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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

Rating
★★★★★4.5/5
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.
Try Plausible→Visit website (non-affiliate)

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:

  1. Cookie consent banners. GA drops cookies. EU and UK law says you need a banner, which kills conversion measurably.
  2. 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.
  3. Cognitive load. GA4 has hundreds of reports. For a one-person business, you need three: top pages, top sources, conversion count.
  4. 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.

Bottom line

Ready to try Plausible?

Content sites, indie SaaS, and consultants who want signal without a 200-tab dashboard.

Try Plausible→Non-affiliate link

Compare Plausible with the alternatives

Side-by-side reviews of the other Analytics tools we've covered.

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