Self-Hosted Analytics: Plausible vs Umami vs Matomo - Which is Best for Your Site?

Google Analytics is powerful, but it tracks your visitors across the web, shares data with advertisers, and requires cookie consent banners. If you care about privacy (and GDPR compliance), there’s a better way: self-hosted analytics.

This guide compares the three best privacy-focused analytics platforms: Plausible, Umami, and Matomo.

Why Self-Host Analytics?

Benefits:

• Full data ownership - your analytics data stays on your server
• Privacy-friendly - no tracking cookies, GDPR compliant by default
• No data sampling - unlike Google Analytics free tier
• No external dependencies - works even if third-party services are blocked
• Ad blocker resistant - more accurate visitor counts

Quick Comparison Table

Plausible Analytics

Best for: Simplicity and clean UI

Plausible is the simplest of the three. One dashboard, essential metrics, zero configuration needed.

Pros

• Beautiful, minimal interface
• Lightweight (~1MB JavaScript)
• No cookie banner needed
• Easy setup with Docker
• Great documentation

Cons

• Fewer features than Matomo
• No raw data exports
• Self-hosted version requires build from source (or use Docker)

Docker Setup

version: '3.8'
services:
  plausible:
    image: plausible/analytics:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: sh -c "sleep 10 && /entrypoint.sh db createdb && /entrypoint.sh db migrate && /entrypoint.sh run"
    depends_on:
      - plausible_db
      - plausible_events_db
    ports:
      - 8000:8000
    env_file:
      - plausible-conf.env

  plausible_db:
    image: postgres:14-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres

  plausible_events_db:
    image: clickhouse/clickhouse-server:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - event-data:/var/lib/clickhouse

volumes:
  db-data:
  event-data:

Tracking code:

<script defer data-domain="yourdomain.com" src="https://plausible.yourdomain.com/js/script.js"></script>

Umami Analytics

Best for: Minimalism and performance

Umami is the lightest option. Fast, simple, and elegant.

Pros

• Extremely lightweight (~2KB script)
• Clean, modern UI
• SQL and NoSQL support (PostgreSQL, MySQL, or MongoDB)
• Easy Docker setup
• MIT license (most permissive)

Cons

• Fewer features than both Plausible and Matomo
• No funnel analysis
• Limited reporting options

Docker Setup

version: '3.8'
services:
  umami:
    image: ghcr.io/umami-software/umami:postgresql-latest
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://umami:umami@db:5432/umami
      DATABASE_TYPE: postgresql
      APP_SECRET: replace-with-random-string
    depends_on:
      - db
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: umami
      POSTGRES_USER: umami
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: umami
    volumes:
      - umami-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  umami-db-data:

Tracking code:

<script async src="https://umami.yourdomain.com/script.js" data-website-id="your-website-id"></script>

Matomo (formerly Piwik)

Best for: Advanced features and e-commerce

Matomo is the most feature-complete analytics platform. It’s basically self-hosted Google Analytics.

Pros

• Most features (heatmaps, session recordings, A/B testing)
• E-commerce tracking
• SEO reports
• User flow visualization
• Mobile app analytics
• Plugin ecosystem

Cons

• Heavy resource usage (needs 2GB+ RAM)
• Complex interface (can be overwhelming)
• Slower than Plausible/Umami
• PHP-based (requires more maintenance)

Docker Setup

version: '3.8'
services:
  matomo:
    image: matomo:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 8080:80
    volumes:
      - matomo:/var/www/html
    environment:
      - MATOMO_DATABASE_HOST=db
      - MATOMO_DATABASE_ADAPTER=mysql
      - MATOMO_DATABASE_TABLES_PREFIX=matomo_
      - MATOMO_DATABASE_USERNAME=matomo
      - MATOMO_DATABASE_PASSWORD=matomo
      - MATOMO_DATABASE_DBNAME=matomo
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: mariadb:10
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpassword
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=matomo
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=matomo
      - MYSQL_USER=matomo
    volumes:
      - db:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  matomo:
  db:

Tracking code:

<!-- Matomo -->
<script>
  var _paq = window._paq = window._paq || [];
  _paq.push(['trackPageView']);
  _paq.push(['enableLinkTracking']);
  (function() {
    var u="https://matomo.yourdomain.com/";
    _paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'matomo.php']);
    _paq.push(['setSiteId', '1']);
    var d=document, g=d.createElement('script'), s=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
    g.async=true; g.src=u+'matomo.js'; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s);
  })();
</script>
<!-- End Matomo Code -->

Feature Deep Dive

Dashboard & Reporting

Plausible: Single-page dashboard, real-time stats, clean and focused
Umami: Minimal dashboard, customizable date ranges, multiple sites in one view
Matomo: Multi-page interface, widgets, custom dashboards, detailed reports

Privacy & GDPR

All three are GDPR compliant by default:

• No cookies (or optional cookies in Matomo)
• No cross-site tracking
• No personal data collection
• IP anonymization options

Custom Events

Plausible: Goals and custom events with plausible() function
Umami: Event tracking with umami.track() function
Matomo: Comprehensive event tracking + e-commerce events

API Access

Plausible: Stats API for dashboards
Umami: API for stats and event tracking
Matomo: Full-featured API for everything

Resource Requirements

Umami:

• RAM: 512MB minimum
• CPU: 1 core
• Disk: 5GB

Plausible:

• RAM: 1GB minimum (ClickHouse needs RAM)
• CPU: 2 cores
• Disk: 10GB

Matomo:

• RAM: 2GB minimum
• CPU: 2 cores
• Disk: 20GB+

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Plausible if:

• You want a balance of features and simplicity
• You need funnels and goal tracking
• You prefer a polished UI
• You don’t need raw data exports

Choose Umami if:

• You want the fastest, lightest option
• You have limited server resources
• You prefer MIT license
• You don’t need advanced features

Choose Matomo if:

• You need enterprise features (e-commerce, heatmaps, etc.)
• You’re migrating from Google Analytics
• You want the most comprehensive reporting
• You have server resources to spare

Migration from Google Analytics

All three support importing Google Analytics data:

• Matomo: Built-in import tool
• Plausible: Manual CSV import
• Umami: No direct import (start fresh)

Performance Comparison

Based on 100K pageviews/month:

Conclusion

For most self-hosters, I recommend Umami. It’s fast, simple, and gets the job done without bloat.

If you need funnels and a polished UI, go with Plausible.

If you’re running an e-commerce site or need advanced features, Matomo is your best bet.

All three are excellent Google Analytics alternatives. Pick based on your needs and server capacity.

Next Steps

1. Choose your analytics platform
2. Set up Docker Compose
3. Add tracking code to your site
4. Configure ad blocker bypass (optional)
5. Set up automated backups

Which analytics platform are you using? Share your experience in the comments!