plausible vs umami

Plausible and Umami are both cookie-free, privacy-focused alternatives to Google Analytics, but the documented facts point them at different jobs. Plausible…

Best for plausible: Plausible fits agencies and consultancies that need white-label, multi-site client reporting plus a documented security posture, and that are comfortable with GA4 being the explicit benchmark it's measured against.
Best for umami: Umami fits teams that want a transparent, numeric pricing ladder as traffic grows (including a genuinely free 100K-events/month tier) and organizations that need Enterprise-grade SAML SSO and an uptime SLA.

At a Glance

 plausibleumami
Primary categoryAnalyticsAnalytics
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemiumopen-source
Starting price$9/month (Starter plan); free if self-hostedFree (self-hosted); Cloud from free, Pro plans available
Free planNot documentedNot documented
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsNot documentedNot documented
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APINot documentedNot documented

Key Differences

Pricing model clarity

plausible: Listed as Freemium, but no starting price or specific plan tiers are documented.

umami: Listed as Paid (free trial available), yet a documented Hobby plan is $0/mo with published limits.

Buyers comparing cost need to know exactly what a free tier includes before committing, not just a pricing category label.

Free tier depth

plausible: No pricing plans are documented, so specific free-tier limits are not confirmed.

umami: Documented Hobby tier: up to 100K events/month, 1 website, 6-month data retention, at $0.

A documented free tier with explicit caps lets a buyer self-qualify without contacting sales or guessing.

Numeric paid pricing ladder

plausible: No paid plan pricing is documented (pricing_plans list is empty).

umami: Documented tiers scale by event volume: $20/mo for 1M events, $200/mo for 10M events.

Predictable, published pricing that scales with usage helps teams forecast analytics costs as traffic grows.

Enterprise controls (SSO, SLA)

plausible: No enterprise tier or single sign-on capability is documented.

umami: Enterprise tier documented with SAML SSO, an uptime SLA, onboarding support, and custom data retention.

Larger organizations often require SSO for identity governance and an SLA for uptime guarantees before adopting a tool company-wide.

Agency / white-label reporting

plausible: Documented feature: white-label option with client reporting and multi-site management for agencies.

umami: No white-label or agency-specific reporting feature is documented.

Agencies managing analytics for multiple clients need branded, consolidated reporting rather than per-client manual exports.

Analytical depth vs. a full suite

plausible: Documented con: less granular, session-level detail than a full analytics suite like Google Analytics or Matomo.

umami: No comparable statement about analytical depth is documented.

Teams needing detailed session-level behavioral analysis should know upfront if a tool intentionally trades depth for simplicity.

Positioning against Google Analytics

plausible: Documented pro: explicitly positioned and compared directly against Google Analytics 4.

umami: Described generally as a Google Analytics alternative, without a documented direct GA4 comparison.

A direct, explicit GA4 comparison signals the vendor has anticipated and addressed feature-parity questions migrating teams will ask.

Security transparency

plausible: Documented pro: publishes a dedicated security-practices page.

umami: No dedicated security-practices documentation is confirmed in the provided facts.

A published security page lets security-conscious buyers vet data handling before adoption without opening a support ticket.

Self-hosting operational burden

plausible: Self-hosting is not addressed in the provided facts beyond the tool being open-source.

umami: Documented con: the free self-hosted tier requires running and maintaining your own server.

Self-hosting trades subscription cost for ops overhead — a real cost teams need to plan staffing and maintenance around.

Dashboard simplicity messaging

plausible: Emphasizes a lightweight tracking script rather than dashboard simplicity specifically.

umami: Documented feature: a simple analytics dashboard, described as a lightweight, straightforward analytics UI.

Buyers who prioritize a fast learning curve want to know whether the emphasis is on script performance or on how easy the reporting UI itself is to read.

Feature-by-Feature

Deployment & Hosting

Featureplausibleumami
Open-source codebaseAvailableAvailable
Self-hosted deployment optionNot documentedAvailable
Managed cloud-hosted versionNot documentedAvailable

Privacy & Compliance

Featureplausibleumami
Cookie-free trackingAvailableAvailable
No personal data collection statedAvailableNot documented
Dedicated security-practices documentationAvailableNot documented

Pricing & Plans

Featureplausibleumami
Free tier availabilityNot documentedAvailable
Published numeric paid tiersNot documentedAvailable
Enterprise / custom pricing planNot documentedAvailable

Team & Enterprise Features

Featureplausibleumami
SAML SSONot documentedAvailable
Uptime SLANot documentedAvailable
Agency white-label / multi-site client reportingAvailableNot documented

