Ackee vs Plausible
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ackee
Self-hosted, privacy-focused analytics tool
VS
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly website analytics
| Feature | Ackee | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,709 | ★ 29,197 |
| First released | 2018 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Ackee and Plausible?
Ackee
Ackee is a self-hosted, Node-based analytics tool that tracks website visitors while respecting privacy and avoiding cookies. It targets developers wanting minimal, ethical analytics. It is deployed via Docker.
- Privacy-focused tracking
- GraphQL API
- Clean minimal dashboard
- No cookies used
Plausible
Plausible is a lightweight, open-source, privacy-friendly web analytics tool that needs no cookies and is GDPR compliant. It targets site owners who want simple, ethical analytics. It is deployed via Docker.
- Cookie-free and GDPR compliant
- Tiny tracking script
- Clean single-page dashboard
- Goal and funnel tracking
Ackee vs Plausible: key differences
Ackee is written in JavaScript, while Plausible is built with Elixir. Licensing differs — MIT for Ackee versus AGPL-3.0 for Plausible. Ackee is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Plausible. Plausible has the considerably larger community, at 29,197 GitHub stars versus 4,709.
Why pick each one
Choose Ackee if…
- Lightweight and private
- Easy to deploy
- Nice minimal UI
Watch out for
- Limited reporting depth
- Needs MongoDB
Choose Plausible if…
- Privacy-friendly by design
- Simple and fast
- Lightweight script
Watch out for
- Self-host needs Postgres and ClickHouse
- Fewer deep reports than Matomo
Frequently asked questions
Is Ackee or Plausible better?
Neither is universally better. Plausible has the larger community, while Ackee is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ackee and Plausible free and open-source?
Yes. Ackee is licensed under MIT and Plausible under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ackee and Plausible with Docker?
Ackee: yes. Plausible: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ackee or Plausible?
Ackee has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Plausible. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.