup_button_clicked');

window.op('track', 'order_placed', {
  orderId: 'ORD-20260216-001',
  revenue: 49.95,
  currency: 'EUR',
});
```

That's it. You're collecting analytics data without cookies, without consent banners, and without compromising on the insights you need.

Want full control over your data? You can also [self-host OpenPanel](/articles/how-to-self-host-openpanel) on your own infrastructure for free.

## FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="What is cookieless analytics?">
Cookieless analytics is a way to track website and app usage without storing cookies in the visitor's browser. Instead, it uses techniques like server-side tracking, session-based identifiers, and hashed signals to collect data. This avoids the need for cookie consent banners and improves compliance with privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Is cookieless analytics GDPR compliant?">
Cookieless analytics makes GDPR compliance significantly easier. Since no cookies are set, you typically don't need a cookie consent banner for basic analytics. However, GDPR applies to all personal data processing, not just cookies. Choose a tool that minimizes data collection and offers EU data hosting or self-hosting. OpenPanel is GDPR compliant by design — it collects no personal data and can be [self-hosted](/articles/how-to-self-host-openpanel) on your own EU servers.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Do I still need a cookie banner with cookieless analytics?">
For basic analytics, no. Cookie consent banners are required when your site sets non-essential cookies. If your analytics tool doesn't use cookies at all — like OpenPanel, Plausible, or Fathom — you don't need a cookie banner specifically for analytics. You may still need one if other parts of your site use cookies (marketing tools, chat widgets, etc.).
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="How accurate is cookieless analytics compared to Google Analytics?">
Cookieless analytics is often *more* accurate than Google Analytics for basic metrics like pageviews and unique visitors. That's because cookie-based analytics misses users who block cookies, use ad blockers, or decline consent banners — which can be 30-40% of traffic. Cookieless tools capture these visitors because there's nothing to block or decline.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Can cookieless analytics track individual users?">
Cookieless analytics tracks anonymous sessions by default. However, once a user logs in or identifies themselves, tools like OpenPanel can associate their activity with a user profile using first-party data. This gives you user-level analytics (funnels, retention, journeys) for authenticated users without ever needing a cookie.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="What is the best cookieless analytics platform?">
It depends on your needs. For teams that want both web analytics and product analytics (funnels, retention, events) without cookies, [OpenPanel](/) is the best option — it's open source, self-hostable, and starts at $2.50/month. For simple pageview tracking, [Plausible](/compare/plausible-alternative) is the most popular choice. For fully managed, zero-maintenance analytics, [Fathom](/compare/fathom-alternative) is worth considering.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Is Google Analytics cookieless?">
No. Google Analytics (GA4) still uses first-party cookies by default. Google has introduced a "cookieless measurement" mode, but it relies on Google's modeling and machine learning to estimate data — it doesn't actually track without cookies in the same way purpose-built cookieless tools do. For genuine cookieless analytics, you need a tool designed for it from the ground up.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Can I use cookieless analytics with a self-hosted setup?">
Yes. Several cookieless analytics tools support self-hosting, which gives you full data ownership and the strongest possible privacy posture. OpenPanel, Plausible, and Pirsch all offer self-hosted options. With self-hosting, your analytics data never leaves your own servers. See our guide on [self-hosted analytics and compliance](/articles/better-compliance-self-hosted-analytics) for more details.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>
