Headstream vs Fathom Analytics
Updated 2026-11-02
Fathom is a simple, privacy-focused website analytics tool. Headstream deliberately collects much more, because detailed visitor data is what makes attribution work. These are different products for different priorities, and privacy is the dividing line.
Side by side
| Headstream | Fathom Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy approach | Collects detailed data, sets a first-party cookie | Cookieless, built around privacy compliance |
| Stripe revenue attribution | Yes, beta | Not listed; you send a value with an event |
| Multi-touch models | Four | Not listed |
| Self-reported attribution | Yes | Not listed |
| Heatmaps and recordings | Yes | Not listed |
| Funnels | Yes | Not listed |
| MCP server | Yes | Not listed; REST API |
| Self-hosting | No | Fathom Lite only, unsupported |
"Not listed" means we couldn't find it on Fathom Analytics's own site. It doesn't mean they don't offer it, so check with them. We reviewed their site on November 1, 2026.
Pricing
Headstream is free for 10,000 events a month, $99 for 250,000 and $299 for 1 million, pooled across unlimited sites. Fathom counts pageviews and custom events together: $15 for 100,000, $45 for 500,000 and $60 for 1 million. Our counts are similar but not identical, because bots and interaction events aren't billed here.
Where Fathom Analytics is the better pick
If you want a clean, cookieless dashboard with a long record on privacy compliance, choose Fathom. It costs less at these volumes too.
When to choose Headstream
- You need to know which channels produce revenue, not just visits.
- You want one customer's full journey across visits.
- You're comfortable handling consent and collecting more data.
Moving from Fathom Analytics
Run both side by side. Add the Headstream script next to your current tag and run both for a few weeks. You can compare totals before you remove anything. Your agent can do the install from agent.md. Totals won't match exactly, and our methodology explains what we count.
You can see how every number is calculated in our methodology. Stripe connection is in beta.
Source: Fathom Analytics's website.