8 Free Website Analysis Tools: Compare & Find the Best for Your Site

What’s really happening on your website? How do customers interact with your content? Where are users clicking, dropping off, or getting stuck before converting?

The best part is, you don’t need expensive software to find out.

With the right free website analysis tool, you can uncover powerful insights, improve UX, and boost engagement—all without breaking the bank.

In this blog, we’ve handpicked 8 free tools that help you track, test, and optimize your site’s performance.

Ready to find the one that fits your goals? Let’s dive in.

Free website analysis tools: Quick glimpse

• Google Analytics
• Matomo
• Clicky
• Open Web Analytics
• Microsoft Clarity
• Smartlook
• VWO Insights
• Semrush

Disclaimer: The pros and cons listed are based on reviews and feedback from third-party sites such as G2, TrustRadius, and other sources.

8 Free website analysis tools: In-depth overview

Traffic & performance analytics

1. Google Analytics – Comprehensive traffic and conversion tracking

Google Analytics makes it easy to understand how users interact with a website or app, from the first click to conversion. It shows where visitors come from, what they clicked, how long they stayed, and where they dropped off, helping businesses uncover what’s working and what needs rethinking.

Built-in behavior tracking offers a detailed view of user journeys, while smart attribution tools show which marketing efforts drive results. These capabilities make it easier to fine-tune digital strategies, deliver better experiences, and use insights to guide next steps

Best features

Real-Time Reporting, User Exploration Through Segmentation, Funnel Analysis, Predictive Analytics, Built-In Automation, Integrations, Engagement Reports, User And Traffic Acquisition Reports, Cohort Analysis

Pricing

• Google Analytics is available to everyone at no cost.

Pros:

• It is easy to set up and use, with simple integration into websites and apps.
• Makes it easy to identify which marketing channels bring in the most conversions and how users move through the site.

Cons:

• Setting up custom reports or tracking specific events can be a bit technical and may need developer help.
• Customer support responses can sometimes take longer than expected.

2. Matomo – Privacy-focused analytics

Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform that gives users full control over their data, enhancing the website’s SEO capabilities. It offers detailed insights across websites, apps, and intranets to boost traffic, conversions, and strategy. With cloud and on-premise hosting options, and a strong focus on privacy, all data remains 100% user-owned and never shared with third parties.

You can monitor user interactions (link clicks, downloads) with event tracking to understand behavior and optimize your website. Run A/B tests to compare content versions. Matomo helps optimize campaigns, enhance user experience, and support smarter decisions.

Best features

Session Recording, Heatmaps, Behavior Analytics, Funnels, User Segmentation, Cohorts, Event And Content Tracking, And Search Engine Keyword Performance, Form Analytics, Tag Manager, Custom Reports

Pricing

• Free trial: 21-day access to explore all features.
• Free plan: Available for self-hosted (on-premise) setup.
• Paid plan: Cloud hosting starts at $26/month or $260/year.

Pros:

• Offers full control and flexibility, especially when hosted on a private server.
• Simple and intuitive to use, with accurate tracking and support for multiple domains.

Cons:

• Some widgets are quite basic and don’t allow combining multiple metrics to uncover deeper user patterns.
• At times, the visual dashboard may display data that doesn’t fully match what’s stored in the database.

3. Clicky – Real-time traffic monitoring

Clicky is a real-time website checker and analytics platform designed to give website owners clear, actionable insights into visitor behavior. With a simple interface and privacy-first approach, it helps track website performance without relying on invasive tracking methods.

Key features include real-time visitor and action logs, which show every page view and event as it happens, and heatmaps that visually highlight where users click, offering a clear view of engagement and content effectiveness. These tools help teams react quickly, optimize pages, and improve user experience.

