plausible-vs-umami.html

Plausible Analytics vs Umami — which analytics tool wins for your brief, in 2026

Two analytics platforms, side by side. Plausible Analytics is privacy-first, cookieless web analytics. the honest ga4 alternative — 1kb script, eu-hosted. Umami is open-source, self-hostable, cookieless. the free plausible if you can run a postgres. The verdict, the criteria, and the honest take below.

ALL ANALYTICS COMPARISONS →

Verdict in one paragraph

Hosted privacy-first vs self-hosted privacy-first. Plausible wins on time-to-value, support, and brand polish. Umami wins on cost (free if you self-host) and developer control. For non-developer teams, Plausible. For developers running Postgres + Vercel, Umami is the better deal.

Score: Plausible Analytics 3 · Umami 3

Side by side

Plausible Analytics
Umami
Category
Privacy-first web
Open-source / self-host
Pricing
Freemium
Open source
Starts at
$9/mo
Free (self-host)
License
AGPL-3.0
MIT
Created
2018
2020
Script size
<1KB
~2KB
Cookieless
Yes
Yes
Self-host
Yes
Yes

Decision criteria

  • Which is faster to set up?

    Plausible Analytics

    Plausible is signup → script → done. Umami requires Postgres + Vercel deploy.

  • Which is cheaper?

    Umami

    Umami self-hosted is free. Plausible starts at $9/mo.

  • Which has the more polished dashboard?

    Plausible Analytics

    Plausible has had more design iteration. Umami is clean but slightly less refined.

  • Which is the safer 5-year bet?

    Plausible Analytics

    Plausible has a profitable business and bigger team. Umami is healthy but smaller.

  • Which has the better self-host story?

    Umami

    Umami is MIT-licensed and built for self-hosting. Plausible AGPL community edition exists but is less mature.

  • Which is the right pick for a 50-site agency?

    Umami

    One self-hosted Umami instance for all sites at zero ongoing cost.

What Plausible Analytics is best for

  • Marketing sites, blogs, SaaS landers — anyone who needs Lighthouse-friendly analytics
  • Teams that want to drop GA4 entirely without a cookie banner
  • Sites in EU jurisdictions where GDPR scrutiny is real

Read the full Plausible Analytics entry: /analytics/plausible/

What Umami is best for

  • Developers comfortable running Postgres + Vercel who want zero ongoing cost
  • Teams running multiple sites who want one self-hosted dashboard
  • Anyone who wants Plausible's philosophy on a permissive license

Read the full Umami entry: /analytics/umami/

The tool choice is the easy half — the tracking plan is the hard one

The hard half is what events you track, who reads the dashboard, and how the privacy story holds up. The 30-min call is where you describe your product and your goals.