Plausible vs Google Analytics: Privacy-First Analytics Showdown

Google Analytics tracks 55% of all websites. It's also blocked by 42% of users running adblockers, slows page load by 423ms, and requires complex cookie consent banners.

Plausible Analytics offers a radically different approach: lightweight scripts, no cookies, no personal data collection, and GDPR compliance by default.

This isn't theory. Companies switching from GA4 to Plausible report 60% more accurate traffic data because adblockers don't block Plausible.

The Core Philosophy Difference

Google Analytics 4: Data collection tool designed to feed Google's advertising empire. Tracks individual users across sites, builds behavioral profiles, and monetizes your visitors.

Plausible Analytics: Simple metrics dashboard focused on aggregate data. Tracks page views, referrers, and goals without identifying individuals.

This philosophical divide creates radically different products.

Feature Comparison: What You Actually Need

Basic Metrics

| Metric | Google Analytics 4 | Plausible | | ---------------- | ------------------ | ----------------- | | Page views | ✓ | ✓ | | Unique visitors | ✓ | ✓ (anonymous) | | Bounce rate | ✓ | ✓ | | Visit duration | ✓ | ✓ | | Top pages | ✓ | ✓ | | Referrer sources | ✓ | ✓ | | Geographic data | ✓ (city-level) | ✓ (country-level) | | Device breakdown | ✓ | ✓ |

For 90% of websites, both tools provide identical insights for decision-making.

Advanced Features

Google Analytics 4 exclusive:

• User-level tracking across sessions
• Cross-device attribution
• Predictive metrics (AI-powered)
• E-commerce tracking (enhanced)
• Custom dimensions (25+)
• Data retention up to 14 months

Plausible exclusive:

• No cookie consent required
• 100% GDPR compliant by default
• Open-source codebase
• Self-hostable
• Public dashboard sharing
• Lightweight (<1KB script vs 45KB GA4)

The question isn't features—it's whether you need surveillance-level tracking.

Privacy & Compliance: The Critical Difference

Google Analytics Compliance Burden

GDPR requirements for GA4:

1. Cookie consent banner (mandatory)
2. Data Processing Agreement with Google
3. Privacy policy updates
4. Cookie policy documentation
5. GDPR-compliant data retention settings
6. IP anonymization configuration
7. User deletion requests handling

CCPA requirements:

• "Do Not Sell My Info" link
• Opt-out mechanism
• Data access requests
• Deletion workflow

Setup time: 6-12 hours (including legal review) Ongoing maintenance: 2-4 hours/month Legal risk: High (fines start at €20 million or 4% revenue)

Plausible Compliance Reality

GDPR requirements: None. Plausible doesn't collect personal data, so it's not subject to GDPR.

CCPA requirements: None. No personal data = no compliance burden.

Setup time: 0 hours (install script, you're compliant) Ongoing maintenance: 0 hours Legal risk: None

Why this works: Plausible doesn't collect:

• IP addresses (hashed for daily unique counts only)
• Personal identifiers
• Cross-site tracking data
• Cookies or local storage
• Fingerprinting data

If you don't collect personal data, privacy regulations don't apply.

Performance Impact: Load Time Matters

Script Size Comparison

Google Analytics 4:

• Initial script: 45.7 KB (gtag.js)
• Additional library: 17.4 KB (analytics.js)
• Total: 63.1 KB
• Load time impact: 420-500ms (3G connection)
• Render-blocking: Yes (delays First Contentful Paint)

Plausible:

• Script size: 0.9 KB (plausible.js)
• Load time impact: 15-25ms (3G connection)
• Render-blocking: No (async by default)

Real-world impact: A 500ms delay in page load decreases conversions by 7-10% (Google research).

SEO benefit: Google's Core Web Vitals penalize slow-loading scripts. Plausible improves your SEO ranking by reducing page load time.

Data Accuracy: The Adblocker Problem

Adblocker Blocking Rates (2026 data)

Google Analytics blocked by:

• uBlock Origin: 100%
• AdBlock Plus: 100%
• Privacy Badger: 100%
• Brave browser: 100% (default)
• Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection: 90%
• Safari ITP: 75%

Estimated traffic invisible to GA4: 42%

Plausible blocked by:

• Most adblockers: 0% (not on blocklists)
• Privacy-conscious browsers: 0%
• Estimated blocking rate: <5%

Why Plausible isn't blocked: Adblockers target tracking and advertising scripts. Plausible doesn't track or advertise, so it's not flagged.

Business impact: If GA4 shows 10,000 monthly visitors, your actual traffic might be 17,200. You're making business decisions on 58% of data.

