Plausible
Privacy-friendly, lightweight web analytics without cookies. GDPR compliant by default.
Best for privacy-conscious site owners who want simple, cookie-free analytics without data collection.
Use Cases
Free Tier
30-day free trial (paid starts at €9/mo)
How to Maximize the Free Tier
Plausible doesn't have a permanent free tier — the 30-day trial is for evaluation. If budget is tight, self-host the open-source version via their Docker image (free, unlimited). The self-hosted Plausible runs well on a $6 DigitalOcean droplet. For simple page views, Plausible is perfect; for anything beyond (custom events, funnels), consider PostHog or a self-hosted solution.
Getting Started
Sign up → add site URL → copy integration script → paste into site <head> → done. Or self-host via Docker for free: `docker run -p 8000:8000 plausible/community` → visit dashboard.
Pros
- Privacy by design: Cookie-free, GDPR-compliant by default — no consent banners needed, no data collection controversies
- Page weight: Extremely lightweight script (<1KB) — doesn't impact page load speed or Core Web Vitals scores
- Self-hostable: Open-source version available for self-hosting — full control over your analytics data at no ongoing cost
Cons
- No free tier: No permanent free tier — just a 30-day trial. Paid plans start at €9/month, which is steep for hobby sites
- Limited tracking: No event tracking, funnels, or custom properties — page views and custom goals only
- No session tools: No session recording, heatmaps, or user-level analytics — purely aggregate page view statistics