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.

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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.