Plausible

What is Plausible Analytics?

Plausible Analytics is a lightweight, privacy-focused web analytics tool designed to provide essential website metrics without the complexity, tracking, or privacy concerns of traditional analytics platforms.
It is an open-source project based in the EU (Estonia) and built to comply with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR without requiring cookie consent banners.

Plausible emphasizes simplicity, speed, and transparency, targeting businesses, startups, and personal websites that value privacy and clean, easy-to-understand reporting.

Key Features

• Privacy-first tracking: No cookies or personal data collection; 100% GDPR, CCPA, PECR compliant.

• Open-source: Full source code available for transparency and self-hosting.

• Minimalist dashboard: Focus on key website KPIs without clutter.

• Real-time reporting: See live traffic updates, referrers, top pages, and geographic data.

• Custom event tracking: Simple setup for tracking actions like downloads, clicks, signups.

• Campaign tracking: Built-in support for UTM parameters (source, medium, campaign).

• Email reports and shared dashboards: Automated email summaries and public dashboards for transparency or team sharing.

• Lightweight script: Tracking script size is around 1 KB, minimizing page load impact.

Technical Foundation

• Backend: Built with Elixir and Phoenix Framework for speed and scalability.

• Hosting: Default cloud hosting on European servers; self-hosting option available.

• Data processing: Data is fully anonymized and aggregated before storage.

• Integration: Easy installation with direct script inclusion, CMS plugins (WordPress, Ghost, etc.), and JavaScript API for custom events.

Use Cases

• Privacy-conscious businesses: Wanting to respect user privacy without adding banners or compliance risk.

• Startups: Needing actionable insights without complex marketing features.

• Content creators and bloggers: Who want to monitor traffic trends without bloated dashboards.

• Nonprofits and NGOs: Organizations committed to ethical data practices.

• SaaS companies: Tracking core metrics in a privacy-compliant way without giving up performance.

Pricing

Plausible operates a simple, transparent, usage-based pricing model, based on monthly pageviews:

• Free trial available (30 days, no credit card required)

• Paid plans starting from low monthly rates

• Unlimited team members and websites included

• Open-source self-hosting available for advanced users (free, but self-managed)

Typical pricing factors:

• Number of monthly pageviews

• Data retention (1 year by default in cloud plans)

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Extremely simple and intuitive interface

• Full GDPR compliance without needing consent banners

• Very lightweight and fast

• Open-source and transparent

• Fair, predictable pricing

• Easy integration with websites, apps, and CMS platforms

Cons:

• Limited advanced analytics features (e.g., no multi-touch attribution, cohorts, advanced segmentation)

• Custom event tracking requires a small amount of JavaScript knowledge

• Self-hosting requires technical maintenance (server, updates, security)

• Not ideal for very complex marketing teams needing deep user journeys and ecommerce tracking

How It Differs From Alternatives

• Versus Google Analytics: No personal data, no complex dashboards, no privacy risks; but fewer advanced marketing features.

• Versus Matomo: Plausible is lighter, simpler, cloud-first; Matomo is heavier, more feature-rich, and often self-hosted.

• Versus Pirsch: Both focus on privacy and simplicity; Pirsch leans more toward API-driven use cases and self-hosting flexibility.

• Versus Fathom Analytics: Similar philosophies; Fathom is slightly more focused on multi-site management and enterprise users, while Plausible is extremely community-driven and open.

Typical Metrics You Can Track

• Total visitors and unique visitors

• Pageviews

• Bounce rate

• Average visit duration

• Top pages, top sources, top referrers

• Countries and devices breakdown

• Goal completions (via custom events)

• Campaign performance via UTM parameters

Best Practices for Using Plausible

• Install early: Add tracking during website development for complete data from launch.

• Track key events: Use custom events for important interactions (e.g., purchases, newsletter signups).

• Monitor UTM campaigns: Tag your marketing campaigns to track effectiveness directly in Plausible.

• Use shared dashboards: Make your traffic data public if transparency is part of your brand strategy.

• Set up email reports: Stay informed about performance without needing to log in daily.

• Consider self-hosting: If you need full control over your analytics infrastructure.