Self-Hosted Alternatives to Google Analytics
Why Replace Google Analytics?
Privacy. GA4 collects extensive user data and sends it to Google’s servers. Under GDPR and CCPA, this creates compliance headaches — you need cookie consent banners, privacy policies, and data processing agreements. Self-hosted analytics can eliminate all of this.
Accuracy. Up to 40% of visitors block Google Analytics via ad blockers and privacy browsers. Self-hosted tools served from your own domain are harder to block, giving you more accurate traffic data.
Simplicity. GA4’s interface is bloated. Finding basic metrics like “how many people visited today” requires navigating through reports, dimensions, and segments. Self-hosted alternatives show everything on a single dashboard.
Cost. Google Analytics is “free” but you pay with your visitors’ data. GA4’s data sampling kicks in on high-traffic sites unless you pay for Google Analytics 360 ($50,000+/year). Self-hosted analytics costs nothing beyond the server you’re already running.
Data ownership. With GA4, Google controls your data. They can change retention policies, deprecate features (as they did with Universal Analytics), or shut down access. Self-hosted means your analytics data lives on your server, permanently under your control.
Best Alternatives
Plausible — Best Overall Replacement
Plausible is a lightweight, privacy-friendly analytics tool that covers 90% of what most websites actually use in Google Analytics. No cookies, no consent banners needed, GDPR-compliant out of the box.
What it does well:
- Page views, unique visitors, bounce rate, visit duration
- Top pages, referrers, UTM campaign tracking
- Geographic data, device/browser/OS breakdown
- Custom events and goals
- Google Search Console integration
- Email reports
What it doesn’t do:
- Funnel analysis, audience segments, cohort analysis
- E-commerce tracking
- Advanced event parameters
- Real-time detailed user flows
Setup complexity: Easy. Docker Compose with PostgreSQL and ClickHouse. Takes 15 minutes.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Plausible
Umami — Best Lightweight Option
Umami is the lightest self-hosted analytics tool. MIT-licensed, minimal resource usage, and a clean single-page dashboard. Perfect for personal sites and small projects.
What it does well:
- Page views, unique visitors, referrers, top pages
- Device, browser, OS, and geographic data
- Custom events with properties
- Multiple website tracking
- Team management with role-based access
What it doesn’t do:
- Google Search Console integration
- Email reports (self-hosted version)
- Funnel or conversion tracking
- Revenue/e-commerce tracking
Setup complexity: Very easy. Docker Compose with PostgreSQL. Takes 10 minutes.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Umami
Matomo — Best Full-Featured Replacement
Matomo (formerly Piwik) is the most feature-complete Google Analytics alternative. It offers everything GA4 does — including e-commerce tracking, heatmaps, session recordings, and A/B testing — in a self-hosted package.
What it does well:
- Full GA4 feature parity: funnels, segments, cohorts, custom dimensions
- E-commerce tracking (WooCommerce, Shopify integrations)
- Heatmaps and session recordings (premium plugins)
- Data import from Google Analytics
- Tag manager
- API for custom integrations
What it doesn’t do (free version):
- Heatmaps and session recordings (paid plugins)
- A/B testing (paid plugin)
- Custom reports (paid plugin)
Setup complexity: Moderate. Docker Compose with MariaDB. More configuration than Plausible or Umami.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Matomo
Migration Guide
Step 1: Install Your Chosen Tool
Follow the setup guide for your preferred option. All three can run alongside Google Analytics during migration — there’s no need to remove GA immediately.
Step 2: Add the Tracking Script
Each tool requires a single <script> tag in your site’s <head>:
Plausible:
<script defer data-domain="yourdomain.com"
src="https://your-plausible.com/js/script.js"></script>Umami:
<script defer src="https://your-umami.com/script.js"
data-website-id="your-website-id"></script>Matomo:
<script>
var _paq = window._paq = window._paq || [];
_paq.push(['trackPageView']);
(function() {
var u="https://your-matomo.com/";
_paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'matomo.php']);
_paq.push(['setSiteId', '1']);
var d=document, g=d.createElement('script');
g.async=true; g.src=u+'matomo.js';
d.head.appendChild(g);
})();
</script>Step 3: Run Both in Parallel
Keep Google Analytics running for 2-4 weeks alongside your self-hosted tool. Compare the numbers — self-hosted tools typically show 20-40% higher visitor counts because they’re not blocked by ad blockers.
Step 4: Import Historical Data (Optional)
Matomo can import Google Analytics data directly via its GA import plugin.
Plausible supports Google Analytics data import through its admin UI.
Umami does not support GA data import. You start fresh.
Step 5: Remove Google Analytics
Once you’re confident in your self-hosted data, remove the GA4 script from your site. Delete the GA4 property if you want to stop data collection entirely.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Google Analytics | Plausible | Umami | Matomo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (data is the price) | Free (self-hosted) | Free (MIT license) | Free (self-hosted) |
| Privacy | Tracks extensively | No cookies, no PII | No cookies, no PII | Configurable |
| GDPR compliant | Requires consent | Yes, no consent needed | Yes, no consent needed | Yes (with config) |
| Setup time | 5 min | 15 min | 10 min | 30 min |
| Dashboard | Complex, multi-page | Single page | Single page | Multi-page (GA-like) |
| Custom events | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Funnels | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| E-commerce | Yes | No | No | Yes (plugin) |
| Search Console | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Data import from GA | N/A | Yes | No | Yes |
| Ad blocker resistance | Low (widely blocked) | High (self-hosted) | High (self-hosted) | High (self-hosted) |
| Resource usage | N/A (cloud) | Medium (ClickHouse) | Low | Medium-High |
Cost Comparison
| Google Analytics | Self-Hosted Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 (free tier) | $0 (runs on existing server) |
| High-traffic cost | $50,000+/yr (GA 360) | $0 (same server) |
| Privacy compliance | Expensive (DPO, consent, legal) | Free (no PII collected) |
| Data ownership | Google owns it | You own it |
| Availability | Google controls it | You control it |
If you’re already running a home server or VPS, the incremental cost of self-hosted analytics is zero. Plausible and Umami use minimal resources — 200-500 MB RAM is enough.
What You Give Up
Be honest about the trade-offs:
- Advanced segmentation. GA4’s audience segments, cohort analysis, and user explorer have no equivalent in Plausible or Umami. Matomo comes closest.
- Machine learning insights. GA4’s predictive metrics (purchase probability, churn prediction) are not available in any self-hosted tool.
- Integrations ecosystem. Google Ads, BigQuery, Looker Studio — the Google ecosystem is deeply integrated. Self-hosted tools have APIs but fewer native integrations.
- Real-time granularity. GA4’s real-time view shows individual user activity. Self-hosted tools show aggregate real-time data.
- Zero maintenance. GA4 just works. Self-hosted tools need Docker updates, backups, and occasional troubleshooting.
For most websites, blogs, and small businesses, these trade-offs don’t matter. You’re not using those advanced features anyway. But if you’re running a large e-commerce operation or rely on Google Ads integration, evaluate Matomo carefully before switching.
Verdict
For most websites: Use Plausible. It’s the best balance of features, simplicity, and privacy. The dashboard is clean, setup is straightforward, and it covers everything most site owners actually look at.
For personal sites and developers: Use Umami. It’s the lightest option, completely free (MIT license), and dead simple.
For businesses needing GA4 feature parity: Use Matomo. It’s the only self-hosted tool that matches GA4’s depth, with funnels, segments, and e-commerce tracking.
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