Fathom Lite vs Plausible
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly website analytics
| Feature | Fathom Lite | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,019 | ★ 29,197 |
| First released | 2018 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Fathom Lite and Plausible?
Fathom Lite
Fathom Lite is the open-source edition of Fathom Analytics, providing simple, privacy-focused website analytics. It targets users who want a lightweight self-hosted analytics tool. It is deployed as a single binary or via Docker.
- Simple privacy-focused analytics
- Single-binary deployment
- No cookies
- Lightweight dashboard
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
Fathom Lite vs Plausible: key differences
Fathom Lite is written in Go, while Plausible is built with Elixir. Licensing differs — MIT for Fathom Lite versus AGPL-3.0 for Plausible. Fathom Lite is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Plausible. Plausible has the considerably larger community, at 29,197 GitHub stars versus 8,019.
Why pick each one
Choose Fathom Lite if…
- Very easy to run
- Privacy-friendly
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Lite edition no longer actively developed
- Basic feature set
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 Fathom Lite or Plausible better?
Neither is universally better. Plausible has the larger community, while Fathom Lite is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Fathom Lite and Plausible free and open-source?
Yes. Fathom Lite is licensed under MIT and Plausible under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fathom Lite and Plausible with Docker?
Fathom Lite: yes. Plausible: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Fathom Lite or Plausible?
Fathom Lite has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Plausible. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.