Migration Guide
Fathom to Beam: honest migration checklist
This guide is for teams already using Fathom and evaluating Beam as a lower-cost hosted alternative. It keeps the process practical: assess fit honestly, replace scripts in one release, and verify tracking before calling migration complete.
Quick start links
Use these resources in migration order.
Where Fathom remains stronger and where Beam fits better
| Decision area | Fathom strength | Beam fit |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy model | Cookieless, privacy-first hosted analytics with a simple dashboard. | Same privacy posture, with low-friction migration and setup guides for common stacks. |
| Brand and uptime confidence | Longer product track record and premium reputation in privacy analytics. | Strong fit if your priority is practical reporting and cost efficiency over premium-brand preference. |
| Script delivery controls | Custom script domain support can reduce some ad-block filtering cases. | Standard Beam snippet is simpler to run, but does not currently replicate custom-domain script routing. |
| Cost model | Premium starting price can be reasonable for established teams. | Lower entry cost makes Beam easier to justify for indie makers and small businesses. |
| Decision support workflows | Fathom keeps analytics simple and readable. | Beam leans into practical summaries, goals, and trend signals for weekly action planning. |
Migration checklist
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1. Audit every Fathom placement
Run /tools/stack-scanner and list each template, CMS field, or tag-manager location where Fathom appears.
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2. Confirm fit with side-by-side comparison
Review Beam vs Fathom so teams align on tradeoffs before code changes.
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3. Replace Fathom snippet with Beam in one release
Use your Beam site ID and deploy the script swap atomically to avoid overlap and blind spots.
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4. Validate traffic and interpretation
Open high-traffic pages, verify first events, and compare with /demo to ensure your team can read Beam reports confidently.
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5. Import Fathom history into Beam
Export daily stats from Fathom and upload the CSV via your Beam dashboard to restore historical daily traffic totals. See the import history guide for the exact steps.
What this guide does not promise
- Perfect feature parity with every Fathom capability, especially custom-domain script workflows.
- Full raw-event backfill: Beam's CSV import restores daily traffic totals (pageviews + visitors per day) — not individual pageview events or session-level history.
- Zero decision work: your team still needs clear goals and reporting thresholds after migration.
CSV daily-traffic import is available for Fathom exports. Read the import guide →
Start the Fathom migration now
Choose your next step based on where you are in the cutover process.