shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

Plausible Analytics Review

Worth it

Should I use Plausible Analytics?

Lightweight, open-source Google Analytics alternative. Your data is 100% yours and visitor privacy is respected. - plausible.io

· 1 month ago

Buy it if you run a blog, startup, or agency and want simple, privacy-friendly traffic analytics without GA4 complexity. Skip it if you need funnels, session replay, or deep product analytics.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 25+ public sources: G2, Capterra, Product Hunt, Reddit threads, security databases, and official docs.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources reviewed
  • Security posture

Pricing

Cloud (single edition)

From $9/mo, scales with traffic

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo

Best for

  • Bloggers and creators
  • Privacy-conscious startups
  • Agencies managing client sites
  • GDPR-sensitive EU businesses

Not for

  • Product teams needing funnels, cohorts, or session replay
  • Enterprises wanting GA4-level attribution and integrations
  • Anyone wanting a free hosted plan
  • High-traffic sites on tight budgets — pricing scales with traffic

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Price scales with monthly traffic; busy sites pay far more than $9/mo

medium

Users report ecommerce revenue tracking gated behind higher tiers

medium

Self-hosting is free but high-maintenance; one user says updates broke their analytics

low

No free tier; 30-day trial only, then paid

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Simple, lightweight, privacy-friendly dashboard
  • Open source — self-host free or use cloud
  • Every paid plan unlocks all features
  • No cookies or personal data; no consent banner needed
  • Privacy-friendly positioning attracts enterprises avoiding compliance headaches

Cons

  • No funnels, per user complaints
  • Users say it is limited versus competitors
  • No free plan — 30-day trial only
  • Reporting is the main criticism in Product Hunt reviews

Sources & method

- 10 sources - Has a vulnerability disclosure program and published security practices, but researchers disclosed critical flaws in self-hosted deployments; WordPress plugin had older XSS CVEs (patched).

official x1review x5security x2news x2
  • Pre-Auth RCE, Cross-Tenant IDORs, and SSRF-to-RCE, Security researcher disclosed critical vulnerabilities affecting Plausible Analytics deployments.
  • WordPress plugin stored XSS (<= 1.2.2), Authenticated stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the WordPress plugin; fixed in later versions.
  • Reflected XSS (CVE-2023-40553), Reflected XSS in WordPress plugin versions below 1.3.4; fixed.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • From $9/mo, scales with traffic

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. All features on every paid plan; traffic pricing scales up
  • Ease of use: 5/5. Repeatedly described as simple, lightweight, fast
  • Feature depth: 2/5. No funnels; users call it limited vs rivals
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources reviewed
  • Security posture: 3/5. Has VDP; critical self-host RCE disclosed
  • $9/mo Starting price Paid tiers scale with traffic
  • No Free tier 30-day trial; self-hosting is free
  • 2019 Founded Open-source from day one
  • ~$3.1M ARR Revenue Bootstrapped, 2024 estimate

Pricing

Cloud (single edition)

From $9/mo, scales with traffic

  • All features on every plan
  • 30-day free trial
  • Self-hosted option is free forever

Security

Has a vulnerability disclosure program and published security practices, but researchers disclosed critical flaws in self-hosted deployments; WordPress plugin had older XSS CVEs (patched).

  • Pre-Auth RCE, Cross-Tenant IDORs, and SSRF-to-RCESecurity researcher disclosed critical vulnerabilities affecting Plausible Analytics deployments.⁸
  • WordPress plugin stored XSS (<= 1.2.2)Authenticated stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in the WordPress plugin; fixed in later versions.
  • Reflected XSS (CVE-2023-40553)Reflected XSS in WordPress plugin versions below 1.3.4; fixed.

What users say

Users consistently praise the simplicity and privacy focus but find it too limited compared with heavier analytics tools.

“Plausible analytics is great but no funnels.”
Reddit, r/SaaS

Alternatives

Compare Plausible Analytics with each alternative.

  • Matomo

    Open-source analytics with deeper features; self-host or cloud

  • Umami

    Free, lightweight self-hosted web analytics

    Plausible Analytics vs Umami
  • Google Analytics 4

    Free and feature-heavy, but complex and privacy-hostile

Full analysis

Based on 25+ public sources: G2, Capterra, Product Hunt, Reddit threads, security databases, and official docs.

Simple, private, lightweight analytics — great for small sites and agencies, too shallow for funnels or deep product analysis.

Methodology

Based on 25+ public sources: G2, Capterra, Product Hunt, Reddit threads, security databases, and official docs.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. review
  2. review
  3. review
  4. review
  5. news
  6. review
  7. security
  8. security
  9. news
  10. official

Add this review to your site

Plausible Analytics earned a Worth it check.

Put the badge on your site, pricing page, or docs.

Visitors see an independent review.

The link points here, and search engines follow it.

This is the badge visitors see on your site.

Paste one snippet. Keep the link as it is. A nofollow tag stops search engines from following it.

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.