Best features

Bot Detection, Heatmaps, Uptime Monitoring, Segments, Path Analysis, Customer Data Tracking, Advanced Filtering, Engagement Reports, Multiple Dashboards, Split Testing, Video Analytics, On-Site Analytics

Pricing

• Free trial: 21-day access to the premium features, with tracking for up to 3 websites and 1,000,000 daily pageviews across sites.
• Free plan: Includes tracking for 1 website with up to 3,000 daily pageviews per month.
• Paid plan: Starts at $9.99/month or $79.99/year.

Pros:

• Easy to set up using a simple tracking script, no advanced coding required.
• Simple to use and makes it easy to visualize and analyze traffic data.

Cons:

• It would be helpful if the visitor graph chart included data from more than two years ago.
• Response times from customer support could be improved, especially when users are waiting for assistance.

4. Open Web Analytics – Self-hosted analytics tool

Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a self-hosted, open-source analytics platform that helps track and analyze user interactions across websites and applications. With support for JavaScript, PHP, and REST APIs, it integrates easily with platforms like WordPress and MediaWiki, giving users full control over their tracking data and ensuring privacy through on-server data ownership.

OWA provides visual insights through heatmaps, highlighting where users click and engage on a page, and offers goal tracking to monitor specific user actions and measure conversion performance. These features help identify what’s working, where users drop off, and how to improve site engagement.

Best features

Analytics Dashboard, Heatmaps, Seo Search Terms Tracking, Dom Clicks, Visitor Loyalty, Track Custom Site Actions, Clickstream, Web Page Details 

Pricing

• OWA is free for all.

Pros:

• It blends standard analytics with heatmap tracking to give a complete view of user behavior.
• Delivers fast, accurate tracking to help understand how users interact with web pages and apps.

Cons:

• Adding a marketplace for custom add-ons could make the platform more flexible and useful.
• Closer integration with Google Analytics features would enhance usability for those familiar with that platform.

User behavior & experience analytics

5. Microsoft Clarity – Behavior analytics

Microsoft Clarity is a free website analytics tool that helps track and understand real user behavior with minimal setup. It collects data on how visitors interact with your site, offering visual and behavioral insights that support better decision-making and user experience improvements.

It combines features like heatmaps to show where users click and scroll, and session recordings that let you watch real user journeys, allowing businesses to uncover usability issues, reduce bounce rate, and improve site performance based on real behavior.

Best features

User Segmentation, Custom Tags, Automatic Event Tracking, Instant Heatmaps, Session Recordings, AI Heatmap And Session Recording Summaries, Copilot

Pricing

• Clarity is free forever for all.

Pros:

• The tool is quick to navigate, making it easy to access key insights.
• Advanced filters allow you to monitor specific pages or elements on your website with precision.

Cons:

• Some session recordings may occasionally have technical glitches or slight delays that make it harder to analyze interactions.
• The mobile experience in Clarity isn’t as smooth as the desktop version and may have occasional syncing issues.

6. Smartlook – User journey insights

Smartlook is a comprehensive analytics platform for websites and mobile apps that helps businesses understand user behavior by uncovering the “why” behind every action. Session recordings show detailed user activity, clicks, scrolls, and form inputs, revealing exactly how users interact with the site. Conversion funnels highlight where users drop off and what they did beforehand, helping teams spot friction points.

By combining qualitative and quantitative data on one dashboard, Smartlook enables teams to reduce churn, increase conversions, fix issues, and enhance user experience with clarity.

Best features

Session Recordings, Heatmaps, Events, Funnels, Crash Reports, A/B Testing, Mobile App Analytics

Pricing

• Free Trial: 30-day access to all features across plans.
• Free Plan: Includes basic analytics with up to 3,000 sessions per month.
• Paid Plan: Starts at $55/month.

Pros:

• Simple to use and quick to set up, with a clean and user-friendly interface.
• Allows faster playback of user recordings, saving time without affecting website performance.

Cons:

• The interface could be more user-friendly, and the dashboard analytics easier to interpret.
• There are some limits to the number of recordings, and occasionally, sessions may not be recorded if storage is full.

