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# The invisit blog

> Notes on web analytics, privacy and the traffic AI assistants now send, from the people building invisit.

- [AI crawler user agents in 2026: what each bot does, how to block it](https://invisit.dev/blog/ai-crawlers.md): Every AI crawler from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Perplexity, Apple, Meta and more, with its robots.txt token, IP list, and a robots.txt to copy. (2026-11-03)
- [Analytics MCP servers: connect GA4 and others to Claude or ChatGPT](https://invisit.dev/blog/analytics-mcp.md): Which analytics tools have an MCP server, how each signs in and what it can change, with setup for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor and the traps in AI answers. (2026-11-03)
- [Why do GA4, Plausible and server logs show different numbers?](https://invisit.dev/blog/analytics-numbers-differ.md): Every reason GA4, Plausible, Vercel and server logs disagree, how big each gap gets, how to check it, and a procedure to reconcile one week. (2026-11-03)
- [How to proxy analytics through your own domain past ad blockers](https://invisit.dev/blog/analytics-proxy.md): What EasyPrivacy blocks, how to measure the traffic it hides, and tested analytics proxies for Next.js, Cloudflare Workers, nginx and Vercel. (2026-11-03)
- [How big is your analytics script? We measured 15 trackers](https://invisit.dev/blog/analytics-script-size.md): GA4, PostHog, Mixpanel, Plausible, Fathom, invisit and 9 more trackers measured raw, gzip and brotli, plus what loads later and how to check your own. (2026-11-03)
- [How to add analytics to Astro with view transitions, tested](https://invisit.dev/blog/astro-analytics.md): Where the tracker goes in Astro, which tools count view transition page views (we tested invisit, Plausible, Umami and GA4), and the proxy traps. (2026-11-03)
- [Bot traffic in Google Analytics and others: how to spot and filter it](https://invisit.dev/blog/bot-traffic.md): How GA4, Plausible, Umami, Fathom, Matomo, PostHog, Cloudflare and Vercel filter bots, what slips past them, and how to clean up your numbers. (2026-11-03)
- [Bounce rate vs engagement rate: how GA4, Plausible and 7 others count](https://invisit.dev/blog/bounce-rate.md): How GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, PostHog and three more define bounce rate, engaged sessions and time on page, with worked examples. (2026-11-03)
- [Do you need a cookie banner for analytics? EU, UK and US in 2026](https://invisit.dev/blog/cookie-banner-analytics.md): What EU, UK and US law says about analytics cookies and cookieless tracking as of November 2026, with a setup-by-setup table and a checklist. (2026-11-03)
- [How cookieless analytics counts unique visitors, and what it can't](https://invisit.dev/blog/cookieless-analytics.md): The four ways analytics tools tell visitors apart, what each can and cannot count across days, and why a deleted salt matters. Checked November 2026. (2026-11-03)
- [Cross-domain tracking: one visitor across subdomains and domains](https://invisit.dev/blog/cross-domain-tracking.md): How GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, PostHog and invisit follow one visitor across www, subdomains, other domains and checkout pages, tested. (2026-11-03)
- [7 best DataFast alternatives in 2026, compared on revenue](https://invisit.dev/blog/datafast-alternatives.md): Plausible, Umami, PostHog, invisit and 3 more DataFast alternatives: how each gets revenue, ties it to channels, and handles cookies, EU data and export. (2026-11-03)
- [Documentation analytics: what to measure on developer docs and how](https://invisit.dev/blog/documentation-analytics.md): What to measure on docs besides page views, what Mintlify, GitBook, ReadMe, Docusaurus, Starlight and VitePress report, and tested code for search events. (2026-11-03)
