plausible (analytics) appreciation post
I started using Plausible Analytics in 2021 for work projects and personal sites. Over time, it has proven to be a simple yet powerful alternative to services like Google Analytics.
Why Plausible?
Open source: Plausible is transparent, and its development is community-driven (107 contributors). It's docker-ready, and I can easily self-host it rather than depending on the parent company.
Privacy and data ownership: All analytics data are stored locally, so no user data ever leaves my server. This provides peace of mind, knowing sensitive site information isn't being sent to a third party.
Lightweight and resource-friendly: At under 1KB, the Plausible JavaScript tracker is extremely lightweight. It has a negligible impact on page load times and server resources. This matters for performance-critical sites.
No clutter: It shows me the important metrics without complex configurations or filters. The clear interface makes analysis a breeze.
In short, Plausible's privacy-first approach, lightweight code, and powerful yet simple analytics make it a no-brainer alternative to big G's bloat.
I acknowledge there are alternatives like Fathom, Umami, etc. But Plausible is my preference. I have a thing for PostHog also -- quite good for product analytics.