Plausible vs Vince Analytics
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Plausible | Vince Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 42 · Fair |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 29,197 | ★ 2,015 |
| First released | 2019 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Plausible and Vince Analytics?
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
Vince Analytics
Vince is a self-hosted, privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics packaged as a single small binary. It focuses on low resource usage and a simple Plausible-style dashboard.
- Single small binary
- Privacy-friendly tracking
- Plausible-style dashboard
- Low resource usage
Plausible vs Vince Analytics: key differences
Plausible is written in Elixir, while Vince Analytics is built with Go. Vince Analytics is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Plausible. Plausible is the more established project (first released 2019), while Vince Analytics arrived in 2023. Plausible has the considerably larger community, at 29,197 GitHub stars versus 2,015.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Vince Analytics if…
- Trivial to deploy
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Plausible or Vince Analytics better?
Neither is universally better. Plausible has the larger community, while Vince Analytics is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Plausible and Vince Analytics free and open-source?
Yes. Plausible is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Vince Analytics under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Plausible and Vince Analytics with Docker?
Plausible: yes. Vince Analytics: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Plausible or Vince Analytics?
Vince Analytics 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.