- [8 best Dub alternatives in 2026, hosted and self-hosted](https://invisit.dev/blog/dub-alternatives.md): Short.io, Shlink, Kutt, YOURLS, invisit, Rebrandly, Bitly and Bl.ink compared with Dub on click limits, data retention, conversions, self-hosting and price. (2026-11-03)
- [How to exclude your own visits and internal traffic from analytics](https://invisit.dev/blog/exclude-internal-traffic.md): Keep your browsers, teammates, previews, localhost and test runs out of GA4, Plausible, Umami, Fathom, Matomo, PostHog and Vercel, with a comparison table. (2026-11-03)
- [How to export Google Analytics 4 data and keep it after you switch](https://invisit.dev/blog/export-google-analytics-data.md): Every way to get your GA4 history out, from CSV to BigQuery, with row limits and quotas, a tested Data API script, and which tools import GA4. (2026-11-03)
- [8 best Fathom Analytics alternatives in 2026, priced at your tier](https://invisit.dev/blog/fathom-alternatives.md): Umami, Pirsch, Simple Analytics, invisit and 4 more Fathom alternatives priced at 100K, 1M and 2M pageviews, and which import your Fathom history. (2026-11-03)
- [11 free web analytics tools in 2026: what each free plan includes](https://invisit.dev/blog/free-web-analytics.md): GA4, Cloudflare, Clarity, Umami, PostHog, Mixpanel and 5 more free analytics plans compared: traffic caps, data kept, cookies and what costs extra. (2026-11-03)
- [Why funnel conversion rates differ between analytics tools](https://invisit.dev/blog/funnel-analysis.md): How GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude, PostHog, Plausible, Umami, Matomo and invisit define a funnel, and one dataset scored under seven of them: 46% to 73%. (2026-11-03)
- [12 best Google Analytics alternatives in 2026, compared](https://invisit.dev/blog/google-analytics-alternatives.md): Plausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, PostHog and 7 more Google Analytics alternatives, with prices at 100K and 1M, cookies, EU data and script size. (2026-11-03)
- [Is Google Analytics legal in the EU in 2026? What changed, what to do](https://invisit.dev/blog/google-analytics-gdpr.md): Yes, with consent and a careful setup. Why EU regulators banned it in 2022, what the Data Privacy Framework changed, the pending appeal, and a GA4 checklist. (2026-11-03)
- [7 best Matomo alternatives in 2026, and how to export your data](https://invisit.dev/blog/matomo-alternatives.md): Umami, Plausible, Piwik PRO, GA4, PostHog and 2 more Matomo alternatives for self-hosters and Cloud users, with prices and a tested export script. (2026-11-03)
- [8 best Microsoft Clarity alternatives in 2026, compared](https://invisit.dev/blog/microsoft-clarity-alternatives.md): Hotjar (now Contentsquare), PostHog, FullStory, Mouseflow, LogRocket, OpenReplay, Umami and invisit compared on recordings, heatmaps, consent and price. (2026-11-03)
- [7 best Mixpanel alternatives in 2026, compared](https://invisit.dev/blog/mixpanel-alternatives.md): Amplitude, PostHog, Heap, Umami, Matomo, Plausible and invisit compared for leaving Mixpanel: price at 10M events, cookies, and importing your history. (2026-11-03)
- [How to track signups and conversions in Next.js without cookies](https://invisit.dev/blog/nextjs-analytics.md): A Next.js App Router walkthrough: a cookieless tracker, signups counted only once the account exists, payments sent from the webhook, and a funnel. (2026-11-03)
- [How to track outbound link clicks and file downloads: 8 tools tested](https://invisit.dev/blog/outbound-link-tracking.md): Which outbound link clicks and file downloads GA4, Plausible, Matomo, PostHog, Umami, Fathom, Simple Analytics and invisit record, tested in Chrome. (2026-11-03)
- [8 best Plausible alternatives in 2026, compared](https://invisit.dev/blog/plausible-alternatives.md): Pirsch, Rybbit, Umami, Fathom, PostHog and 3 more Plausible alternatives: what funnels cost at 1M and 10M, which import your history, and what each lacks. (2026-11-03)