Cost Comparison: SaaS vs Self-Hosted

Google Analytics

Pricing:

• Free tier: Unlimited traffic
• GA4 360 (enterprise): $150,000/year minimum

Hidden costs:

• Cookie consent tool: $50-200/month (OneTrust, CookieBot)
• Legal compliance review: $2,000-5,000 (one-time)
• Privacy policy updates: $500-1,500
• Ongoing GDPR management: 10-20 hours/year

Total first-year cost: $3,000-8,000 (despite being "free")

Plausible Cloud

Pricing:

• Up to 10K pageviews/month: $9/month ($108/year)
• Up to 100K pageviews/month: $19/month ($228/year)
• Up to 1M pageviews/month: $69/month ($828/year)
• Up to 10M pageviews/month: $149/month ($1,788/year)

Hidden costs:

• None (no cookie consent needed)
• Legal review: $0
• Privacy policy: Standard template works

Total first-year cost: $108-1,788 (all-inclusive)

Plausible Self-Hosted

Infrastructure:

• VPS (2GB RAM): $12/month ($144/year)
• Backup storage: $60/year
• Domain/SSL: $15/year

Total first-year cost: $219/year (unlimited pageviews)

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Setting up Docker containers, configuring databases, and managing SSL certificates for analytics adds complexity. If you want self-hosted Plausible deployed with automated backups and monitoring, managed platforms provide production-ready instances.

Data Ownership & Control

Google Analytics Data Ownership

What Google does with your data:

• Aggregates across properties to improve Google Ads
• Uses for machine learning model training
• Shares with Google's advertising network
• Retains even after you delete your account

Data portability:

• Export via API (limited to 14 months)
• No raw data access
• Proprietary format

Control:

• Google can change features anytime
• Data retention limits (14 months max)
• No guarantee of continued free access

Plausible Data Ownership

Self-hosted:

• All data stays on your server
• Complete database access
• Export in any format
• No third-party access

Cloud-hosted:

• Data stored in EU (GDPR-compliant infrastructure)
• Export all data in CSV/JSON
• Delete account = immediate data deletion

Control:

• Open-source (audit all code)
• Feature set stable
• Self-hosting always available

Real-World Use Cases

When Google Analytics Makes Sense

E-commerce sites needing:

• Enhanced e-commerce tracking
• Funnel analysis with 10+ steps
• Cross-device attribution
• Integration with Google Ads
• Detailed customer journey mapping

Enterprise needs:

• Integration with Google Marketing Platform
• Advanced segmentation (hundreds of segments)
• Data warehouse exports
• BigQuery integration

When Plausible Makes Sense

Content sites needing:

• Basic traffic metrics
• Top pages and referrers
• Goal/conversion tracking (simple)
• Privacy-first approach
• Fast page loads

SaaS companies needing:

• User-respecting analytics
• GDPR compliance without hassle
• Transparent data practices
• Public stat sharing (marketing)

Anyone who values:

• Data sovereignty
• Privacy by default
• Simple, actionable metrics

Migration Process: GA4 to Plausible

Step 1: Run parallel for 30 days

<!-- Keep both scripts temporarily -->
<script
  async
  src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-XXXXXXXXX"
></script>
<script
  defer
  data-domain="yourdomain.com"
  src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"
></script>

Step 2: Compare data | Metric | GA4 | Plausible | Difference | |--------|-----|-----------|------------| | Total pageviews | 145,230 | 248,910 | +71% (adblocker impact) | | Unique visitors | 32,450 | 54,120 | +67% | | Bounce rate | 43% | 45% | +2% | | Avg. duration | 2:34 | 2:41 | +7 sec |

Plausible numbers are consistently higher because fewer users block it.

Step 3: Verify goal tracking

// GA4 event
gtag("event", "signup", {
  event_category: "conversion",
});

// Plausible event
plausible("Signup");

Step 4: Remove GA4 After 30 days, remove GA4 script and cookie consent banner.

The Exit-Saas Perspective

Google Analytics isn't free. You pay with your users' privacy and your site's performance.

Every visitor tracked by GA4 generates data that:

• Feeds Google's advertising algorithms
• Builds behavioral profiles used across the web
• Gets retained indefinitely in Google's systems
• Contributes to surveillance capitalism

Plausible offers a fundamentally different deal: simple metrics, no surveillance, complete transparency.

Whether you choose Plausible Cloud ($9/month) or self-host ($12/month VPS), you're opting out of the tracking economy.

Your website's analytics should serve you, not a $1.5 trillion advertising conglomerate.

Check our tools directory for deployment guides and comparisons with other privacy-focused analytics tools like Umami, Matomo, and Fathom.

Privacy-first analytics isn't just ethical—it's more accurate, faster, and legally simpler. The only question is why you waited this long to switch.