GoatCounter vs Plausible
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
GoatCounter
Easy and privacy-friendly web analytics
VS
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly website analytics
| Feature | GoatCounter | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | EUPL-1.2 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,997 | ★ 29,197 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are GoatCounter and Plausible?
GoatCounter
GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics platform that is easy to use and privacy-friendly, collecting no personal data. It targets small site owners and hobbyists. It is deployed as a single binary or via Docker.
- No personal data collected
- Single-binary deployment
- Works without JavaScript
- Lightweight and fast
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
GoatCounter vs Plausible: key differences
GoatCounter is written in Go, while Plausible is built with Elixir. Licensing differs — EUPL-1.2 for GoatCounter versus AGPL-3.0 for Plausible. GoatCounter 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 5,997.
Why pick each one
Choose GoatCounter if…
- Extremely easy to run
- Very lightweight
- Privacy-friendly
Watch out for
- Basic reporting depth
- Small project
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 GoatCounter or Plausible better?
Neither is universally better. Plausible has the larger community, while GoatCounter is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are GoatCounter and Plausible free and open-source?
Yes. GoatCounter is licensed under EUPL-1.2 and Plausible under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GoatCounter and Plausible with Docker?
GoatCounter: yes. Plausible: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, GoatCounter or Plausible?
GoatCounter 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.