Analytics Depth & Dashboard

Featureplausibleumami
Session-level / granular detail vs. full analytics suitesLimitedNot documented
Simple analytics dashboard UINot documentedAvailable

Performance & Tracking Script

Featureplausibleumami
Lightweight tracking script called out explicitlyAvailableNot documented

Market Positioning

Featureplausibleumami
Explicit head-to-head comparison vs. Google Analytics 4AvailableNot documented

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

plausible

Starter — $9/month Monthly or annual
Growth — $14/month Monthly or annual
Business — $19/month Monthly or annual
Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) Annual

umami

Self-hosted — Free n/a
Cloud Hobby — Free monthly
Cloud Pro — ~$20/month monthly

Pros & Cons

plausible

Pros

  • Strong privacy focus with no cookies or personal data collection
  • Lightweight, fast-loading tracking script compared to larger analytics suites
  • Simple, single-page dashboard that is easy for non-analysts to read
  • Open source with a free self-hosting option for full data control
  • Transparent, pageview-based pricing rather than opaque enterprise quotes

Cons

  • Fewer advanced segmentation and behavioral analysis features than Google Analytics
  • Self-hosting requires ongoing server maintenance and updates
  • Higher-tier features like funnels and revenue attribution require the pricier Business plan
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party integrations than more established analytics platforms

umami

Pros

  • Free and open source with no limits when self-hosted
  • Cookie-free tracking simplifies privacy compliance
  • Simple, uncluttered dashboard that is easy to read at a glance
  • Lightweight tracking script with minimal performance impact
  • Full data ownership when self-hosted

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires managing your own server, database, and updates
  • Reporting depth is more limited than Google Analytics 4 or enterprise analytics tools
  • Umami Cloud paid tiers add cost as event volume grows
  • No built-in session recording or heatmaps

Use Cases

Choose plausible: Plausible fits agencies and consultancies that need white-label, multi-site client reporting plus a documented security posture, and that are comfortable with GA4 being the explicit benchmark it's measured against.
Choose umami: Umami fits teams that want a transparent, numeric pricing ladder as traffic grows (including a genuinely free 100K-events/month tier) and organizations that need Enterprise-grade SAML SSO and an uptime SLA.
Need both: An agency managing client analytics under Plausible's white-label reporting while also running a self-hosted Umami instance for an internal or budget-sensitive project would reasonably end up using both rather than standardizing on one.

plausible

  • GDPR-friendly website analytics — Businesses in the EU and privacy-regulated industries use Plausible to track traffic without cookie banners or personal data collection.
  • Lightweight traffic tracking for developers — Developers and indie makers add a small, fast script to track visitors without slowing down page load times.
  • Self-hosted analytics for data control — Organizations self-host Plausible on their own infrastructure to keep full ownership of visitor data.

umami

  • Privacy-conscious website analytics — Site owners replace Google Analytics with a cookie-free tool to simplify privacy compliance.
  • Self-hosted analytics for agencies — Agencies self-host umami to offer clients analytics dashboards without third-party data sharing.
  • Lightweight SaaS product analytics — Startups track marketing site traffic and campaign performance without the overhead of enterprise analytics platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Plausible or Umami cheaper?

Based on documented pricing, Umami is the more transparent option: it publishes a genuinely free Hobby tier (up to 100K events/month) plus numeric paid tiers at $20/mo and $200/mo. Plausible is labeled Freemium, but no specific starting price or plan details are documented, so a direct cost comparison isn't possible from the available facts.

Can Umami be self-hosted?

Yes — Umami can be self-hosted or used via the managed Umami Cloud version, per its own documentation, though the documented con is that the free self-hosted tier requires you to run and maintain your own server.

Is Plausible cookie-free?

Yes — Plausible is a privacy-friendly analytics tool that avoids cookies and personal data collection, according to its own documentation.

Which tool is better for agencies managing multiple client websites?

Plausible is the better documented fit for agencies, since it offers a white-label option with client reporting and multi-site management; this capability isn't documented for Umami.

Which tool has better support for enterprise requirements like SSO?

Umami is the documented choice for enterprise requirements: its Enterprise tier includes SAML SSO and an uptime SLA, features not documented for Plausible.

Does either tool offer as much analytical depth as Google Analytics or Matomo?

Plausible's own documentation acknowledges it offers less granular, session-level detail than a full analytics suite like Google Analytics or Matomo; Umami's documented facts don't address analytical depth directly, so no comparable claim can be confirmed for it.

Read the full plausible review · Read the full umami review