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Plausible Analytics vs Cool Analytics

OCT 2026 audit

A comparison of Plausible Analytics and Cool Analytics built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.

Reviewed by Palash BagchiUpdated 16 criteria compared

The short answer

Choose Plausible Analytics if…

A site that wants one clear dashboard, no cookie banner and its data in the EU, at $9 a month for the first 10,000 pageviews — the cheapest EU-hosted option here that is a product rather than a favour.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Choose Cool Analytics if…

A founder who wants each payment from a connected processor — Stripe, Dodo Payments, Polar, Paddle, Creem, Lemon Squeezy or Razorpay — credited to the visit behind it, at a flat price by monthly events, from $3 a month for 10,000 events, with data hosted in Germany.

Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved

Consider something else if…

  • Plausible Analytics: You run more than one site on the entry plan. Starter is one site; three costs $14. Pirsch includes 50 websites at $6 and Fathom 50 at $15, both without raising the price to add the second.
  • Cool Analytics: You need a product you can sign up to today: Cool Analytics shows a waitlist and says early access is opening soon, offers a 7-day trial with a card on file, is hosted only, and does not state a SOC 2 or similar audit.

Neither quite fits? Every other option, ranked by iScore: Plausible Analytics alternatives · Cool Analytics alternatives

7 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.

Visit Plausible Analytics documentationVisit Cool Analytics documentation

No affiliate links, sponsored placements or paid rankings appear on this site. Ordering follows the sourced data and the stated criteria.

01.

At a glance.

CriterionPlausible AnalyticsCool Analytics
Pricing
Free tierNoNo
Kind of free offerFree trialFree trial
When the free offer endsSign up for 30-day free trial.7 days from the start of the trial; the card on file is then charged unless the plan is cancelled.
Entry paid plan
$9/month for Starter at up to 10,000 monthly pageviews: one site and three years of data retention. Growth is $14/month for up to three sites.
From $3 a month, billed monthly, at 10k events a month on a single event-priced plan that carries every feature.
Pricing modelBanded by monthly pageviews, with a slider from 10,000 to 10 million and above; site and team-member counts rise with the tier. The page picks its currency in JavaScript, so the figures are origin-dependent and $9 is the default.One plan with every feature, priced by monthly events: every pageview and every custom event sent counts as one. The price follows a traffic slider from 10k to 10M+ events a month, billed monthly or yearly (yearly gives two months free).
Limits
Sites or apps includedOne site on Starter, the $9 entry plan. Growth raises it to three sites and three team members for $14.Grows with the monthly event size picked on the pricing slider; there are no separate plans. The default 500k-event size shows 20 websites and 5 team members, and the price table carries the count at each size.
Observability
Revenue attribution from a payment provider
Limited
Supported
Retention windowThree years of data retention, stated on the entry Starter plan.1 to 5 years of data history, rising with the monthly event size; the default 500k-event size shows 2 years.
Compliance
Works without cookiesSupportedSupported — A random visitor ID is kept in browser local storage
GDPR / data residencyMade and hosted in the EU on what Plausible describes as European-owned infrastructure.Data is stored in the EU (Germany) on Hetzner servers; support and maintenance access from India relies on Standard Contractual Clauses.

Only criteria both providers publish appear here; a tinted cell marks a real difference. Criteria only one of them documents are listed below, and an absence there means we found no source — not that the feature is missing. How we source this.

The small bar above a value is inetGeek's own lean toward that side — computed from the same facts shown, never a number the provider published. See the picker below "The short answer" to weigh only the criteria you care about.

02.

Where they differ.

