A blogger added Google Analytics to her site. Then GDPR happened. Cookie banners, consent forms, privacy policies - all for tracking page views.
The Analytics Privacy Problem
Google Analytics is powerful but requires cookie consent banners (GDPR), tracks users across sites, and sends YOUR visitor data to Google.
Plausible is a free, self-hosted web analytics tool. Lightweight script (under 1KB), no cookies, GDPR-compliant by default.
What Plausible Offers for Free (Self-Hosted)
- No Cookies - No consent banner needed, GDPR-compliant out of the box
- Lightweight - Under 1KB script vs Google Analytics 45KB
- Simple Dashboard - One page with everything: visitors, sources, pages, countries
- Goal Tracking - Track button clicks, signups, purchases
- UTM Parameters - Campaign tracking built in
- API - Full stats API for custom dashboards
- Email Reports - Weekly/monthly traffic reports
- Shared Links - Public dashboard links for clients/team
- Import from GA - Migrate your Google Analytics data
Quick Start
git clone https://github.com/plausible/community-edition
cd community-edition
docker compose up -d
Add one script tag to your site:
<script defer data-domain="yoursite.com" src="https://your-plausible.com/js/script.js"></script>
Plausible vs Google Analytics
| Feature | Plausible | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Script Size | <1KB | 45KB |
| Cookies | None | Multiple |
| GDPR Banner | Not needed | Required |
| Dashboard | Simple, fast | Complex |
| Data Ownership | Yours | Google's |
| Self-Hosted | Yes | No |
GitHub: plausible/analytics - 21K+ stars
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