Compare · Plausible
Skald vs Plausible: a light script tag beside the whole server log
Skald vs Plausible is not a fight. Plausible counts people with a small, cookie-free script. Skald reads your server's log, so it also sees the AI crawlers, assistants and scanners a script never meets.
Skald vs Plausible is a choice between two ways of counting. Plausible runs a JavaScript snippet in each page and counts the browsers that run it. Skald reads the access log your server already writes, so every request is counted, people and machines, in five groups that add up to the log. Both can run on your own server.
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- 09:14:02 198.51.100.7 "GET /pricing/" ref "google.com"both see it
- 09:14:05 198.51.100.9 "GET /docs/" · ad-blocker onlog only
- 09:14:06 203.0.113.24 "GET /pricing/" "GPTBot/1.2"log only
- 09:14:08 198.51.100.140 "GET /docs/setup/" "ChatGPT-User"log only
- 09:14:11 192.0.2.77 "GET /.env" 404log only
Sample lines. A script tag counts the browsers that run it. The server log has every request.
[01] question by question
Skald vs Plausible, question by question
Pick what you need to know. The table lights those questions and shows how each tool answers them. Every comparison is on Skald alternatives and comparisons.
What do you need to know? pick one
AI and machines: Plausible is built to count people and filters machines out, so it answers none of these 5. Skald answers all 5 from your server log.
| The question | PlausibleJavaScript snippet | Skaldyour server log |
|---|---|---|
| Which AI training crawlers read your pages? (GPTBot, ClaudeBot) | No, filtered out, not reported | Yes, page by page |
| Did an assistant fetch a page live, for someone? (ChatGPT-User) | No | Yes, kept apart from training crawls |
| Why did the AI come: training, a live question, or a click? | No | Yes, three reasons, never added together |
| Which search engine crawlers came? | No, excluded | Yes, in their own group |
| Who is probing for .env and wp-login? | No | Yes, with what your server answered |
| Visitors and visits | Yes | Yes, as an upper bound on people |
| People who clicked through from an AI assistant | Yes, an AI Assistants channel since June 2026 | Yes, by assistant; a floor, as apps strip referrers |
| Visitors who decline cookies | Yes, no cookies | Yes, the log needs no cookie |
| Visitors with an ad-blocker | A 5 to 25% gap without its proxy, by its own estimate | Yes, the server logs every request |
| Works where you cannot read the server's log | Yes, one snippet on any host | People only, with the script tag; no AI or bots |
| Search queries, impressions, position | Through its Search Console integration | Synced from Search Console and Bing every 6 hours |
| Each visit's pages in order | Not in the free Community Edition | Yes |
| Events inside the page (clicks, sign-ups) | Yes, goals and events | Yes, with the optional script tag |
| Funnels | On its Business plan | Yes, counted every day by source and device |
| Leads by source and AI assistant | Goals by source | Yes, first and last touch, from signed webhooks |
| Retention cohorts | No | Yes, by week, split by first source |
| Totals must add up, or the day is withheld | No | Yes |
| A second, separate recount of every figure | No | Yes, every day |
| Runs on your own server | Community Edition, with fewer features | Yes, free to self-host, every feature |
| Raw requests and addresses | No, it never stores IP addresses | Yes, if you choose to keep them |
| Email alerts | Yes, traffic spikes and drops | Yes, site, AI and security alerts |
What each tool is built to do, as we read their own docs in October 2026. If we have yours wrong, tell us.
[02] to be fair
Where Plausible does more than Skald
Plausible is a good tool for what it is built to do. Here is where it is the better pick, so you can choose with open eyes.
Any host, one snippet
Plausible works wherever you can paste a script: a site builder, a static host, a shop. Skald needs a server or CDN log to see machines. Without one, its script tag sees people only.
Nothing to run
Plausible's cloud needs no server at all. Skald runs on a server: yours, or ours if we host it for you.
No addresses, by design
Plausible never stores IP addresses. Skald can keep them, so you can look a person up; you choose full, shortened or none.
[03] what the log adds
What Skald sees that a script tag never meets
Crawlers, AI fetchers and scanners never run a page's JavaScript. Your server still writes a line for each of them, and Skald files every line in one of five groups.
People, AI assistants, search engines, bots and scanners, and your own traffic. The five add up to the log, and a second count checks every figure.
- people 198.51.100.23 "GET /docs/setup/" ref "chatgpt.com"from ChatGPT
- AI 198.51.100.140 "GET /docs/setup/" "ChatGPT-User"live fetch
- search 203.0.113.66 "GET /blog/" "Googlebot"verified
- bots 192.0.2.200 "GET /" "GPTBot/1.2"claims to be GPTBot
- ours 192.0.2.10 "GET /pricing/"your office
[04] use both
Keep Plausible for people, add Skald for the rest
The two never fight over a visitor. Plausible's script and Skald's log reader can run on the same site, and each answers its own questions.
Keep Plausible for
Simple, cookie-free people counts from one snippet, and sites where you cannot read the server's log.
Add Skald for
AI crawlers and live fetches, what each crawler cost your server, who is probing for secret files, and leads joined to the pages they read.
Trust both
Skald's figures add up to the log and are counted twice. A day that does not agree is withheld, never guessed.
[05] choose by the question
Plausible, Skald, or both
- "How many people came, on a host with no log?" Plausible.
- "Which AI crawlers and assistants read us?" Skald, from the log.
- "Did the page ChatGPT read bring a lead?" Skald.
- "What did people search for?" Search Console, synced into either.
What it does not do
- Without a server or CDN log (some site builders, beacon only), Skald sees people only, through its script tag: no AI crawlers, fetchers or bots.
- Visits are an upper bound on people, never an exact count of humans.
- AI clicks are a floor: an app that strips the referrer sends a direct visit. Likely visits are shown apart, never added.
- Skald runs on a server. If you want nothing to run, Plausible's cloud is simpler.
keep reading
More on Skald vs Plausible
questions
Skald vs Plausible FAQ
Straight answers, including what Skald does not do.
Is Skald a Plausible alternative?
For counting people, both work, and Plausible is simpler to add to any host. Skald is the one to pick when you also need what a script never sees: AI crawlers, AI assistants fetching your pages, search engine crawlers and scanners. Many sites keep Plausible and add Skald beside it.
Does Plausible show AI crawlers like GPTBot?
No. As we read Plausible's own docs in October 2026, it filters bots and AI crawlers out and does not report them. It does show people who clicked through from an AI assistant, in an AI Assistants channel added in June 2026. Skald reads the server log, so it shows the crawlers, the live fetches and the click-throughs, each kept apart.
Do both work without cookies?
Yes. Plausible's script sets no cookies. Skald counts from the server log, which needs nothing in the browser. Skald's optional script tag sets no cookie by default either. Signing in to Skald's dashboard uses one session cookie, for your own team.
Which one counts visitors with an ad-blocker?
Skald, because the server writes a log line whatever the browser blocks. Plausible's own docs estimate a 5 to 25% gap when its script runs without its proxy.
Can I self-host both?
Yes. Plausible's Community Edition is AGPLv3 and has fewer features than its cloud. Skald is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0 and free to self-host, with every feature.
Which one should I use?
Plausible if you want simple, cookie-free people counts on any host, including hosts with no server log. Skald if you want every visitor, crawler and AI fetch from your own log, with checked figures and leads joined to their visits. Both together if you want both views.
$ tail -f access.log | skald
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