---
title: "Deploy Plausible vs Fathom"
description: "Self-hosted Plausible CE vs Fathom's paid SaaS"
category: "Analytics"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-plausible-vs-fathom-analytics
---

# Deploy Plausible vs Fathom

Self-hosted Plausible CE vs Fathom's paid SaaS

**[Deploy Plausible vs Fathom on Railway](https://railway.com/template/deploy-plausible-vs-fathom-analytics)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-plausible-vs-fathom-analytics/manifest.json

- **Creator:** onepush
- **Category:** Analytics

## Template content

### plausible

- **Image:** ghcr.io/plausible/community-edition:v3.2.1
- **Start command:** `sh -c "/entrypoint.sh db createdb && /entrypoint.sh db migrate && /entrypoint.sh run"`
- **Health check:** /api/health
- **Public domain:** Yes

### ClickHouse

- **Image:** clickhouse/clickhouse-server:24.12-alpine

### Postgres https://devicons.railway.app/i/postgresql.svg

- **Image:** ghcr.io/railwayapp-templates/postgres-ssl:18

## Documentation

# Deploy and Host self hosted Plausible vs Fathom (Cookieless Web Analytics) on Railway

This template runs self-hosted Plausible CE on Railway with Postgres and ClickHouse, so you pay for resources instead of Fathom's SaaS, whose $15/month entry plan covers 100,000 pageviews across 50 sites.

## About Hosting Plausible vs Fathom open-source software on Railway (self hosted Plausible CE template)

This template runs Plausible Community Edition v3.2.1, an Elixir/Phoenix app, with Railway Postgres for users and settings and ClickHouse for raw events.

## Why Deploy Plausible vs Fathom, the Fathom Analytics alternative on Railway (Railway Free Trial)

Fathom's $15/month plan is simple but you rent someone else's closed code and outgrow the 100k pageview tier.

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Plausible vs Fathom on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.

### Railway vs Other Hosting Providers and VPS for Plausible vs Fathom self hosting

Railway runs the stack for you; a VPS means you own the updates.

| Provider | What You Get with Railway | What You Get with the Other Provider |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DigitalOcean | Managed Postgres and ClickHouse, public domain, healthcheck. | You run Docker on a droplet and handle SSL. |
| AWS | Private network between app, Postgres, and ClickHouse, no IAM. | EC2 or ECS with security groups and scaling you manage. |
| Hetzner | ClickHouse RAM grows with events, but you pay only for usage. | Cheap VPS with predictable monthly cost and all updates on you. |

## Common Use Cases for hosted Plausible vs Fathom

- **Agency managing many client sites:** Fathom includes 50 sites on the $15/month plan, but going past that costs $10/month per extra 50 sites. Plausible CE has no site cap, so you pay Railway resources only, not per-site fees.
- **High-traffic blog:** Fathom's pageview allowance gets expensive as traffic climbs. Self-hosted Plausible CE has no pageview limit, though you'll add ClickHouse RAM as events grow.
- **EU data residency:** You pick the Railway region, so event data stays where you need it. With Fathom, the vendor decides where data lives, which matters for some contracts.
- **Teams wanting the Stats API on their own data:** CE exposes the Stats API against your own Postgres and ClickHouse, so you can build internal reports without Fathom's closed backend.
- **When Fathom still fits:** If you want zero maintenance, human email support, and revenue tracking without running anything, Fathom's $15/month plan for 100k pageviews is the simpler bill.

## Dependencies for Plausible vs Fathom Docker hosted on Railway

Self-hosted Plausible CE needs three Railway services: the app, Postgres for config, and ClickHouse for events. Fathom needs none of that; it's SaaS, you paste a snippet and pay $15/month.

### Deployment Dependencies for Managed Plausible vs Fathom Service (Web Analytics)

- **plausible**: `ghcr.io/plausible/community-edition:v3.2.1`, port 8000, volume `/var/lib/plausible`, healthcheck `/api/health`.
- **Postgres**: stores users, sites, goals, settings.
- **ClickHouse**: `clickhouse/clickhouse-server:24.12-alpine`, volume `/var/lib/clickhouse`, database `plausible_events_db`.

Critical env vars: `BASE_URL` from Railway domain, `SECRET_KEY_BASE` (64 bytes), `TOTP_VAULT_KEY`, `DATABASE_URL`, `CLICKHOUSE_DATABASE_URL`, `DISABLE_REGISTRATION=invite_only`, `RAILWAY_RUN_UID=0`.

### Implementation Details for Plausible vs Fathom (Using Plausible official docker image)

Uses the official compose file images and start command: `/entrypoint.sh` runs `db createdb`, then `db migrate`, then `run`. Add a Postmark, Mailgun or SendGrid adapter for invites and reports (Railway blocks SMTP below the Pro plan).

## How does Plausible vs Fathom compare against other privacy-friendly web analytics tools

### Plausible vs Fathom Analytics

- **Self-hosting:** Plausible CE is free AGPL on Railway; Fathom is closed SaaS only.
- **Cost at scale:** Fathom starts at $15/mo for 100k pageviews and 50 sites; Plausible CE has no cap but you pay for Railway resources, typically $10-20/mo low traffic.
- **Revenue tracking:** Fathom includes revenue and ecommerce goals in every plan; Plausible CE lacks revenue goals.
- **Support:** Fathom gives human email support; Plausible CE is community support only.

