A sensible starting point for self-hosting Plausible Analytics is a Docker-capable VPS with an x86_64 or ARM64 processor supporting SSE 4.2 or NEON, at least 4 GB of RAM for a small production deployment, and persistent SSD storage. Plausible Community Edition v3.2.1 documents 2 GB of RAM as a lower recommendation, but actual needs rise with event volume, retention, backups and other services sharing the machine.
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Quick answer: the server Plausible expects
Plausible Community Edition runs as a Docker-based stack rather than as a single lightweight binary. A normal installation includes the Plausible application, PostgreSQL for application and user data, and ClickHouse for analytics events. Your host therefore needs enough memory and persistent storage for several services, not just the web interface.
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- Operating model: Docker and Docker Compose are required by the Community Edition setup.
- CPU: x86_64 or ARM64 is suitable when the processor supports SSE 4.2 or NEON instructions. ClickHouse requires that instruction set.
- Memory: the current Community Edition README, version 3.2.1, recommends at least 2 GB of RAM. For a new production VPS where Plausible is the principal workload, 4 GB gives safer headroom.
- Storage: use persistent SSD-backed storage. There is no official universal disk quota; event volume, retention, Docker images, logs, backups and the operating system determine the requirement.
- Network and DNS: you must control DNS for the domain or subdomain, set a complete
BASE_URL, and provide HTTPS either through the current Community Edition TLS configuration or a reverse proxy. - Secrets: create a unique
SECRET_KEY_BASEof at least 64 bytes.
The official README states: “CPU must support SSE 4.2 or NEON instruction set or higher (required by ClickHouse).” That is a compatibility requirement, not a performance guarantee. Plausible does not publish a fixed vCPU count, maximum visitor number or universal events-per-second ceiling.
How much RAM does Plausible need?
What the current Community Edition documentation says
The v3.2.1 Community Edition README, published in 2026, recommends at least 2 GB of RAM to run ClickHouse and Plausible without fear of out-of-memory errors. This is the current lower recommendation for the software itself, not a promise that every traffic level will fit in 2 GB.
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Why 4 GB is the safer production choice
An earlier official getting-started guide recommends a 4 GB minimum for Community Edition and notes that requirements depend on site traffic. The two figures describe different guidance versions rather than a contradiction: 2 GB is a documented small-installation starting point, while 4 GB leaves room for database activity, Docker overhead, operating-system caches, updates and brief traffic spikes.
Use 2 GB for an evaluation or genuinely small site only if you can watch memory closely and accept that ClickHouse may need more room as data accumulates. Choose 4 GB when Plausible is serving one or several low-to-moderate traffic sites. Add memory when the same VPS also runs a web application, mail service, monitoring stack, build jobs or other databases.
CPU architecture and core count
Instruction-set compatibility comes first
Check the processor architecture and instruction flags before ordering a VPS. Traditional deployments target x86_64. Current Community Edition documentation also supports ARM64 when NEON is available. On x86 systems, SSE 4.2 must be present. These instructions are needed by ClickHouse, so a nominally fast but incompatible processor will not solve the problem.
There is no official vCPU minimum
Plausible’s reviewed official material does not specify one, two or four required virtual CPUs. CPU demand depends on concurrent dashboard queries, incoming event volume, retention work, backups and any unrelated processes on the host. A one-vCPU, one-gigabyte instance should be treated as an anecdotal risk, not as a supported sizing benchmark: a support-thread user reported repeated outages at that size and later moved to 4 vCPUs and 6 GB of RAM. That experience cannot establish a universal requirement.
For planning, begin with two vCPUs for a small standalone installation and move to four or more when event ingestion, dashboard use or other workloads regularly saturate the processor. Monitor before resizing rather than assuming a particular core count guarantees a visitor limit.
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Storage: plan for ClickHouse growth, not just installation files
The Docker images are only part of the disk requirement. Persistent storage must accommodate:
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- ClickHouse analytics events and its active data parts;
- PostgreSQL application, account and configuration data;
- Docker images, container layers and update leftovers;
- operating-system packages, logs and temporary files; and
- local or staged backup files.
ClickHouse usage grows with the number of events collected and how long you retain them. A site receiving more page views, tracking more custom events or retaining data for longer will consume storage faster than a small brochure site. No official Plausible document reviewed here publishes a fixed disk size, event-to-gigabyte conversion or page-view ceiling, so do not choose a disk by copying a generic “minimum” number.
