Analytics Stack Recommendation for Privacy-First B2C App (2K Users, Minimal Budget)

Summary Recommendation

Primary Tool: Umami (Self-Hosted)
Estimated 12-Month Cost: $48 - $240 ($4-20/month VPS)
Key Reason: Zero software cost with self-hosting, cookieless by default, minimal server resource requirements (~500MB RAM), and complete data ownership perfect for privacy-first philosophy.

Decision Matrix

Criterion	Weight	Umami (Self-Host)	Plausible (Self-Host)	Umami Cloud	Plausible Cloud	Simple Analytics
Budget Fit	35%	10/10	7/10	6/10	8/10	4/10
Cookieless Tracking	25%	10/10	10/10	10/10	10/10	10/10
Privacy/Self-Host	20%	10/10	9/10	5/10	5/10	2/10
Ease of Setup	10%	8/10	7/10	10/10	10/10	10/10
Resource Efficiency	10%	9/10	5/10	10/10	10/10	10/10
Weighted Total		9.5	7.9	7.4	8.6	5.6

Umami (Self-Hosted) - Recommended

Pricing:

Software: Free (open-source)
VPS hosting: $4-20/month depending on provider
Total: $48-240/year

Why it fits your situation:

Budget-optimized: At 2K users generating ~200K events/month, a $4-5 Hetzner VPS is sufficient (only 500MB RAM needed)
Privacy-first by design: Cookieless by default, no personal data collection, GDPR/CCPA compliant out of the box
Self-hosting capability: Complete data ownership on your infrastructure, no third-party data sharing
Minimal overhead: Lightweight tracker script (<2KB), Postgres backend easier to manage than ClickHouse

Strengths:

Lowest total cost: Free software + $4/month VPS = $48/year (vs. $108/year for Plausible Cloud)
True data ownership: All analytics data stays on your server
Easy configuration: Environment variables for renaming tracker scripts help bypass ad blockers
Sufficient features: Real-time data, custom events, goal tracking, geographic data
Docker deployment: Simple setup with Docker Compose
Lower resource usage: Uses 50% less server resources than Plausible self-hosted

Weaknesses:

Self-hosting responsibility: You maintain infrastructure, updates, backups
Limited advanced features: No heatmaps, session replay, or A/B testing
Community support only: No official support tickets
Manual scaling: Performance beyond 100K events/month may require optimization

Alternative Tools Evaluated

Plausible (Self-Hosted):

Pricing: Free software + $10-20/month VPS (requires more RAM for ClickHouse)
Why not recommended: ClickHouse backend requires significantly more RAM than Postgres, driving VPS costs higher
When to consider: If you anticipate rapid growth to 10K+ users

Umami Cloud:

Pricing: $9/month for 100K events
Why not recommended: $108/year vs. $48/year self-hosted; you lose self-hosting control
When to consider: If you lack technical capacity or want zero maintenance

Plausible Cloud:

Pricing: $9/month for 10K pageviews
Why not recommended: More expensive than Umami Cloud, pageview limits may be tight
When to consider: If you prioritize beautiful UI and hosted convenience

12-Month Cost Projection

Assumptions: 2,000 users, ~20K events/month

Month	VPS Option	Umami Self-Host	Umami Cloud	Plausible Cloud	Simple Analytics
1-3	Hetzner CAX11	$13.35	$27	$27	$45
4-6	Same	$13.35	$27	$27	$45
7-9	Same	$13.35	$27	$27	$45
10-12	Same	$13.35	$27	$27	$45
12-Month Total		$53	$108	$108	$180

Note: Umami self-hosted costs based on Hetzner CAX11 ARM VPS (€4.45/month ≈ $4.80/month).

