Overview
Plausible is a lightweight, open-source, privacy-first web analytics alternative to Google Analytics. It runs without cookies, is GDPR/CCPA compliant by default, and presents all key metrics on a single simple dashboard. The self-hosted Community Edition uses Elixir/Phoenix with PostgreSQL and ClickHouse.
Key features
- Cookie-free tracking with GDPR/CCPA compliance by default
- Single-page dashboard covering core traffic and goal metrics
- Lightweight tracking script with minimal page-weight impact
- Goal and event conversion tracking
- Built on Elixir/Phoenix with PostgreSQL plus ClickHouse for stats storage
Our take
Plausible nails the thing most analytics tools get wrong: it gives you the numbers that matter on one clean dashboard and skips the cookie consent theater entirely, since it tracks nothing that triggers GDPR/CCPA consent requirements. The self-hosted Community Edition is solid, but be aware it runs two datastores, PostgreSQL and ClickHouse, so it is heavier to operate than a typical single-binary app, and ClickHouse in particular wants enough RAM to behave. You also trade away the deep funnel analysis and segmentation power of Google Analytics, which is the point, but worth knowing if you need that depth. For most websites that just want honest, lightweight traffic stats, the AGPL Community Edition is a genuinely pleasant self-host.
Ideal for: Site owners and small teams who want privacy-respecting, no-consent-banner web analytics without the complexity of Google Analytics.
Where it falls short of Google Analytics
- Intentionally simple: no heatmaps, session recordings, or user-level product analytics.
- The self-hosted Community Edition lags behind the paid cloud on some features and updates.
- ClickHouse dependency makes the stack heavier than a single-binary tool despite the simple feature set.
We list the gaps honestly so you can decide if the trade-off is worth owning your data.
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