Google Analytics is powerful, but it’s also Google — your visitors’ data flows through their infrastructure, gets used for advertising, and creates GDPR/PIPEDA compliance headaches. Plausible and Umami are self-hosted alternatives that give you the metrics you need without the privacy baggage.

We’ve deployed both for customers. Here’s which one fits your situation.

Quick Comparison

Feature Plausible Umami
Script size <1 KB ~2 KB
Stack Elixir + PostgreSQL Node.js + PostgreSQL/MySQL
Min RAM 1 GB 512 MB
Dashboard Single-page, real-time Multi-page, customizable
Multi-site Yes Yes
Goals/Events Yes (custom events API) Yes (event tracking)
Public dashboards Yes (shareable links) Yes (share URL)
Cookie-free Yes Yes
GDPR/PIPEDA Compliant by design Compliant by design
API Full stats API Full stats API
License AGPL v3 MIT

Plausible: Privacy-First with Polish

Plausible gives you a single-page dashboard that shows everything at a glance: unique visitors, pageviews, bounce rate, visit duration, referrers, countries, devices, and top pages. No clicks to drill down — it’s all visible immediately.

Strengths:

  • Simplest dashboard — everything on one screen, no learning curve
  • Sub-1 KB script — zero impact on page load speed
  • Google Search Console integration — see search queries alongside traffic data
  • Revenue tracking — track e-commerce conversions without Google Analytics
  • Email reports — weekly/monthly traffic summaries to stakeholders

Trade-offs:

  • Elixir runtime — less common, harder to debug if issues arise
  • Needs more RAM than Umami (1 GB vs 512 MB)
  • Less customizable than Umami’s dashboard
version: "3.8"
services:
  plausible:
    image: ghcr.io/plausible/community-edition:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    env_file:
      - plausible-conf.env
    depends_on:
      - plausible_db

  plausible_db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=changeme

volumes:
  db_data:

Umami: Lightweight and Hackable

Umami takes the minimalist approach — a clean analytics dashboard that tracks pageviews, referrers, browsers, OS, devices, and countries. It’s lighter than Plausible, runs on the Node.js stack most developers already know, and the MIT licence means no restrictions on how you use it.

Strengths:

  • Lightest footprint — runs on 512 MB RAM, perfect for stacking alongside other apps
  • Node.js stack — easier to extend, debug, and deploy for JavaScript developers
  • Team management — multiple users with website-level permissions
  • Custom events — track button clicks, form submissions, and custom interactions
  • MIT licence — no copyleft, use it anywhere for anything

Trade-offs:

  • Dashboard requires more clicks to see detailed data
  • No built-in Google Search Console integration
  • No email reports out of the box (use the API to build your own)
version: "3.8"
services:
  umami:
    image: ghcr.io/umami-software/umami:postgresql-latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://umami:changeme@db:5432/umami
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: umami
      POSTGRES_USER: umami
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: changeme
    volumes:
      - umami_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  umami_data:

Which One Should You Choose?

Scenario Choose Why
Want the simplest setup and dashboard Plausible Single-page dashboard, email reports
Running on limited resources Umami Half the RAM of Plausible
Need Google Search Console data Plausible Built-in integration
JavaScript/Node.js developer Umami Familiar stack, easy to extend
E-commerce conversion tracking Plausible Revenue tracking built in
MIT licence required Umami No copyleft restrictions
Multiple team members Umami Better user/permissions management

Both Beat Google Analytics for Privacy

Neither tool uses cookies, tracks users across sites, or collects personal data. This means:

  • No cookie banners needed — neither triggers GDPR/PIPEDA consent requirements
  • No ad blocker problems — self-hosted scripts aren’t on blocklists
  • No data sampling — Google Analytics samples data at high volumes; self-hosted counts every visit
  • Full data ownership — your analytics data stays on your server, in your country

Hosting and Setup

Either tool runs on the smallest Cloud VPS — Umami at 512 MB, Plausible at 1 GB. Both use PostgreSQL, which handles millions of pageviews on a single VPS without issue.

For Canadian businesses, self-hosting analytics on Canadian infrastructure means your visitor data stays in Canada. Our servers are SOC 2 Type II certified, which adds another layer of trust for compliance-conscious organizations.

Stack analytics alongside other self-hosted apps on the same VPS — both Plausible and Umami play well with Docker Compose deployments. Add monitoring to track your analytics server’s health, and follow our VPS hardening guide before going live.

Need help with the deployment? Our Managed Support team handles Docker setups, SSL, and database maintenance so you can focus on your data.