Implementation Plan

Week 1: Server Setup & Deployment

Choose VPS provider:
- Budget option: Hetzner CAX11 (€4.45/month, ARM-based, includes backups)
- Alternative: DigitalOcean Basic Droplet ($6/month)

Clone Umami repository:

git clone https://github.com/umami-software/umami.git
cd umami

Configure Docker Compose:

cp docker-compose.yml.example docker-compose.yml
# Edit docker-compose.yml with your domain and database credentials

Deploy with Docker:
```
docker-compose up -d
```
Verify deployment: Access https://your-domain.com and login with default credentials (admin/umami)

Week 2: Tracking Setup

Create your website profile in Umami dashboard

Get tracking code snippet:

<script defer src="https://your-domain.com/script.js" data-website-id="your-id"></script>

Add snippet to your B2C app’s <head> section
Verify events: Check Umami “Realtime” tab while browsing your app

Configure custom events for key actions:

umami.track('signup_completed');
umami.track('purchase', {product: 'premium', value: 29.99});

Week 3: Privacy Optimization

Confirm cookieless mode is active (default setting)
Set up IP anonymization (enabled by default)
Configure custom domain for tracker (helps with ad blockers):
- Set environment variable: TRACKER_SCRIPT_NAME=analytics.js

Update privacy policy:

"We use Umami Analytics, a privacy-first, cookieless analytics tool 
self-hosted on our infrastructure. No personal data is collected."

Week 4: Monitoring & Optimization

Set up automated backups:

# Daily Postgres backup cron job
0 2 * * * docker exec umami_db pg_dump -U umami > /backup/umami_$(date +\%Y\%m\%d).sql

Configure server monitoring (UptimeRobot free tier)
Review analytics dashboard and create bookmarked views
Document login credentials and recovery procedures

What You Gain

Maximum cost savings: $48-53/year vs. $108-180/year for cloud alternatives (55-70% savings)
Complete privacy control: Zero third-party data sharing, all data on your infrastructure
True cookieless tracking: GDPR/CCPA compliant by default, no consent banner needed for analytics
Data ownership: Can export, migrate, or modify data anytime without vendor lock-in
Ad-blocker resilience: Self-hosting with custom script names bypasses many blockers
Unlimited retention: Keep analytics data as long as your server storage allows
Scalability runway: Same VPS handles 2K to 10K+ users without cost increase

What You Lose

Managed infrastructure: You’re responsible for server maintenance, updates, security patches
Instant setup: Self-hosting takes hours vs. minutes for cloud signup
Official support: No support tickets; rely on documentation and community forums
Advanced features: No session replay, heatmaps, A/B testing

Alternative Recommendations

If you want zero maintenance (but higher cost):

Use Umami Cloud ($9/month = $108/year)
Pros: Managed infrastructure, automatic updates, official support
Cons: 2x the cost of self-hosting, less control over data location

If you prioritize best UI/UX (and can spend more):

Use Plausible Cloud ($9/month = $108/year)
Pros: Beautiful single-page dashboard, excellent documentation
Cons: Pageview-based pricing may be limiting

If you need more advanced analytics:

Use PostHog Cloud (free tier: 1M events/month)
Pros: Product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing
Cons: Session replay requires cookies (conflicts with cookieless requirement)

What NOT to Do

Don’t use Google Analytics: Violates your privacy-first philosophy, requires cookie consent
Don’t start with Matomo self-hosted: Heavy resource requirements will require expensive VPS ($20-40/month)
Don’t pay for Simple Analytics: At $180/year, you’re paying 3.4x more than Umami self-hosted
Don’t over-engineer analytics: Resist adding session replay or heatmaps that compromise cookieless tracking
Don’t skip backups: Set up your own database dumps even with VPS provider backups
Don’t neglect security updates: Set up automatic security updates for your VPS OS

Research Notes

Pricing research conducted: January 2026
Key sources: Umami GitHub, Plausible vs Umami comparisons, Self-hosting guides
Note: VPS pricing fluctuates with exchange rates. Verify current Hetzner/DigitalOcean pricing before committing.

Privacy-First B2C App with Self-Hosting

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