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Plausible Analytics

✓ Verified FOSSAGPL-3.0
Top open-source alternative to Google Analytics (GA4)

Open source, privacy-first web analytics. Lightweight, cookie-free Google Analytics alternative. Self-hosted or cloud.

Tech StackElixir, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse
Self-Host DifficultyEasy
License ModelAGPL-3.0
GitHub Repositoryplausible/analytics

Recommended VPS & Hardware Sizing

Estimated Hosting: $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean)
Min RAM:1 GB
Rec RAM:2 GB
Compute:1 vCPU
Disk Space:10 GB SSD

Plausible Analytics vs Google Analytics (GA4) Comparison Matrix

Evaluation CriteriaPlausible Analytics (Open Source)Google Analytics (GA4) (Proprietary)
Privacy Compliance100% GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliantEU court privacy challenges & cookie banners
Page Speed Impact< 1 KB script (45x lighter than GA4)Heavy Google tag manager scripts
INTERACTIVE TCO MODELEstimated Rate: $255/user/mo

Financial Impact: Migrating from Google Analytics (GA4) to Self-Hosted Plausible Analytics

Detailed Stack Calculator →
5 Users (Early Startup)50 Users (Scaleup)200 Users (Enterprise Org)
Google Analytics (GA4) (Cloud SaaS)Per-Seat Tax
$76,500per year ($6,375/mo)
3-Year Spend:$229,500

* Excludes enterprise SSO add-ons & usage overages

Plausible Analytics (Self-Hosted)Zero Per-Seat Fee
$120per year ($10/mo Linux VPS)
3-Year Compute:$360

* Commodity Hetzner / DigitalOcean compute instance

Cumulative 3-Year ROI+$229,140Net savings across 36 months (100% reduction)
Annual Free Cash:+$76,380/yr
Need C-Level Buy-In? Generate an instant ROI proposal memo to present to your CTO or CFO.

Core Capabilities & Features

✓Lightweight Script (< 1 KB)
✓No Cookie Banners or Consent Needed
✓Real-time Traffic Dashboard
✓Custom Goals & Event Tracking

Self-Host Plausible Analytics with Docker Compose

Tweak configuration ports, secrets, and volumes live. Download or copy your ready-to-run container file:

1-Click Docker Compose Generator

Generate production-ready container definitions with customizable ports and volumes.

Plausible AnalyticsAGPL-3.0

Simple, open-source, lightweight web analytics without cookies

Difficulty: Easy29,377 ⭐
Configure Parameters
docker-compose.plausible.yml
version: '3.8'

services:
  plausible:
    image: plausible/analytics:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "${PORT:-8000}:8000"
    environment:
      - BASE_URL=http://localhost:${PORT:-8000}
      - SECRET_KEY_BASE=${SECRET_KEY_BASE:-generate_a_random_64_char_secret_key_here}
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://plausible:${DB_PASSWORD:-plausible_pass}@db:5432/plausible
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=plausible
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD:-plausible_pass}
      - POSTGRES_DB=plausible
    volumes:
      - plausible_pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  plausible_pgdata:

Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Hosting Plausible Analytics

How do I self-host Plausible Analytics using Docker Compose?

You can deploy Plausible Analytics (plausible/analytics) on any Linux server by copying the docker-compose.yml template on this page, configuring your desired host port and persistent volume directory, and running 'docker compose up -d'.

How does Plausible Analytics compare to Google Analytics (GA4)?

Plausible Analytics is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Google Analytics (GA4) built with Elixir, PostgreSQL, ClickHouse. Unlike Google Analytics (GA4) (Free (Data Monetization) / $150k/yr 360), Plausible Analytics has zero per-user licensing fees and keeps 100% of your data on your own infrastructure.

What are the minimum VPS RAM and CPU requirements for Plausible Analytics?

For production self-hosting (Easy difficulty tier), we recommend at least 2 GB RAM (minimum 1 GB), 1 vCPU, and 10 GB SSD storage, which typically costs $4 - $6/mo (e.g. Hetzner CX22 or DigitalOcean).

Is Plausible Analytics free for commercial business use under the AGPL-3.0 license?

Yes. Distributed under the AGPL-3.0 license, Plausible Analytics can be self-hosted internally by businesses and engineering teams of any size without per-seat royalties.

README INTEGRATION // REPO EMBED

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SIMILAR REPOSITORIES // PEER COMPARISON

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