Counter.dev Selfhost 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 | Counter.dev Selfhost | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,009 | ★ 29,197 |
| First released | 2020 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Counter.dev Selfhost and Plausible?
Counter.dev Selfhost
Counter.dev is a minimalist, privacy-respecting web analytics service that can be self-hosted. It records page visits without cookies and shows a compact stats view.
- Cookie-free analytics
- Minimal dashboard
- Easy embed
- Privacy respecting
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
Counter.dev Selfhost vs Plausible: key differences
Counter.dev Selfhost is written in JavaScript, while Plausible is built with Elixir. Licensing differs — MIT for Counter.dev Selfhost versus AGPL-3.0 for Plausible. Counter.dev Selfhost 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 1,009.
Why pick each one
Choose Counter.dev Selfhost if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
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 Counter.dev Selfhost or Plausible better?
Neither is universally better. Plausible has the larger community, while Counter.dev Selfhost is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Counter.dev Selfhost and Plausible free and open-source?
Yes. Counter.dev Selfhost is licensed under MIT and Plausible under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Counter.dev Selfhost and Plausible with Docker?
Counter.dev Selfhost: yes. Plausible: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Counter.dev Selfhost or Plausible?
Counter.dev Selfhost 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.