# Pirsch vs Plausible Community Edition (2026): Free Alternative to Pirsch

Canonical: https://caniforkit.com/vs/pirsch-vs-plausible-community-edition
Last updated: 2026-08-10

Compare Pirsch ($6/mo) vs Plausible Community Edition ($0/mo open source AGPL-3.0+ alternative to Pirsch). Side-by-side breakdown of pricing, self-hosting setup, data storage, and practical trade-offs.

## Side-by-Side Comparison Matrix

| Feature / Metric | Pirsch | Plausible Community Edition |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $6/mo | $0.00 / month |
| 1-Seat Annual Cost | $72/yr | $0.00 / year |
| 5-Person Team Annual Cost | $360/yr | $0.00 / year |
| 10-Person Team Annual Cost | $720/yr | $0.00 / year |
| License Model | Proprietary Commercial SaaS | AGPL-3.0+ |
| Hosting / Runtime | Vendor Cloud | Self-host |
| Data Ownership | Stored on vendor servers | Account and configuration records live in PostgreSQL and analytics events live in ClickHouse on the user's server |
| GitHub Stars | Closed Source | ★ 28k |
| Code Repository | None | https://github.com/plausible/analytics |
| The Catch / Trade-off | Recurring subscription cost | It covers page views and goals, but self-hosting is heavier and its server-side collection and API story is less polished than Pirsch's. |

## About Plausible Community Edition
Simple cookieless traffic and goals; the Community Edition keeps the dashboard deliberately narrow.

- **Installation**: Deploy the Community Edition with the official Docker Compose installer
- **Setup Notes**: Docker Compose, roughly 2 GB of RAM, a domain with DNS and TLS, and backups for PostgreSQL and ClickHouse
- **Data Storage**: Account and configuration records live in PostgreSQL and analytics events live in ClickHouse on the user's server
- **Supported Platforms**: web, self-hosted, docker to self-host
- **The Catch vs Pirsch**: It covers page views and goals, but self-hosting is heavier and its server-side collection and API story is less polished than Pirsch's.

## Cost Savings Breakdown
Switching from Pirsch to Plausible Community Edition eliminates ongoing per-seat subscriptions:
- **Solo / 1-seat**: Save **$72/year**
- **5-person team**: Save **$360/year**
- **10-person team**: Save **$720/year**

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is Plausible Community Edition a good free alternative to Pirsch?
Yes. Plausible Community Edition is a verified open source (AGPL-3.0+) replacement for Pirsch. Simple cookieless traffic and goals; the Community Edition keeps the dashboard deliberately narrow.

### What is the catch when switching from Pirsch to Plausible Community Edition?
It covers page views and goals, but self-hosting is heavier and its server-side collection and API story is less polished than Pirsch's.

## Related

- [All Pirsch Alternatives](https://caniforkit.com/pirsch)
- [Plausible Community Edition Full Profile](https://caniforkit.com/fork/plausible-community-edition)
- [analytics Category Hub](https://caniforkit.com/category/analytics)
- [All Paid SaaS Alternatives Index](https://caniforkit.com/alternatives)