Analytics review
Plausible
Privacy-first analytics that fits in a single line of HTML. No cookies, no consent banner, no GA-shaped sprawl. The dashboard shows what matters for a content-led business.
At a glance
- Pricing
- From $9/mo for up to 10,000 monthly pageviews
- Category
- Analytics
- Last reviewed
- Best for
- Content sites, indie SaaS, and consultants who want signal without a 200-tab dashboard.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I've used and would happily suggest to a friend.
Benchmarks
How Plausible actually scores.
Five axes that matter for a one-person business. Each score is editorial, 1–10, higher is better. A tool that maxes every axis doesn't exist; the shape of the chart is the signal.
- Price
- Value for a one-person budget
- Solo fit
- Built with solo operators in mind
- Learning curve
- How fast a beginner gets useful work done
- Lock-in
- How easy it is to leave (high = easy)
- Support
- Quality and responsiveness of help
Scores are set by the editor after hands-on use and revised as the tool evolves. They're not paid for and don't change based on affiliate partnerships.
The case for
- No cookies. GDPR/PECR-safe out of the box, no consent banner needed
- Single-page dashboard that fits everything important above the fold
- Lightweight script (<1KB) that does not slow your site down
- Open source, EU-hosted, owner-funded, and predictable as a long-term bet
The case against
- Not free (Google Analytics is, even if it is not really)
- Less depth than GA for paid acquisition or e-commerce funnel work
- You give up a lot of long-tail historic queries you can run in GA
Why drop GA
Google Analytics is "free" the way a casino is "free". The cost is somewhere else. The four real costs of running GA on a small site:
- Cookie consent banners. GA drops cookies. EU and UK law says you need a banner, which kills conversion measurably.
- GDPR liability. GA's data flows are still legally murky in several EU jurisdictions. The risk is small for a tiny site, but non-zero.
- Cognitive load. GA4 has hundreds of reports. For a one-person business, you need three: top pages, top sources, conversion count.
- Performance. The GA script is heavier than the rest of your page combined on a content site.
Plausible solves all four. One line of script, no cookies, EU-hosted, single dashboard.
What it does well
- The dashboard is the dashboard. Top pages, top sources, conversion goals, all visible without scrolling. You can spend 30 seconds looking at it instead of 30 minutes.
- Goal conversions and custom events. Track newsletter signups, quiz completions, and affiliate clicks without a tag manager.
- Public dashboards. Make your traffic stats public if you want to (good marketing for content sites).
When it is not enough
If you run paid Facebook/Google ads at any real scale, Plausible's depth is not sufficient. You will probably want GA4 or Mixpanel alongside. For organic, content, or relationship-driven traffic (most one-person businesses), Plausible is more than enough.
Verdict
Worth the $9/mo to never see another consent banner on your own site again. Pair with Fathom if you need a backup or want to compare.
Related reading: the minimum viable software stack for your first year.
Bottom line
Ready to try Plausible?
Content sites, indie SaaS, and consultants who want signal without a 200-tab dashboard.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I've used and would happily suggest to a friend.
Compare Plausible with the alternatives
Side-by-side reviews of the other Analytics tools we've covered.
4.5/5 vs 4.5/5 · From $15/mo (100k pageviews); 30-day trial
4.5/5 vs 3.5/5 · Free for 1M events/mo. Self-host free, cloud usage-based after the free tier
Living document
What did we miss about Plausible?
Every review evolves. Spot something wrong, missing, or out of date — drop a note. The most useful ones land in our monthly "Reader corrections" post, with credit if you're up for it.
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