Privacy-first web analytics
Simple Analytics vs Plausible: which should you use in 2026?
Updated
Key takeaways: Simple Analytics vs Plausible
Pick Simple Analytics if…
- You want to start on a free plan (5 websites, 30-day history, fair-use limits).
- You want an AI assistant that answers questions about your stats in plain language.
- You want every subprocessor in the EU — servers in the Netherlands and Germany, EU CDN.
- You want to pay in euros, with 10 websites on the self-serve plan.
Pick Plausible if…
- You want open source (AGPLv3) and a free self-hosted edition.
- You want Google Search Console data and ecommerce revenue goals (Business plan).
- You want cheaper small-site pricing — $9/mo for 10K pageviews.
- You want several team members without paying per seat (3 on Growth, 10 on Business).
Simple Analytics vs Plausible at a glance
Facts from each vendor's public pages, checked October 2026.
| Feature | Simple Analytics | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Simple AnalyticsSimple Analytics B.V., Amsterdam; since 2018; bootstrapped | PlausiblePlausible Insights OÜ, Estonia; since 2019; bootstrapped |
| Free plan | Simple AnalyticsYes — 5 sites, 30-day history, fair use | PlausibleNo (30-day trial) |
| Paid pricing | Simple AnalyticsFrom €20/mo (100K datapoints); €60 at 1M; €160 at 10M | PlausibleFrom $9/mo (10K pageviews); $69 at 1M; $169 at 10M (Starter) |
| Pricing unit | Simple AnalyticsDatapoints (pageviews + events), billed on a 3-month rolling average | PlausiblePageviews (custom events count) |
| Trial | Simple Analytics14 days, no card | Plausible30 days, no card |
| Users | Simple Analytics1 included; extra users €20/mo each | Plausible3 (Growth), 10 (Business) |
| Data location | Simple AnalyticsNetherlands and Germany; EU-only subprocessors | PlausibleGermany (Hetzner) |
| Open source | Simple AnalyticsNo (tracking scripts are MIT) | PlausibleYes — AGPLv3 |
| Cookies / consent | Simple AnalyticsNo cookies, no personal data | PlausibleNo cookies, no persistent identifiers |
| Goals & funnels | Simple AnalyticsGoals and multi-step funnels | PlausibleGoals; funnels on Business |
| Revenue / Search Console | Simple AnalyticsNot found in docs | PlausibleRevenue goals (Business); Search Console integration |
| AI assistant | Simple AnalyticsYes | PlausibleNo |
| GA import | Simple AnalyticsGA4 — pageviews, sources, pages, devices, countries (no events) | PlausibleGA4 |
Simple Analytics vs Plausible for GDPR
Both are about as privacy-conservative as web analytics gets: no cookies, no personal data, no consent banner by their own assessment, and data hosted in the EU by EU companies. Simple Analytics goes a step further on supply chain, listing only EU subprocessors (Worldstream and Leaseweb in the Netherlands, Hetzner in Germany, Bunny for CDN and DNS) and stating that analytics data never leaves the EU. Plausible stores data on Hetzner in Germany and also says it never leaves the EU.
Simple Analytics avoids visitor identifiers altogether, so its unique-visitor numbers are estimated differently from tools that use a daily-rotating hash — worth knowing if you compare numbers across tools.
Simple Analytics vs Plausible pricing at three traffic levels
Simple Analytics prices in euros by datapoints; Plausible in dollars by pageviews. Monthly billing, October 2026:
| Monthly traffic | 10K/mo | 100K/mo | 1M/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple Analytics | 10K/mo: €0 (free plan) | 100K/mo: €20 | 1M/mo: €60 |
| Plausible | 10K/mo: $9 Starter · $19 Business | 100K/mo: $19 Starter · $39 Business | 1M/mo: $69 Starter · $139 Business |
Both give two months free on yearly billing. Simple Analytics' self-serve plan includes 10 websites and one user; Plausible Starter includes one site. Simple Analytics' free plan has fair-use limits and keeps 30 days of history.
Setting up Simple Analytics vs Plausible
Both install with one script tag and have an official WordPress plugin plus guides for Webflow, Ghost, Next.js, Nuxt and Google Tag Manager. Simple Analytics also captures some events automatically (outbound links, downloads, email clicks) and has iOS/macOS apps. Plausible adds Search Console and a Looker Studio connector.
Who each one is for
Simple Analytics suits EU businesses with strict vendor policies, solo founders who want to start free, and teams who like asking an AI assistant instead of building reports. Plausible suits teams who want open source, SEO data in the dashboard, revenue goals and more seats included.
Switching between Simple Analytics and Plausible
Both import GA4. Simple Analytics' GA import brings in pageviews, sources, pages, devices, countries and browsers, but not events or user-level data. Neither documents a direct import from the other; export CSVs before switching and run both scripts in parallel briefly.
Simple Analytics vs Plausible: frequently asked questions
Is Simple Analytics free?
Simple Analytics has a free plan for up to 5 websites with 30 days of history under fair-use limits. Paid plans start at €20/mo for 100K datapoints. Plausible has no free plan.
Is Simple Analytics open source?
No. Only its tracking scripts are public under MIT. Plausible is open source under AGPLv3 with a self-hosted edition.
Where are Simple Analytics and Plausible hosted?
Both in the EU: Simple Analytics in the Netherlands and Germany with EU-only subprocessors, Plausible on Hetzner in Germany.
Does Simple Analytics track revenue?
We didn't find revenue or ecommerce tracking in Simple Analytics' docs as of October 2026. Plausible offers ecommerce revenue goals on its Business plan.
Which one is cheaper?
Simple Analytics is free at small traffic and €60/mo at 1M datapoints; Plausible Starter is $9/mo at 10K and $69/mo at 1M. Exchange rates and seat needs decide which is cheaper for you.
Do they need cookie banners?
Neither says it does: both avoid cookies and personal data.
Sources and methodology
Prices and features were checked on each vendor's public pages in October 2026. Vendors change plans often — confirm on the official pricing page before you buy. VisitTrack publishes this comparison and competes with some of these tools; we have no affiliate relationship with either vendor.
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