ScriptsApr 10, 2026·3 min read

Plausible Analytics — Privacy-First Google Analytics Alternative

Plausible is an open-source, cookie-free web analytics tool that provides essential traffic insights while respecting visitor privacy. GDPR/CCPA compliant by design.

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TL;DR
Plausible provides essential website analytics without cookies or personal data collection, GDPR compliant by design.
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What it is

Plausible Analytics is an open-source, privacy-first web analytics platform. It provides website traffic insights -- unique visitors, page views, bounce rate, visit duration, traffic sources, and device breakdowns -- through a clean single-page dashboard. It uses no cookies, collects no personal data, and is fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR out of the box. Released under AGPL-3.0.

Plausible targets website owners who want actionable analytics without the complexity of Google Analytics and without requiring cookie consent banners. A single script tag (under 1KB) is all that is needed.

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How it saves time or tokens

Plausible eliminates the need for cookie consent banners and GDPR compliance work around analytics. The lightweight script (under 1KB vs Google Analytics' 45KB+) improves page load times. The single-dashboard design surfaces all essential metrics without navigating through complex report builders. Self-hosting removes per-pageview pricing that scales with traffic.

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How to use

  1. Add one script tag to your website: <script defer data-domain='yourdomain.com' src='https://plausible.io/js/script.js'></script>.
  2. For self-hosting, clone the hosting repository and run docker compose up -d.
  3. Access the dashboard to see real-time visitor data, traffic sources, and page analytics.
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Example

<!-- Add to your website's <head> -->
<script defer data-domain="yourdomain.com"
  src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script>

<!-- Self-host with Docker -->
git clone https://github.com/plausible/hosting.git
cd hosting
docker compose up -d
# Access at http://localhost:8000
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Related on TokRepo

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Common pitfalls

  • Plausible uses timezone-based location approximation instead of IP geolocation; city-level data is less precise than Google Analytics.
  • Ad blockers may block the Plausible script if loaded from plausible.io; self-hosting with a custom subdomain (e.g., analytics.yourdomain.com) avoids this.
  • Goal and event tracking requires additional JavaScript calls beyond the base script; the base script only captures pageviews automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Plausible require cookie consent banners?+

No. Plausible uses no cookies and collects no personal data. It is compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR by design. No consent banner is required because no personal data is processed. This is one of the primary reasons teams switch from Google Analytics.

How accurate is Plausible compared to Google Analytics?+

Plausible can be more accurate for actual visitor counts because it is not blocked by cookie consent rejections. However, users with strict ad blockers may block Plausible too. Self-hosting on your own subdomain significantly reduces ad blocker interference. Overall, Plausible and GA4 typically show similar trends with minor absolute number differences.

Can Plausible track custom events like button clicks?+

Yes. Plausible supports custom event tracking via a JavaScript API. You call `plausible('event_name', {props: {key: 'value'}})` to track custom events. Goals can be configured in the dashboard to monitor conversion rates for specific events.

What does self-hosting Plausible cost?+

The software is free under AGPL-3.0. You pay only for your server. A small VPS (2GB RAM, 1 CPU) handles sites with up to 100K monthly pageviews. ClickHouse is used for analytics storage and requires some disk space. Total hosting cost is typically $5-20/month depending on your provider.

Does Plausible have an API for exporting data?+

Yes. Plausible provides a Stats API for querying visitor data programmatically. You can retrieve time series, breakdowns by source/page/country, and aggregate metrics. The API supports filtering, date ranges, and custom properties.

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