7. VWO Insights – Comprehensive experience optimization

VWO Insights is a behavior analytics tool that helps businesses uncover how users interact with websites by analyzing various factors. It combines heatmaps, session recordings, on-page surveys, form analytics, funnels, and segmentation to reveal friction points and guide optimization.

Teams can track clicks, scrolls, and taps, even on dynamic elements like modals or pop-ups, with heatmaps. Session recordings highlight moments of friction, such as rage clicks or drop-offs. Surveys capture direct feedback from users, and with VWO Copilot, teams can instantly summarize open-text responses into actionable insights.

Form analytics identifies fields users skip, refill, or abandon, helping improve conversion rates. Funnel maps user journeys step by step to pinpoint where users exit.  

When combined with segmentation filters like location, device type, or traffic source, VWO allows for precise targeting and more focused optimization.

Since VWO supports capabilities like A/B testing and Feature Management, you can seamlessly turn user insights into action—by running experiments, refining experiences, or rolling out new features—all within the same platform.

Let’s look at a powerful example of how behavior-driven decisions can directly fuel growth:

By using VWO Insights, Greyson Clothiers uncovered where users were dropping off through heatmaps and session recordings. These insights showed hidden friction points, which led the team to make changes like smarter filters and clearer mobile CTAs. A/B testing confirmed the changes were effective, showing increased engagement and reduced bounce rates. As a result, the team saw a 10.5% boost in revenue. 

Take the 30-day free trial today to experience how VWO can help uncover user behavior, boost conversions, and elevate your website’s performance.

Best features

Heatmaps, Session Recordings, Surveys, Funnels, Segmentation, A/B Testing, No-Code Editor, Copilot, AI-Powered Heatmap Generator, Customer Data Platform, Advanced Targeting, Enhanced Smartstats

Pricing

• Free Trial: 30-day full access to all features.
• Insights:
  • Free Plan: Includes up to 5,000 Monthly Tracked Users (MTUs).
  • Paid Plan: Starts at $199/month, billed annually.
• Testing:
  • Free Plan: Includes up to 10,000 MTUs.
  • Paid Plan: Starts at $220/month, billed annually.

Pros:

• The AI-powered summaries of session recordings save time and make analysis easier.
• With an average first response time of just 45 minutes, VWO ensures fast, reliable support when you need it most.

Cons:

• Limited in quantitative reporting — best used alongside GA4 for a complete view of user behavior and site metrics.

SEO & competitive analysis

8. Semrush – Keyword research & SEO insights

Semrush is a leading SEO and marketing platform that helps businesses improve their online visibility across search, content, and social channels. It offers advanced SEO tools for keyword research, competitor analysis, and performance tracking to support effective, measurable campaigns.

With features like site audits to fix technical issues and keyword research to identify high-impact terms, Semrush enables smarter website optimization. 

Best features

Keyword Research, On-Page Seo, Backlink Analytics, Site Audit, Rank Tracking, Competitor SEO Analysis, Link Building, Organic Traffic Insights, Market Analysis, AI Features

Pricing

• Free trial: 7 days to explore all features.
• Free plan: Manage 1 project with access to up to 10 analytics reports per day.
• Paid plan: Starts at $117/month when billed annually. 

Pros:

• Easy to use and quick to implement, with smooth integration across platforms.
• Makes it easy to manage multiple listings and projects at once.

Cons:

• The UI has a lot of features in each section, so it may take a little time to get used to the layout.
• The keyword crawl frequency could be more frequent for fresher insights.

