Plausible is one of the most famous privacy-friendly analytics tools that is also open source.
This article will cover Plausible’s features, strengths, and weaknesses. But there's more! We'll introduce you to an exciting alternative. This innovative solution offers a fresh perspective, empowering you to make informed decisions.
- Plausible
- Plausible Reviews
- Simple Analytics: A smarter alternative
- Feature comparison between Plausible Analytics and Simple Analytics
- Conclusion
- FAQs: A Better Alternative to Plausible
Plausible
Plausible is a lightweight and privacy-focused web analytics tool that provides website owners insights into visitor behavior. It was founded in 2019 and is based in Estonia.
Plausible offers a clean and straightforward user interface that makes it easy to use. It also comes with advanced features, such as a very basic events tracker.
They do have a focus on privacy, but according to many independent researchers and thought leaders, it may not be as privacy-friendly as they state. More can be read in this article, which was popular on HackerNews.
One good thing about Plausible is the easy-to-use dashboard which can be found in similar privacy-friendly analytics tools mentioned in this article.
Pros of Plausible
- Simple and easy-to-understand dashboard
- Affordable pricing
Cons of Plausible
- Lacks advanced and essential features such as goal tracking
- Other options are more privacy-friendly
Plausible Reviews
"Great Analytics that works in all Browsers"
What do you like best about Plausible Analytics?
Accurate numbers, easy to set up and use. Uses a different approach comparing to Google Analytics, so your and your customer's data is safe.
What do you dislike about Plausible Analytics?
It would be better to have more detailed documentation, especially with best practice examples, e.g Pageview goals
What problems is Plausible Analytics solving and how is that benefiting you?
Apart of providing Analytics data, Plausible Analytics solves data safety problem.
*Olex T. | CTO, Small Business*
Source: G2
We could find just a single user review about Plausible on G2; this is weird considering the fact that they are pretty popular.
Simple Analytics: A smarter alternative
Simple Analytics is an easy-to-use analytics tool that gives you the insights you need while being 100% GDPR-compliant.
It was founded by Adriaan van Rossum shortly after the GDPR was approved. Since its inception, Simple Analytics has had customers of all sizes, notable ones being: Michelin, Havas Media, Nomadlist, and the UK Government.
Though Simple Analytics might sound like a simple minimal analytics tool, it does pack some powerful features that many marketers love, such as automated event collection, goal tracking, e-commerce analytics, bypassing ad blockers (as it’s privacy-friendly), and much more.
Let's explore why it's become a preferred choice for businesses seeking reliable and affordable analytics tools.
Pros of using Simple Analytics
- Simple UI: Simple Analytics is one of the easiest analytics tools. The dashboard is built in a way to easily understandable to non-marketers.
- Affordable: Tracking website and product metrics is pretty affordable with Simple Analytics. For just $9/month, you can track 100,000 data points (pageviews + events). Additionally, you get features that you would find in much more expensive tools.
- Privacy First: The world is moving in a direction where privacy is becoming increasingly important. Google Analytics has been declared illegal in multiple EU countries. You would rather avoid getting caught up in this mess. Take privacy or compliance with regulations into account.
- Mini Websites: Have you ever seen “t.co” as a referrer in your web analytics? If you have, you must have broken your head trying to find the source. Simple Analytics helps you find the exact tweet that referred/mentioned to your website.
- Lightweight: Your website is your storefront on the internet. Providing the best possible experience matters. Installing an analytics script has an impact on page speed. Choose an analytics tool that won’t slow your website down. Even Google recommends having a website that loads quickly.
- Integration: Installing and integrating Simple Analytics is also super easy. It has 20+ integrations to select from, so you can get it added quickly.
Cons of using Simple Analytics
Due to privacy laws, Simple Analytics doesn’t store IPs and user identifiers, which makes it lack a couple of metrics, such as bounce rate, but it does have time on page to give you an idea of user stickiness.
Pricing of Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics offers one of the most affordable pricing structures in its segment. The plans start at just $9/month, which lets you track 100,000 data points.
If you need more features, such as team access, the pricing goes up to $49/month, increasing the data points limit from 100,000 to 1,000,000.
Feature comparison between Plausible Analytics and Simple Analytics
| Simple Analytics | Plausible | |
|---|---|---|
| Account Management | ||
| Trackable Items | Unlimited | 50 |
| User Seats | 1 to Unlimited users | Unlimited |
| User Roles | Available | Available |
| Account Security | Passwordless Login | N/A |
| Data Processing | ||
| Data Retention | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Data Center Locations | European Economic Area (EEA) | European Economic Area (EEA) |
| Data Import | GA importer included | GA data |
| Data Ownership | You | You |
| Software Hosting | Public Cloud | Public Cloud, On-Premise |
| Compliance | GDPR, PECR, CCPA | GDPR, CCPA (unclear) |
| Data Freshness | Realtime | Realtime |
| Data Export | As CSV or via API | Export your data to CSV |
| Cookieless | Simple Analytics is cookieless | Plausible is cookieless by default. |
| Reporting | ||
| Funnel Reporting | Available | Limited |
| Device Reporting | Available (based on OS and screen sizes) | Available |
| Segmentation | Available | Use filters to segment your audience |
| Trend Reporting | Available | Available |
| Alerts & Automation | ||
| Integrations | 20+ Available and can send a request to the Simple Analytics team for more | 20+ Available |
| Email Reports | Weekly, monthly | Weekly, monthly |
| Customizability | ||
| Annotations | Available | Not Available |
| Custom Events | Available | Available |
Conclusion
Plausible Analytics and Simple Analytics both market themselves as privacy-focused website analytics solutions. Plausible Analytics distinguishes itself through its open-source status, lightweight script, and user-friendly interface. On the other hand, Simple Analytics prioritizes simplicity, essential tracking, advanced features, and (more) user privacy.
Simple Analytics is the way to go for most people looking for a simple and easy-to-use web analytics tool. Feel free to give it a try!
FAQs: A Better Alternative to Plausible
Is Plausible GDPR-compliant?
Plausible is GDPR-compliant in the sense that they don’t transfer data to the U.S. as Google Analytics does. However, Plausible also claims they don’t collect any personal data. Plausible uses hashed versions of IP addresses to track website users. They don’t use cookies, but they use anonymized IP addresses to collect information. It’s debatable whether this is privacy-friendly or not. Simple Analytics does not make any concessions concerning privacy.
Can I use Plausible Analytics to track e-commerce?
Plausible Analytics does not include e-commerce tracking capabilities such as conversion funnels or revenue tracking. It focuses on giving necessary analytics without the complication of extensive e-commerce tracking.
However, you can use Simple Analytics and track e-commerce metrics with ease.
What are the price options for Plausible Analytics?
Plausible Analytics provides transparent pricing levels depending on your website's monthly page views. They provide multiple tiers to support websites of varying sizes, from personal blogs to large-scale companies. For more pricing information, visit Plausible pricing article.
Can I run Plausible Analytics on my own server?
Plausible Analytics provides a self-hosted version of the program in addition to its cloud-hosted service. This option provides users with complete control over their data and hosting environment.
Why is Simple Analytics preferred over Plausible?
Privacy enthusiasts will prefer Simple Analytics since it collects no personal data at all. In addition, Simple Analytics also is more feature-rich in terms of event collection and goal tracking.