Simple Analytics vs Plausible — Which Is Better for Small Sites?

Simple Analytics vs Plausible — Which Is Better for Small Sites? You've decided to ditch Google Analytics. Good call. Now you're probably looking at Plausible and Simple Analytics — two of the most popular privacy-first alternatives. They look similar on the surface, but there are real differences that matter when you're running a small site on a budget. Here's an honest comparison to help you pick. The Quick Overview Simple Analytics Plausible Cheapest plan $15/mo (1 user, 10 sites) $9/mo (1 site) Free tier 14-day trial only 30-day trial only Script size ~3 KB ~1 KB Cookies None None Open source Partially (script is public) Yes (AGPL) Self-hosting No Yes EU-hosted Yes (Netherlands) Yes (Germany) GDPR compliant Yes, no consent needed Yes, no consent needed Both tools are cookieless, lightweight, and designed to respect visitor privacy. Neither requires a cookie consent banner. But they take different approaches to how they handle data, what they charge, and what features they include.