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Self-Hosted Privacy Analytics

Umami vs Plausible: Which One Should You Choose in 1970?

Both are lightweight, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for free. Plausible is the more polished product with better documentation and a cheaper cloud entry point; Umami is MIT licensed and runs against MySQL or Postgres you may already have.

Quick verdict

Polish and docs
Plausiblesingle-purpose product, clear docs, $9/mo cloud
Licence freedom
UmamiMIT, database of your choice, single Node app

Umami vs Plausible: feature comparison

FeatureUmamiOpen SourceSelf-HostablePlausible AnalyticsOpen SourceSelf-Hostable
LicenceMITAGPL-3.0
Script Size~2 KB< 1 KB
Cloud Entry Price~$9/mo$9/mo
FunnelsBasicYes (paid tiers)
Self-HostedYes (Node + Postgres/MySQL)Yes (Docker + ClickHouse + Postgres)

Pricing takeaway

Self-hosted, both cost only the server. On managed cloud both start near $9/mo, but Plausible's tiers scale by pageviews while Umami's scale by events, so high-traffic marketing sites usually pay less on Plausible.

Umami
Open source (MIT) / Cloud subscription. Starts at $0 (self-hosted) or ~$9/mo (Cloud Pro). Free self-hosted; Cloud free tier with limited events.Full Umami pricing breakdown
Plausible Analytics
Pageview-based Cloud / Free Self-Hosted. Starts at $9/mo or Free Self-Hosted. Free 30-day cloud trial; 100% Free Self-Hosted forever.Full Plausible pricing breakdown

Pros and cons

Umami

Visit Umami

Pros

  • Cookie-free, privacy-friendly analytics in a single Node application
  • Runs on a small VPS with Postgres or MySQL
  • Readable dashboard for traffic sources, pages and referrers

Cons

  • Web analytics only: no funnels, cohorts or product event analysis
  • Thinner feature set than Plausible on paid hosting
  • Limited reporting for multi-domain or agency setups

Plausible Analytics

Visit Plausible

Pros

  • Ultra-lightweight tracking script (< 1 KB, 45x lighter than GA4)
  • No cookies, 100% GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant without cookie consent banners
  • Clean, single-page intuitive dashboard that non-technical team members love

Cons

  • No advanced complex multi-touch attribution or deep custom funnels
  • Cloud version has no perpetual free tier (paid after 30-day trial)
  • User-level funnels and cohort views are limited compared with product analytics tools

Umami vs Plausible: FAQ

Is Plausible a good alternative to Umami?

Both are lightweight, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for free. Plausible is the more polished product with better documentation and a cheaper cloud entry point; Umami is MIT licensed and runs against MySQL or Postgres you may already have.

Which is cheaper, Umami or Plausible?

Self-hosted, both cost only the server. On managed cloud both start near $9/mo, but Plausible's tiers scale by pageviews while Umami's scale by events, so high-traffic marketing sites usually pay less on Plausible.

Is Umami or Plausible open source?

Umami is open source (github.com/umami-software/umami). Plausible Analytics is open source (github.com/plausible/analytics).

Can I self-host Umami or Plausible?

Umami can be self-hosted. Difficulty: Low (Docker with Postgres or MySQL). Plausible Analytics can be self-hosted. Difficulty: Low (Docker Compose).

Do Umami and Plausible have a free tier?

Umami: Free self-hosted; Cloud free tier with limited events. Plausible Analytics: Free 30-day cloud trial; 100% Free Self-Hosted forever.