Nvivio next to Google Analytics, Plausible and Fathom
An honest comparison: what Nvivio does differently, and when another tool suits you better.
| Feature | Nvivio | Google Analytics 4 | Plausible | Fathom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookies by default | No (cookie mode with consent is optional) | Yes, _ga, 2 years | No | No |
| Cookie banner needed in the EU | No | Yes, Google asks for consent in the EEA | No, according to Plausible | No, according to Fathom |
| Where your data is stored | EU, Frankfurt | Google’s data centres; transfers to the US | EU: Germany, Finland, Slovenia | EU visits processed in the EU; Canadian company, US infrastructure further on |
| Script size | Under 1 kB | — | 2.5 kB | 2 kB |
| Dashboard languages | All 24 EU languages | 39 languages, 21 of the 24 EU languages | English | — |
| Every visit with its pages | Yes, with time on page and scroll depth | Yes, in User explorer | No: paths in total, not per visit | No |
| Live: who is on which page | Yes, every visitor with their page | Counts per page, plus one random visitor | Totals and top pages of the last 5 minutes | A count, with pages and sources |
| Which bots and AI crawlers visited | Yes, 99 bots by name, AI crawlers included | No: excluded, not shown | No: excluded, not shown | Blocked, counted per category, not by name |
| Funnels | Every plan | Yes, in Explore | Business plan | — |
| Free plan | 3 sites, 30 days of data | Free | No: a 30-day trial | No: a 7-day trial, card required |
| Open source | No | No | Yes (AGPL), also to host yourself | No |
| Public API | Every plan | Yes | Business plan | Yes, every plan |
About the other tools: taken from their own websites and documentation, checked on 23 October 2026. A dash means the vendor does not say.
What Nvivio does differently
- It tells you what happened. A sentence about your period and up to six findings, each with the number that proves it, worked out from your own data.
- Every visit, without cookies. See the route of each visit, how long each page was read and how it ended, without following anyone beyond the day.
- Bots you can see. Bots stay out of your numbers, and a page shows which ones read your site, AI crawlers included.
- In every EU language. An agency can give each client a dashboard in their own language.
When another tool suits you better
- Google Analytics if you advertise with Google Ads and want its ad measurement, or need years of history for free.
- Plausible if you want open source or want to host your analytics yourself. Nvivio is not open source.
- Another tool if you need more than a year of history: Nvivio keeps at most 365 days, in the Agency plan.
Sources
Google Analytics 4
support.google.com/analytics/answer/11397207
support.google.com/analytics/answer/12017362
support.google.com/analytics/answer/1008006
support.google.com/analytics/answer/9283607
support.google.com/analytics/answer/9271392
support.google.com/analytics/answer/9888366
Plausible
plausible.io/data-policy
plausible.io/eu-hosted-web-analytics
plausible.io/privacy-focused-web-analytics
plausible.io/docs/realtime-dashboard
plausible.io/docs/funnel-analysis
plausible.io/docs/self-hosting
Fathom
usefathom.com/data
usefathom.com/docs/script/eu-isolation
usefathom.com/features
usefathom.com/docs/start/dashboard
usefathom.com/docs/features/bot-detection
usefathom.com/pricing
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