What it is
Plausible Analytics is a privacy-focused, open-source web analytics tool that provides website traffic data without cookies, tracking scripts, or personal data collection. The dashboard shows pageviews, visitors, sources, devices, and goals on a single clean page. Fully GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant without cookie banners. Available as a cloud service or self-hosted. The script is under 1KB, compared to Google Analytics' 45KB+.
Why we picked this
Google Analytics is free because you are the product. Plausible provides the metrics creators actually need (traffic trends, top pages, referral sources, conversion goals) without selling visitor data, requiring cookie consent banners, or slowing down your site. The ethical alignment matters for green creators: your analytics tool should reflect your values. The self-hosted option via Coolify makes it effectively free.
Key takeaways
- No cookies, no personal data collection, no consent banners needed. Fully compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR out of the box.
- The script weighs under 1KB (vs. 45KB+ for Google Analytics), meaning zero measurable impact on page load speed.
- Single-page dashboard shows everything most creators need: visitors, pageviews, sources, top pages, devices, and conversion goals.