Self-host Google Analytics

Web analytics · Category: observability & analytics

GA4 is free for most sites, but the self-host alternatives win on simplicity, GDPR posture, and not feeding Google. The privacy-focused options are the closest fit; Matomo is the most-features-comparable.

Google Analytics pricing anchor: Free (GA4); $150k+/yr for GA360 / Analytics 360.

Plausible plausible/analytics alive

GitHub: ★ 24.8k · last commit 2d ago · 71 open issues
License: AGPL-3.0
Setup time: 10min docker-compose
Monthly cost: $5 VPS for sites under ~100k pageviews/mo (Plausible + Postgres + ClickHouse).

Migration sketch. GA does not export raw events for free, so historical-data migration is impractical. Practical path: install both side-by-side, drop the GA snippet after a 30-day overlap. Plausible imports GA4 metadata (property → site mapping) via Settings → Import from Google Analytics if you connect the GA API once.

Good fit forMarketing sites and SaaS landing pages that want pageviews + sources + UTM tracking with no cookie banner.

Weak atNo funnels-as-deep as GA4; not built for ecommerce attribution out of the box.

Umami umami-software/umami alive

GitHub: ★ 36.6k · last commit 5d ago · 143 open issues
License: MIT
Setup time: 10min docker-compose
Monthly cost: $5 VPS — Next.js + Postgres or MySQL.

Migration sketch. Same constraint as Plausible — GA's free tier doesn't release raw event data. Run Umami in parallel with GA for an overlap, then cut over. Umami v2 exposes a `/api/send` endpoint compatible with simple custom-event reporting if you migrate event scripts.

Good fit forDevs who want a single-binary-feel analytics stack and a clean dashboard.

Weak atNo funnel builder in OSS edition; cohort analysis is shallow.

Matomo matomo-org/matomo alive

GitHub: ★ 21.5k · last commit today · 2550 open issues
License: GPL-3.0
Setup time: 30min (PHP + MySQL stack)
Monthly cost: $10 VPS for moderate-traffic sites; MySQL is the tightest constraint.

Migration sketch. Matomo includes the only credible GA importer in the OSS space — Settings → System → Import from Google Analytics. It uses the GA4 Data API to backfill aggregated daily reports (not raw events). Real-time data requires running both pixels in parallel during cutover.

Good fit forTeams that need the closest-to-GA feature parity (heatmaps, funnels, ecommerce attribution).

Weak atPHP/MySQL feels dated; default dashboard is busier than Plausible/Umami.

In a terminal? npx os-alt google-analytics prints this table — how the CLI works →