AWStats vs Plausible
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
AWStats
Generate statistics from web, streaming, ftp or mail server logfiles
VS
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly website analytics
| Feature | AWStats | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 435 | ★ 28,416 |
| First released | 2025 | 2019 |
| Replaces | — | Google Analytics |
Why pick each one
Choose AWStats if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Perl
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is AWStats or Plausible better?
Neither is universally better. Plausible has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are AWStats and Plausible free and open-source?
Yes. AWStats is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Plausible under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AWStats and Plausible with Docker?
AWStats: check the project docs for container support. Plausible: yes.