- [7 best PostHog alternatives in 2026, priced piece by piece](https://invisit.dev/blog/posthog-alternatives.md): Replace PostHog one product at a time: Statsig, Amplitude, GrowthBook, Sentry, Clarity, Plausible and invisit, priced against the PostHog price list. (2026-11-03)
- [Public analytics dashboards: how to share stats without leaking](https://invisit.dev/blog/public-analytics-dashboard.md): Publish or embed your stats from GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics, Umami, Matomo, PostHog or invisit, and what to check before you post the link. (2026-11-03)
- [How to measure Core Web Vitals from real users (CrUX vs RUM)](https://invisit.dev/blog/real-user-web-vitals.md): CrUX vs your own RUM, why PageSpeed Insights has no field data for a page, tested web-vitals code, and what six tools charge for vitals. (2026-11-03)
- [Server-side vs client-side analytics: what to measure where](https://invisit.dev/blog/server-side-analytics.md): What only the browser or only your server can see, how a server event joins the visit, and tested server APIs for GA4, Plausible, Umami, PostHog and Mixpanel. (2026-11-03)
- [Shopify analytics without cookies: theme, custom pixel or webhook](https://invisit.dev/blog/shopify-analytics.md): Where analytics code runs on Shopify in 2026, what a custom pixel can see, how GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Umami and PostHog set up, and how to count every order. (2026-11-03)
- [7 best Simple Analytics alternatives in 2026, by what they track](https://invisit.dev/blog/simple-analytics-alternatives.md): GoatCounter, Plausible, Pirsch, Swetrix and 3 more Simple Analytics alternatives, ordered by what each processes to count a visitor, with prices and imports. (2026-11-03)
- [How to track page views in a single-page app: 7 tools tested](https://invisit.dev/blog/spa-page-views.md): How analytics scripts follow SPA route changes, why page views double or go missing, and how GA4, Plausible, Umami, Fathom, PostHog and Vercel behave. (2026-11-03)
- [How to track 404 errors and find the pages that link to them](https://invisit.dev/blog/track-404-pages.md): Find the 404s visitors and crawlers hit and the link behind each: server logs, Search Console, GA4, Plausible, Matomo and more, with tested code. (2026-11-03)
- [How to get alerted when website traffic drops, spikes or stops](https://invisit.dev/blog/traffic-alerts.md): Spike, drop and tracking-stopped alerts in GA4, Plausible, Matomo, PostHog, Fathom, Umami and invisit, with thresholds that hold and a tested Slack script. (2026-11-03)
- [8 best Umami alternatives in 2026, self-hosted and cloud](https://invisit.dev/blog/umami-alternatives.md): Umami alternatives for self-hosters and Umami Cloud users: Rybbit, Plausible, Matomo, Pirsch and 4 more, with prices, retention and which import Umami data. (2026-11-03)
- [8 best Vercel Analytics alternatives for Next.js in 2026](https://invisit.dev/blog/vercel-analytics-alternatives.md): Cloudflare, Umami, Plausible, PostHog and 4 more Vercel Web Analytics alternatives: Next.js setup, event limits, web vitals, data kept and prices. (2026-11-03)
- [How to add analytics to Webflow, Framer, Squarespace and Wix](https://invisit.dev/blog/website-builder-analytics.md): Where tracking code goes on each builder, which plan it needs, how page changes and clicks are counted, and the staging traps, tested in November 2026. (2026-11-03)
- [How to add analytics to WordPress without a plugin or cookies](https://invisit.dev/blog/wordpress-analytics.md): A tested must-use plugin for WordPress analytics: editors left out, WooCommerce orders counted, caching plugins fixed, and 7 analytics plugins compared. (2026-11-03)
- [How to track ChatGPT traffic in GA4, Plausible, Umami and others](https://invisit.dev/blog/ai-assistant-traffic.md): Which analytics tools file ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity clicks as AI traffic, whether they read utm_source=chatgpt.com, and how to set up each one. (2026-11-02)