Plausible vs Simple Analytics Comparison 2026
Plausible has no permanent free plan, only a 30-day trial, then $9 a month for 10,000 pageviews on one site with team members included from the Growth tier up. Simple Analytics gives away a genuine free Hobby plan for five websites if the badge stays on the page, then $20 a month starting at 100,000 pageviews, with every extra user costing another $20. Plausible is cheaper for a team. Simple Analytics is the one that costs nothing at all if a badge on the page is an acceptable trade.
At a glance
- Plausible starts cheaper, at $9.
- Only Simple Analytics has a free tier.
Side by side
Plausible | Simple Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $9 | From $20 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 30 days | Not stated |
| API |
Plausible
Privacy-first analytics without cookies
Plausible answers what a Google Analytics dashboard takes four clicks to answer, on one page, without cookies or a consent banner. The script is a fraction of the size, which shows up in a page speed score. There are no user-level reports at all, so anybody who needs to follow one visitor around is in the wrong tool.
Our note
Not running a consent banner is a saving the price does not show. No cookies means no banner and no consent records to keep, and on a small site that is worth more than the gap between $9 a month and free analytics.
Simple Analytics
Website numbers on a single page
Simple Analytics is one dashboard with no setup behind it, aimed at somebody who wants to know what people read and has no intention of building funnels. No cookies, no consent banner and hosting inside the EU are the three things it leads with. Pageview volume sets the price and extra users cost the same again each. Hobby sites are free if the badge stays on the page.
Our note
Why people weigh these two
- Simple Analytics instead of Plausible
- Simple Analytics puts the numbers on a single page from $20 with a free tier, the same privacy stance with less to read.
- Plausible instead of Simple Analytics
- Plausible is the other privacy-first, cookie free option at $9, with a similar single page of numbers.
Which one should you pick
Choose Plausible if you are adding team members or want a lower entry price: Starter is $9 a month for 10,000 pageviews, and Business at $19 includes ten sites and ten team members, funnels and ecommerce attribution. There is no free plan, only a 30-day trial with no card, so the badge-for-free trade Simple Analytics offers is not available here. Skipping cookies also skips the consent banner, a saving worth more on a small site than the gap to free.
Choose Simple Analytics if you want a genuinely free option and can live with the badge: Hobby covers one user, five websites and a month of history at no cost, forever. Self-serve starts at $20 a month for 100,000 pageviews, but extra users cost $20 each, the same as the whole base plan, which makes this expensive fast for a team of three. A solo site owner past the hobby badge trade is who this fits best.
Common questions
- Which has a free plan, Plausible or Simple Analytics?
- Simple Analytics does: the Hobby plan is free forever for five websites and one user, as long as the badge stays on the page. Plausible has no permanent free tier at all, only a 30-day trial with no card required.
- Which is cheaper for a small team?
- Plausible, clearly: Growth at $14 a month includes three team members, and Business at $19 includes ten. Simple Analytics charges $20 for every extra user on top of the $20 base plan, so a team of three would pay $60 a month there against roughly $14 to $19 on Plausible.
- Do the features change between Simple Analytics' tiers?
- No, its own listing states features stay the same across tiers; only pageview volume and seats change the price. Plausible's tiers do add features as you move up, including funnels and ecommerce revenue attribution on Business.
- What does the free plan actually require on Simple Analytics?
- Keeping its badge visible on the site, in exchange for one user, five websites and a month of history at no cost. Plausible does not offer an equivalent ongoing free option, only the 30-day trial before a paid plan is required.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.