Google Analytics Plausible Analytics is a privacy-focused web analytics platform developed by Plausible Insights OÜ, an independent, bootstrapped company based in Estonia. Founded as an ethical alternative to surveillance-based analytics, Plausible has become a leading choice for website owners who want to understand their traffic without compromising visitor privacy.
What makes Plausible exceptional is its commitment to privacy by design. The analytics script weighs less than 1KB—75 times smaller than Google Analytics—and operates without cookies, meaning no annoying consent banners are required. Visitors remain completely anonymous: no personal data is collected, no persistent identifiers are stored, and no cross-site tracking occurs. This makes Plausible compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR out of the box.
All data processing occurs exclusively on EU servers hosted by Hetzner in Germany, powered by 100% renewable energy. Your website data never leaves the European Union. The 10-person team operates independently without venture capital funding, ensuring their business model remains aligned with user interests rather than data monetization.
The platform offers a refreshingly simple dashboard that displays all essential metrics on a single page: unique visitors, pageviews, bounce rate, visit duration, traffic sources, top pages, device types, and geographic data. Advanced features include goal conversions, revenue tracking, funnel analysis, custom events, Google Search Console integration, and real-time monitoring. Teams can collaborate with role-based access and share dashboards publicly or via private links.
Plausible is fully open source under the AGPL license, with the complete codebase available on GitHub. Organizations can self-host the platform for full data sovereignty, or use the managed cloud service for convenience. For privacy-conscious website owners, businesses seeking GDPR compliance, developers who value open source, or anyone tired of complex analytics platforms, Plausible represents a breath of fresh air in the analytics space.
Key Features
- Privacy-First Design: No cookies, no personal data collection, no consent banners required
- Lightweight Script: Under 1KB—75x smaller than Google Analytics, improving page speed
- EU Data Hosting: All data stored exclusively in Germany on renewable-energy servers
- Open Source: AGPL-licensed, fully auditable, with self-hosting option available
- Simple Dashboard: All essential metrics on one page, no complex navigation
- Advanced Tracking: Goals, funnels, revenue tracking, custom events, and real-time stats
Privacy Highlights
Plausible Analytics is built from the ground up with privacy as the core principle. The service collects no personal information from website visitors—no IP addresses, no device fingerprints, no cookies. All data is aggregated and anonymized, making it impossible to identify individual visitors.
Data is processed and stored exclusively on Hetzner servers in Falkenstein, Germany, using infrastructure powered by 100% renewable energy. Third-party processors are limited to essential EU-based services: UpCloud (Finland) for exports, Bunny (Slovenia) for CDN, and Postmark for transactional emails.
For account holders, Plausible collects only the email address needed for authentication. Users can permanently delete their accounts and all associated data immediately upon request. The company explicitly states they do not share information with advertising companies and have no surveillance capitalism practices.