datalove · Compared
datalove and Plausible
Both count website visitors without cookies or a consent banner, the same way. Plausible is a website analytics tool. datalove is product analytics for B2B SaaS that shows your website next to it.
What both do the same way
Plausible's data policy describes a daily hash of a salt, the website's domain, the IP address and the user agent, with the salt rotated and deleted every 24 hours, no cookies, no local storage, and no raw addresses kept. datalove counts visitors the same way (how it works). With either, a person who comes back on another day is a new visitor.
Side by side
| Plausible | datalove | |
|---|---|---|
| Unique visitors without cookies | Yes, daily salted hash | Yes, daily salted hash |
| Consent banner for analytics | Not needed, according to its data policy | Not needed for the cookieless counting, in our reading |
| How data gets in | A script on your site; an Events API for servers and apps | A Segment-compatible API: your server, or Segment's libraries |
| Goals and funnels | Custom event goals and funnels | Any event as a goal next to traffic; funnels are not built yet |
| Signed-in users and accounts | Not stated in its documentation | Yes: users and accounts (companies) with their traits and timelines |
| Countries, browsers, devices | Browser, OS and device from the user agent; approximate location | Not broken down yet |
| Open source, self-hosting | AGPLv3, with a self-hosted Community Edition | No |
| Where data is kept | EU, according to its data policy | Germany (Hetzner) |
| Availability | Available | Closed pilot |
Where Plausible is the better choice
If you want website analytics and nothing else, Plausible is ready today, lets you self-host, and breaks traffic down by country, browser and device. datalove does not do those breakdowns yet.
What datalove adds
Inside a B2B product, the question is not how many visitors came but which accounts use which features. datalove keeps events per user and per account, shows each account's timeline, and measures adoption across accounts. The website view puts sign-ups next to the traffic that brought them, in the same place and through the same API.
Questions
Is datalove a Plausible alternative?
For counting website visitors without cookies, both use the same method: a daily salted hash of address and browser, with the salt deleted every day. If website traffic is all you need, Plausible is the more complete and more mature tool. datalove is for teams that also want to see which accounts use what inside their product, in the same place.
When should I choose Plausible?
When you want a focused website analytics tool that is available today, open source and self-hostable, with a script you add to your site and nothing else to set up.
When should I choose datalove?
When you run a B2B SaaS product and want product analytics per account and user, website traffic next to it, and one Segment-compatible API for both, hosted in Germany. datalove is in a closed pilot.