Plausible Analytics review

Plausible is a web analytics tool built around a compact dashboard rather than a sprawling reporting suite. Its product description says it uses no cookies, collects no personal data, is open source, and is made and hosted in the EU. Those are Plausible’s stated attributes, not a guarantee that every site’s analytics setup meets its legal obligations.

The dashboard brings core site statistics together on one page. Plausible also tracks scroll depth from 1% to 100% on every page, can connect to Search Console for search queries and organic performance, and groups UTM campaigns by channel. For conversion tracking, it supports downloads, form completions, external-link clicks, custom events and revenue. Funnels show drop-off between steps, while visitor journeys show paths through a site.

In short, Plausible aims to cover common marketing questions without asking teams to navigate a large analytics interface. It is a hosted, paid product, with a separate open-source codebase.

Plausible’s clearest advantage is focus: the product description puts essential site statistics on one dashboard, rather than presenting analytics as a collection of separate reports. That can suit teams that mainly need traffic, acquisition and conversion signals.

Its feature set reaches beyond basic pageview counts:

• SEO: Search Console integration surfaces search queries and organic performance.
• Campaigns: UTM tracking includes automatic channel grouping.
• Conversions: Goals can track downloads, form completions, external-link clicks and custom events; revenue tracking is also listed.
• Behavior: Automatic scroll tracking covers 1% to 100% of a page, and funnels and journeys show drop-off and visitor paths.

The cookie-free, no-personal-data positioning may also appeal to publishers trying to keep their analytics setup simpler. A Reddit discussion comparing analytics tools describes Plausible as cookie-free and notes that its source code is open source. One commenter says Plausible can be self-hosted, though that means running it yourself rather than getting the managed service. Open source does not make the hosted plan free, and hosting your own analytics shifts infrastructure and maintenance to your team.

Traffic is the pricing variable to check before switching. The published pricing data lists Starter at $9 per month, or $7.50 per month with annual billing, for monthly pageview tiers from 10,000 to 10 million. Starter includes one site, no additional team member seats and three years of data retention. Pageviews and custom events share the traffic limit, so event-heavy tracking uses the same allowance. Growth starts at $14 monthly or $11.67 annually at 10,000 pageviews; listed monthly prices rise to $29 at 100,000 and $254 at 10 million. The data lists no free plan; trial availability is not published. Growth seat and retention limits are not specified on the vendor's site.

There is also a scaling concern, though it comes from users rather than confirmed plan documentation. In one Reddit thread, a commenter says sampling is restricted to Enterprise and claims the community edition can be too slow for larger sites. Treat that as a user report, not a verified statement of current plan terms. Teams with high traffic should confirm performance and sampling requirements before moving data.

Plausible’s listed starting price is $9/month on Starter, or $7.50/month when billed annually. Annual billing is charged at 10 times the monthly rate, so that starting tier works out to $90/year. Monthly billing is also listed; the published pricing details don’t specify a free plan or trial.

Traffic is the main price variable. Starter covers tiers from 10,000 to 10 million monthly pageviews, with one site, no additional team seats and three years of data retention. Growth covers the same stated traffic range, but the cost rises: at 10,000 pageviews it’s $14/month or $140/year; at 100,000 pageviews it’s $29/month; and at 10 million it’s $254/month. That’s a $15 monthly jump from the listed 10,000-pageview Growth price to the 100,000-pageview price, and a much steeper bill at the top tier. The pricing details list no add-ons. Check your traffic tier and seat needs before switching, rather than budgeting from the starting price alone.

The available information doesn’t say whether Plausible can import historical analytics data, which export formats it supports, or how long a migration takes. It also doesn’t confirm whether data can be moved out later. Starter includes three years of retention, but retention is not the same as a downloadable archive. Confirm import and export options with Plausible before you switch; don’t assume your history will transfer cleanly.

A practical first step is to decide which reports and events you need to preserve, then ask how they map to Plausible’s pageview, custom-event, SEO and campaign reporting. Its listed features include Search Console connections, UTM tracking, goals and revenue, but the published material doesn’t describe migration tooling. One likely budget issue is team access: Starter includes no additional seats. We can’t responsibly say what makes users leave based on Reddit here, because no Reddit posts or comments were included in the published material. Treat complaints about exports, support or reporting as unverified until you check them directly.