Free website analysis tools: A quick comparison

Free Tool	Features	Pricing
Google Analytics	Real-Time Reporting, User Exploration Through Segmentation, Funnel Analysis, Predictive Analytics, Built-In Automation, Integrations, Engagement Reports, User And Traffic Acquisition Reports, Cohort Analysis	Google Analytics is available to everyone for free.
Matomo	Session Recording, Heatmaps, Behavior Analytics, Funnels, User Segmentation, Cohorts, Event And Content Tracking, And Search Engine Keyword Performance, Form Analytics, Tag Manager, Custom Reports	Free trial: 21-day access to explore all features. Free plan: Available for self-hosted (on-premise) setup. Paid plan: Cloud hosting starts at $26/month or $260/year.
Clicky	Bot Detection, Heatmaps, Uptime Monitoring, Segments, Path Analysis, Customer Data Tracking, Advanced Filtering, Engagement Reports, Multiple Dashboards, Split Testing, Video Analytics, On-Site Analytics	Free trial: 21-day access to the premium features, with tracking for up to 3 websites and 1,000,000 daily pageviews across sites. Free plan: Includes tracking for 1 website with up to 3,000 daily pageviews per month. Paid plan: Starts at $9.99/month or $79.99/year.
Open Web Analytics	Analytics Dashboard, Heatmaps, Seo Search Terms Tracking, Dom Clicks, Visitor Loyalty, Track Custom Site Actions, Clickstream, Web Page Details	OWA is free for all.
Microsoft Clarity	User Segmentation, Custom Tags, Automatic Event Tracking, Instant Heatmaps, Session Recordings, AI Heatmap And Session Recording Summaries, Copilot	Clarity is free forever for all.
Smartlook	Session Recordings, Heatmaps, Events, Funnels, Crash Reports, A/B Testing, Mobile App Analytics	Free Trial: 30-day access to all features across plans. Free Plan: Includes basic analytics with up to 3,000 sessions per month. Paid Plan: Starts at $55/month.
VWO Insights	Heatmaps, Session Recordings, Surveys, Funnels, Segmentation, A/B Testing, No-Code Editor, Copilot, AI-Powered Heatmap Generator, Customer Data Platform, Advanced Targeting, Enhanced Smartstats	Free Trial: 30-day full access to all features. Insights:Free Plan: Includes up to 5,000 Monthly Tracked Users (MTUs). Paid Plan: Starts at $199/month, billed annually. Testing:Free Plan: Includes up to 10,000 MTUs. Paid Plan: Starts at $220/month, billed annually.
Semrush	Keyword Research, On-Page Seo, Backlink Analytics, Site Audit, Rank Tracking, Competitor SEO Analysis, Link Building, Organic Traffic Insights, Market Analysis, AI Features	Free trial: 7 days to explore all features. Free plan: Manage 1 project with access to up to 10 analytics reports per day. Paid plan: Starts at $117/month when billed annually.

How to choose the best and free website analysis tool

Choosing the right free website analysis tool depends on your goals, the kind of data you need, and how deep you want to go with optimization. Here are some key steps to guide your decision:

1. Define your objectives

Are you looking to improve SEO, track user behavior, optimize conversions, or monitor performance? Clarifying your goals helps narrow down tools that offer the right features.

2. Evaluate key features

Look for essential features like real-time analytics, heatmaps, session recordings, traffic sources, conversion tracking, and funnel analysis. Tools like VWO also offer form analytics, surveys, or A/B testing support, even in free plans.

3. Check data ownership and privacy

Tools like Matomo or Open Web Analytics offer self-hosted options for full data control, ideal if privacy is a concern. SaaS tools like VWO and Semrush follow widely recognized security standards such as GDPR compliance, SOC 2 certification, and data encryption to ensure secure and compliant data handling. However, security features can vary across tools, so it’s always wise to review a platform’s privacy policy and security documentation before integrating it into your stack.

4. Ease of use and setup

The tool should have an intuitive interface and easy integration, especially important for small business owners, solo marketers or small teams without technical support.

5. Scalability

Choose a platform that offers upgrade options as your business grows. Some tools have generous free tiers but also provide advanced features in paid versions.

6. Compare limitations

Understand the limits of the free plan: how many monthly tracked users, sessions, or page views it allows, access to historical data, and feature restrictions.

7. Support and community

Access to helpful documentation, community forums, or responsive customer support can make a big difference in troubleshooting and learning.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)