Instead of Google Analytics: Plausible Analytics

Why Plausible Analytics is better

• The Plausible script is 2.5KB, against 135KB gzipped for the Google Analytics script, per Plausible's own comparison.
• It collects no personal data and needs no cookie banner, so every visit shown is a real visit. When visitors decline consent, GA4 fills the gap with modelled data that standard reports do not separate from real data.
• Setup is one script tag and the dashboard is a single page. In GA4, basic questions often need Tag Manager, custom events or Explorations.
• It is open source under the AGPL, can be self-hosted free as Plausible Community Edition, and its cloud service is hosted in the EU.
• Plausible imports your historical Google Analytics data, so switching does not mean losing past reports.

When to keep Google Analytics

Keep Google Analytics if you run heavily on Google Ads, need custom attribution models, or want SQL access to raw events through BigQuery; Plausible itself says GA4 has more depth there. GA4 is also free, while Plausible's cloud plans start at $9 a month.

Switching

Add the Plausible script, remove the Google tag and any Tag Manager setup used only for analytics, and recreate conversions as Plausible goals and custom events. Import your GA history. Expect different numbers, since Plausible counts visits without cookies or modelling, so totals will not match GA4 exactly.

Watch out

The cloud service is paid and priced by monthly pageviews, and self-hosting means running and updating the server yourself. Some features, such as custom properties, are only on higher plans. The AGPL licence matters if you modify Plausible and host it for others.

Also worth a look

• Umami MIT-licensed, cookie-free analytics you can self-host on Node.js and PostgreSQL or use as a cloud service; pick it for free self-hosting under a permissive licence.