Open Web Analytics 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 | Open Web Analytics | Plausible |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,690 | ★ 29,197 |
| First released | 2008 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Open Web Analytics and Plausible?
Open Web Analytics
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a long-standing self-hosted web analytics framework that tracks visitors, click streams, and heatmaps. It can be embedded in WordPress and MediaWiki.
- Click stream tracking
- Heatmaps
- WordPress integration
- Visitor profiles
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
Open Web Analytics vs Plausible: key differences
Open Web Analytics is written in PHP, while Plausible is built with Elixir. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Open Web Analytics versus AGPL-3.0 for Plausible. Open Web Analytics is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Plausible. Open Web Analytics is the more established project (first released 2008), while Plausible arrived in 2019. Plausible has the considerably larger community, at 29,197 GitHub stars versus 2,690.
Why pick each one
Choose Open Web Analytics if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
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 Open Web Analytics 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 Open Web Analytics and Plausible free and open-source?
Yes. Open Web Analytics is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Plausible under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Open Web Analytics and Plausible with Docker?
Open Web Analytics: yes. Plausible: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Open Web Analytics or Plausible?
Open Web Analytics has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Plausible. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.