Why Plausible?
| Feature | Plausible | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | No cookies, GDPR compliant | Requires cookie consent |
| Script size | < 1 KB | ~45 KB |
| Data ownership | You own it (self-hosted) | Google owns it |
| Interface | Simple, focused | Complex, overwhelming |
| Page speed impact | Negligible | Measurable |
Docker Installation
# docker-compose.yml
services:
plausible:
image: ghcr.io/plausible/community-edition:latest
ports:
- "8000:8000"
env_file:
- plausible-conf.env
depends_on:
- plausible_db
- plausible_events_db
restart: unless-stopped
plausible_db:
image: postgres:16-alpine
volumes:
- db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
environment:
- POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
restart: unless-stopped
plausible_events_db:
image: clickhouse/clickhouse-server:latest
volumes:
- event-data:/var/lib/clickhouse
ulimits:
nofile:
soft: 262144
hard: 262144
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
db-data:
event-data:Configuration
# plausible-conf.env
BASE_URL=https://analytics.example.com
SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -base64 48)
DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:postgres@plausible_db:5432/plausible_db
CLICKHOUSE_DATABASE_URL=http://plausible_events_db:8123/plausible_events_db
MAILER_EMAIL=analytics@example.com
SMTP_HOST_ADDR=localhost
DISABLE_REGISTRATION=invite_onlyNginx Reverse Proxy
server {
listen 443 ssl http2;
server_name analytics.example.com;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}
}Adding to Your Website
<!-- Just one line in your <head> -->
<script defer data-domain="example.com" src="https://analytics.example.com/js/script.js"></script>That's it. No cookie banners needed.
What You Can Track
- Unique visitors per day/week/month
- Page views and top pages
- Referral sources (where traffic comes from)
- Countries and devices
- Goals and conversions (custom events)
- UTM campaign tracking
Custom Events
// Track a button click
plausible('Signup', { props: { plan: 'Pro' } });
// Track a form submission
plausible('Contact Form');Resource Usage
Plausible is lightweight:
| Traffic | RAM | CPU |
|---|---|---|
| < 10K/month | 512 MB | 1 vCPU |
| 10K-100K/month | 1 GB | 1 vCPU |
| 100K-1M/month | 2 GB | 2 vCPU |
Tip Self-hosting Plausible means your analytics data never leaves your server. This makes GDPR compliance trivial and earns trust with privacy-conscious users.