When the free offer ends

Plausible Analytics
Sign up for 30-day free trial.
Cool Analytics
7 days from the start of the trial; the card on file is then charged unless the plan is cancelled.
Sources (2) →

Entry paid plan

Plausible Analytics
$9/month for Starter at up to 10,000 monthly pageviews: one site and three years of data retention. Growth is $14/month for up to three sites.
Cool Analytics
From $3 a month, billed monthly, at 10k events a month on a single event-priced plan that carries every feature.
Sources (2) →

Pricing model

Plausible Analytics
Banded by monthly pageviews, with a slider from 10,000 to 10 million and above; site and team-member counts rise with the tier. The page picks its currency in JavaScript, so the figures are origin-dependent and $9 is the default.
Cool Analytics
One plan with every feature, priced by monthly events: every pageview and every custom event sent counts as one. The price follows a traffic slider from 10k to 10M+ events a month, billed monthly or yearly (yearly gives two months free).
Sources (2) →

Sites or apps included

Plausible Analytics
One site on Starter, the $9 entry plan. Growth raises it to three sites and three team members for $14.
Cool Analytics
Grows with the monthly event size picked on the pricing slider; there are no separate plans. The default 500k-event size shows 20 websites and 5 team members, and the price table carries the count at each size.
Sources (2) →
  • Plausible Analytics ↗

    “Start free trial One site 3 years of data retention Intuitive, fast and privacy-friendly dashboard Email/Slack reports Google Analytics import Goals and custom events Saved Segments Annotations Growth /year /month $14 /month Custom Start free trial Everything in Starter Up to 3 sites Up to 3 team members”

    Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing · Report a correction

  • Cool Analytics — see which traffic makes you money ↗

    “At 500k events you get 20 websites 5 team members 2 years of data history”

    Read 2026-10-25 · official pricing · Report a correction

Revenue attribution from a payment provider

Plausible Analytics
Limited
Cool Analytics
Supported
Sources (2) →

Retention window

Plausible Analytics
Three years of data retention, stated on the entry Starter plan.
Cool Analytics
1 to 5 years of data history, rising with the monthly event size; the default 500k-event size shows 2 years.
Sources (2) →

GDPR / data residency

Plausible Analytics
Made and hosted in the EU on what Plausible describes as European-owned infrastructure.
Cool Analytics
Data is stored in the EU (Germany) on Hetzner servers; support and maintenance access from India relies on Standard Contractual Clauses.
Sources (2) →

When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.

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03.

Documented by only one.

These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing — except where we say we read the other provider's own page on a given date and it does not state it. Those rows lean, and the provider can correct them with a link.

What the free plan includesCool Analytics: A 7-day free trial of the paid plan with every feature; the pages describe no standing free plan.
Credit card to startCool Analytics: Yes
Payment providers connectedCool Analytics: Stripe, Dodo Payments, Polar, Paddle, Creem, Lemon Squeezy and Razorpay, plus an API for anything else.
AI and search crawler trackingPlausible Analytics: Not supported — Counts AI-assistant referral visits as a channel; crawler requests are excluded
Self-hostableCool Analytics: Not supported
Encryption at restCool Analytics: The DPA lists encryption at rest only for payment provider keys, with HTTPS in transit everywhere; it does not say stored visit data is encrypted at rest.Plausible Analytics: not stated on its own page when read on 2026-09-22 — corrections welcome · every such claim about Plausible Analytics.
04.

Questions this comparison answers.

Entry paid plan: Plausible Analytics or Cool Analytics?

Plausible Analytics: $9/month for Starter at up to 10,000 monthly pageviews: one site and three years of data retention. Growth is $14/month for up to three sites.

Cool Analytics: From $3 a month, billed monthly, at 10k events a month on a single event-priced plan that carries every feature.

Should I choose Plausible Analytics or Cool Analytics?

Pick Plausible Analytics if A site that wants one clear dashboard, no cookie banner and its data in the EU, at $9 a month for the first 10,000 pageviews — the cheapest EU-hosted option here that is a product rather than a favour.

Pick Cool Analytics if A founder who wants each payment from a connected processor — Stripe, Dodo Payments, Polar, Paddle, Creem, Lemon Squeezy or Razorpay — credited to the visit behind it, at a flat price by monthly events, from $3 a month for 10,000 events, with data hosted in Germany.

Provider pages

Plausible AnalyticsLightweight, open-source website analytics hosted in the EU, with a single-page dashboard and no cookies.Cool AnalyticsHosted-only web analytics that links each payment from a connected payment provider to the visit behind it, priced by monthly events.

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Comments

Every page here is sourced and dated.