When it comes to website analytics tools, Cloudflare Analytics is often mentioned as an option for those looking to track visitor data and performance metrics. However, Cloudflare Analytics operates at the DNS level, which means that its tracking methods and accuracy differ significantly from traditional web analytics platforms like Google Analytics, Matomo, or Pretty Insights.
For those looking for an accurate, privacy-friendly, and easy-to-use web analytics tool, Pretty Insights emerges as a strong Cloudflare Analytics alternative. In this article, we will explore how Cloudflare Analytics works, its limitations, and why Pretty Insights might be a better choice for accurate, real-time website statistics tools.
Cloudflare is widely known as a CDN (Content Delivery Network) and security service, offering features such as DDoS protection, caching, and DNS management. As part of its service, Cloudflare provides Cloudflare Analytics, which offers insights into traffic, security threats, and performance.
While Cloudflare Analytics is a useful tool for network-level monitoring, it has some critical drawbacks when used for web analytics purposes:
Pretty Insights is a privacy-friendly web analytics tool designed to offer accurate, real-time website stats without compromising user privacy. Unlike Cloudflare Analytics, it provides a JavaScript-based tracking system that focuses on real user behavior.
Feature | Pretty Insights | Cloudflare Analytics |
---|---|---|
Visitor Tracking | JavaScript-based (accurate) | DNS-level (less accurate) |
Privacy-Focused | Yes | Yes (but lacks user-level tracking) |
Event Tracking | Yes | No |
Bot Traffic Filtering | Yes | Limited |
Data Ownership | Self-hosted or managed | Cloudflare servers |
Ease of Use | Simple UI | Technical setup required |
Since Cloudflare logs all requests at the DNS level, it includes bots, preloaded page requests, and other non-user interactions. Pretty Insights only counts real users, ensuring accurate website statistics.
Pretty Insights provides advanced tracking options, such as:
Cloudflare Analytics cannot track these events, making Pretty Insights a superior choice for understanding real user behavior.
If you’re running a business, blog, or eCommerce store, you need detailed web analytics that track user journeys, referral sources, and conversions. Pretty Insights provides these, while Cloudflare Analytics does not.
While Cloudflare stores analytics data on their own servers, Pretty Insights allows self-hosting, giving you full control over your data.
Cloudflare Analytics is only available for websites using Cloudflare’s DNS services. Pretty Insights works with any website, regardless of the hosting or CDN provider.
Matomo Analytics is another powerful Google Analytics alternative, but it can be resource-intensive and complex to set up. Pretty Insights offers a simpler solution with easy installation and lightweight performance.
👉 Read more: Matomo Alternative
Plausible is a well-known privacy-friendly web analytics tool, but it operates on a paid model, whereas Pretty Insights provides a free self-hosted option.
👉 Read more: Plausible
Fathom Analytics focuses on simple, privacy-first analytics, but it lacks event tracking capabilities that Pretty Insights provides.
👉 Read more: Fathom vs Plausible
If you are looking for an accurate, privacy-friendly web analytics tool, Pretty Insights is perfect for:
Is Pretty Insights a good alternative to Cloudflare Analytics? Absolutely! While Cloudflare Analytics is great for security monitoring and basic network analytics, it is not an accurate web analytics tool. For website owners who need precise, real-time insights, Pretty Insights offers a more reliable solution.
By providing accurate visitor tracking, event monitoring, privacy compliance, and self-hosting options, Pretty Insights stands out as one of the best website analytics tools available today.
If you’re searching for a Cloudflare Analytics alternative, try Pretty Insights and take control of your web stats today!
Other comparisons
Read more if you want to know if prettyinsights is a good simple analytics alternative.