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.
Not the right match-up?
GoatCounter
Easy and privacy-friendly web analytics
VS
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly website analytics
| Feature | GoatCounter | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 5,864 | ★ 28,416 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
Why pick each one
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.