The verdict
If you spend on Google Ads or want audience building for paid campaigns, I'd pick Google Analytics. Nothing else ties the Google tools together as tightly, and it is free. Accept the learning curve and set aside time for conversions and events.
If your questions are where traffic comes from and what converts, and you want the whole team to read the numbers, I'd pick Plausible. It is a good fit for marketing sites, blogs and landing page sets. Be honest about the ceiling. Plausible has no ad platform features and no deep user journeys, and its price follows pageviews. Google Analytics has more depth, but funnels are basic next to a product analytics tool.
Side by side
| 5 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $7.50/mo | |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | No |
| Event autocapture | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Google Analytics
- StandardFree
Plausible Analytics
- Starter$9/mo
- Growth$14/mo
- Business$19/mo
Who each is for
Choose Google Analytics if…
Pick Plausible if you want simple, privacy-friendly analytics and no cookie banner. It suits small marketing teams, SaaS companies and agencies who lose time in Google Analytics menus and want one fast page. The data stays on EU infrastructure, the script is small, and you can self-host the open-source Community Edition if you want to run it yourself.
Check the plan before you commit. Pricing follows pageviews, and funnels, custom properties and the Stats API sit on the Business plan. If your paid campaigns rely on Google audience features, work out how you will replace them first.
Choose Plausible Analytics if…
Pick Google Analytics if you want free, broad measurement and you already run Google Ads, Search Console or Google Tag Manager. I have used Google Analytics since 2010, back when it was Universal Analytics, and it is still the cornerstone of most marketing set-ups I have built.
The cost is effort. GA4 is flexible but needs a proper set-up, and large datasets bring sampling. Privacy tools cause data gaps, and consent banners cost you some of the traffic you can see. It has a public API and a read-only official MCP server, which Plausible lacks.
Other options worth a look
Combines analytics, session replay, and heatmaps to reveal user behaviour and identify conversion friction.
View session recordings and heatmaps free to understand how users navigate your website or app.
Links marketing touchpoints and ad spend to customer revenue and pipeline for B2B SaaS teams.
Assigns unique phone numbers to campaigns so inbound calls can be attributed to their original marketing source.