The short answer
Which is the right fit?
Flow is an ongoing free DataFast alternative for up to 10,000 events a month, with five attribution models and unlimited websites. PostHog and Umami also offer hosted free options; Matomo Community is free software that you host yourself. Their setup and reporting models differ.
01 / The snapshot
At a glance
| Option | What is free | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Flow | Hosted Free plan with 10,000 events monthly | Connect checkout separately for revenue attribution |
| PostHog | A generous free web analytics event allowance | Broader product analytics setup and usage rules |
| Umami Cloud | A hosted Hobby plan | Current Hobby limits and the reports you need |
| Matomo Community | Self-hosted open-source software | Your own hosting, upkeep, and any paid add-ons |
| DataFast | 14-day trial | Subscription required after the trial |
Flow plans and features come from the current product. Competitor details are based on the official sources below, reviewed 2026-09-25.
02 / The detail
What Flow Free actually includes
Flow Free is a standing plan, not a trial clock. It includes 10,000 events each month, unlimited websites, five attribution models, 12 calendar months of data, and CSV exports. You can install one snippet to collect visits and clicks, then connect a supported provider and link checkout if you want to connect purchases to those visits.
That division matters. You can learn from traffic immediately, while revenue attribution becomes useful after the payment connection and checkout handoff are in place. The $5 monthly Starter tier raises the allowance to 100,000 events if your volume outgrows Free.
03 / The detail
Other free paths worth checking
PostHog offers a hosted free web analytics allowance and a much broader product analytics toolkit. That can be a good fit if event experiments and product behavior matter alongside site traffic. Check its current usage rules and which product you are enabling before comparing event counts.
Umami Cloud has a free Hobby plan and now documents revenue and attribution reporting. Matomo Community can be used without a software license fee, but you run the server and handle maintenance. Neither “free” label tells the whole cost story: time, hosting, quota, and payment setup still matter.
04 / The detail
How DataFast’s trial differs
DataFast advertises a 14-day trial with no card required. That is a useful way to test its revenue attribution, goals, funnels, and visitor journeys. Its terms require a subscription after the trial. If you need no monthly subscription while validating a small site, Flow’s permanent Free plan is the more direct fit.
Choose by the report you will return to, not the longest feature list. A free product only saves money if its setup and answers match the decision you need to make.
05 / The detail
What free website analytics can help you answer
A content site can use Flow Free to see which pages attract visitors, where sessions begin and end, and whether readers come from search, social, email, or referrals. The live event stream helps you verify a new page or signup button. Top-page, device, and activity reports show what people use before you spend money on another campaign.
For a small store, the same free account can show purchases and revenue after you connect a supported payment provider and link checkout to the tracked visitor. You can compare five attribution models and see how credit changes across channels. Saved UTM campaign links help connect a newsletter or paid promotion to the traffic and sales it brings.
If you run several side projects, the All sites dashboard puts their key numbers together. Flow does not charge a separate website fee on its listed plans, but Free still has a 10,000-event monthly allowance. It is a hosted service, so you do not maintain a server. You can keep 12 calendar months of data and export CSV reports while you decide whether the $5 Starter allowance is needed.
A closer look
What the Flow workspace shows
See Flow in action
Flow analytics in action
An animated Flow demo with sample data. It shows traffic trends, adds revenue, then changes the chart style and date range.
Read the video description
An animated Flow demo with sample data. It shows traffic trends, adds revenue, then changes the chart style and date range. The video is an animation of product controls, not a recording of a competitor or a claim about real customer results. It has music and no spoken narration.
Questions
Questions people ask
Is DataFast free forever?
No. DataFast advertises a 14-day free trial and its terms call for a subscription after the trial.
Can Flow track revenue on the Free plan?
The Free plan includes attribution features. To match purchases to visits, you must connect a supported payment provider and link your checkout to Flow’s visitor context.
Is self-hosted analytics really free?
The software can be free, but the server, maintenance, and any paid add-ons still have a cost.
Do I need a credit card for Flow Free?
No. You can start on the hosted Free plan without a credit card. Connect a payment provider only when you want to match purchases to visits.
Source notes
Check the details
Competitor plans and features change. These links lead to the source pages used for this comparison.