### Plausible vs Google Analytics 4

- **Privacy:** Plausible is cookieless and typically needs no cookie banner; GA4 uses cookies so EU sites usually require consent.
- **Data control:** Self-hosted Plausible keeps events on your infrastructure; GA4 data lives with Google.
- **Complexity:** Plausible has a simpler dashboard; GA4 wins on ads and ecommerce but its UI is heavier.

### Plausible vs Umami

- **Stack:** Plausible uses Elixir with Postgres plus ClickHouse, so more RAM; Umami is Node.js with one Postgres database, lighter.
- **Features:** Plausible CE has teams, goals, custom events and Stats API but no funnels; Umami MIT is simpler and v3 dropped MySQL.
- **Cloud pricing:** Umami Cloud has a free Hobby tier up to 100k events/month; Plausible Cloud starts at $9/mo. Self-hosted both free, Umami needs less memory for small sites.

### Plausible vs Matomo

- **Feature set:** Matomo is PHP plus MySQL, a GA-style suite with heatmaps, funnels and A/B testing, but many premium plugins cost extra; Plausible is deliberately minimal.
- **Resource footprint:** Plausible's ClickHouse handles high event volume well but needs more RAM; Matomo runs on a small VPS but can get heavy with many sites.
- **Bot filtering:** Matomo has more built-in bot detection; Plausible CE uses basic UA and referrer filtering.

## How to use Plausible vs Fathom (the OSS web analytics)?

1. Open your Railway public domain and hit /register to create the first user; that account becomes owner, and registration flips to invite_only after.
2. Add a site, then grab the site-specific snippet from Site Settings, General, Site Installation and paste it into the site head.
3. Check live visitors to confirm events are landing in ClickHouse before you trust it.
4. Set up goals and custom events for the actions you actually bill on or report on.
5. Configure a mailer adapter if you need invites, password resets, or email reports; without it those stay silent.
6. If you're moving from Fathom, run both scripts side by side for a week and compare totals before you pull the Fathom snippet.

## How to self host Plausible vs Fathom on other VPS Services (Plausible self hosting guide)

### Clone the Repository

Fathom has no self-hosted option, so this covers Plausible CE. On a VPS with Docker and Compose, clone the long-term release.

```bash
git clone -b v3.2.1 --single-branch https://github.com/plausible/community-edition plausible-ce
cd plausible-ce
```

ClickHouse needs SSE 4.2 or NEON and at least 2 GB RAM.

### Install Dependencies

The compose file pulls the images, so there is no separate Elixir or Node setup.

```bash
docker compose pull
```

### Configure Environment Variables

Create `.env` with a stable secret and your public URL.

```bash
echo "BASE_URL=https://your-domain" > .env
echo "SECRET_KEY_BASE=$(openssl rand -base64 48)" >> .env
```

Expose ports 80/443 with an override for Let's Encrypt, or run behind your own reverse proxy.

### Start the Plausible vs Fathom Application

```bash
docker compose up -d
```

Visit your domain and register the first user; that account becomes the owner. Railway handles networking, volumes, and the public domain for you.

## Official Pricing of Plausible vs Fathom (Plausible pricing)

Plausible CE is free AGPL software with no pageview cap, but you pay Railway for the three services that host it.

## Plausible vs Fathom cloud vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more)

Fathom starts at $15/month for 100,000 pageviews and 50 sites, with support and no maintenance. Plausible CE has no pageview cap, but you pay Railway resources and handle upgrades yourself.

### Monthly cost of self hosting Plausible vs Fathom on Railway

A low-traffic Plausible CE stack usually costs $10-20/month across Postgres, ClickHouse, and the app. Fathom is flat $15/month, but pageviews and custom events share one monthly allowance.

### System Requirements for Hosting Plausible vs Fathom on a VPS

Plausible CE needs a CPU with SSE 4.2 or NEON and at least 2 GB RAM to avoid OOMs. Fathom has no system requirements because it is closed-source SaaS.

## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

### Is self-hosted Plausible CE cheaper than Fathom?

It depends on traffic and how much your time costs. At Fathom's 100,000 monthly pageviews with 50 sites, the $15 SaaS plan can beat self-hosted infrastructure costs.

### Can I import my Fathom data into Plausible CE?

No, there is no built-in Fathom importer. Run both scripts in parallel for a week, compare totals, and keep Fathom exports for historical data.

### Do both skip cookie banners?

Both are cookieless and say no cookie banners are required. GDPR still applies to any processing, so get final sign-off from a lawyer or DPO.

### Which filters bots better?

Fathom includes automatic bot filtering on every plan. Plausible CE only has basic User-Agent and referrer spam filtering; the Cloud version's data-center IP filtering is not included in CE.

### Can Plausible CE track revenue?

No. Revenue goals are not available in Plausible CE, while every Fathom plan includes revenue tracking.

### What happens during a traffic spike?

Fathom keeps collecting and emails you if you stay over your limit, then pauses dashboard and API access but still records data.


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- [Typesense PHP](https://railway.com/deploy/typesense-php) — official PHP client against Railway

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