SSD and expansion considerations
Persistent SSD-backed storage is the practical baseline for database responsiveness and recovery. When comparing VPS plans, check whether the disk can be expanded without rebuilding the server, whether snapshots are consistent with running databases, and whether backups are stored separately from the production volume. Leave free space for merges, upgrades and temporary backup files; a database that has reached 100 percent disk usage can fail even when its nominal capacity looked adequate.
DNS, URLs, ports and HTTPS
Use a dedicated hostname
You need authority over DNS for the hostname that will serve Plausible, such as an analytics subdomain. Set BASE_URL to the complete public URL, including the scheme and hostname. Plausible is not designed for installation under a URL subfolder, so plan for a host such as analytics.example.com rather than example.com/analytics.
Choose how TLS is terminated
The current Community Edition setup can bind HTTP and HTTPS ports and request Let’s Encrypt certificates. Follow that setup when Plausible should handle the public TLS endpoint directly.
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The older stack listens on port 8000 and does not terminate SSL itself. In that arrangement, put a reverse proxy such as Caddy, Nginx, Traefik or a managed proxy in front of Plausible, forward requests to the application port, and handle certificates at the proxy. Do not expose an HTTP-only administration endpoint to the public internet when the deployment is intended for production.
Secrets, databases and email prerequisites
Generate a unique application secret
SECRET_KEY_BASE must be a random value at least 64 bytes long. Generate it with the OpenSSL method documented in Plausible’s configuration guidance, store it in the environment configuration, and never reuse the example value from documentation or another installation. Changing it later can invalidate existing sessions and encrypted data, so protect it like a database credential.
Understand the two-database layout
PostgreSQL stores application and user information. ClickHouse stores the analytics event workload. Both require persistent volumes and a backup plan. Backing up only the VPS configuration or only PostgreSQL does not preserve the complete analytics service.
Configure SMTP when email verification is enabled
Email delivery is needed for normal verification flows when SMTP is enabled. If you do not configure SMTP, use the documented manual administrator verification procedure instead of assuming that signup mail will work. Test delivery before inviting additional users, and keep provider credentials out of publicly readable compose files.
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The following profiles are operational starting points derived from the official 2 GB and 4 GB guidance, the workload-dependent wording, and the need to leave room for database and host overhead. They are not a capacity chart published by Plausible.
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| Profile | Starting specification | Suitable for | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small test instance | 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, persistent SSD | Evaluation or a very small site | Watch memory, ClickHouse activity and out-of-memory events closely. |
| General small production | 2–4 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, persistent SSD | One or several low-to-moderate traffic sites | Increase disk and memory as event volume and retention grow. |
| Higher traffic or shared host | 4 or more vCPU, 6–8 GB or more RAM, faster SSD | Larger event volume, longer retention or several services on one VPS | Benchmark your workload and monitor continuously; there is no official capacity guarantee. |
Do not interpret the table as a visitor promise. A site with heavy custom-event tracking can outgrow a plan faster than a site with the same number of page views but fewer events and shorter retention.
Installation sequence for a new VPS
- Validate the host: confirm Docker, Docker Compose, persistent SSD storage and a processor with SSE 4.2 or NEON. Verify that the architecture is x86_64 or supported ARM64.
- Prepare DNS: create the A or AAAA record for the hostname you will use and wait for it to resolve to the VPS.
- Obtain the Community Edition files: clone the official repository and pin a release when reproducible deployments matter. Avoid silently tracking an unreviewed development branch.
- Set the public URL: enter the complete scheme and hostname in
BASE_URL; do not use a subfolder path. - Create the secret: generate a unique
SECRET_KEY_BASEof at least 64 bytes with the documented OpenSSL procedure. - Configure exposure: either enable the current HTTP/HTTPS port and Let’s Encrypt flow or place the service behind a correctly configured reverse proxy.
- Start the stack: run
docker compose up -d, then inspect container status and logs. Confirm that PostgreSQL, ClickHouse and Plausible remain healthy after startup. - Test the application: open the HTTPS hostname, create or verify the administrator account, and send a test event from a site before directing production traffic.
- Finish operations work: configure SMTP if required, establish backups, set disk and memory alerts, document update procedures and restrict administrative access.
Operational work you must budget for
Self-hosting transfers routine responsibility from a hosted service to you. Apply releases, perform migrations when a release requires them, patch the operating system, secure SSH and firewall access, monitor memory and disk, renew or test TLS certificates, and verify that backups can actually be restored.
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Minimum monitoring signals
- RAM pressure, swap activity and container out-of-memory kills;
- free disk space and ClickHouse data growth;
- container restart counts and failed health checks;
- database backup age and restore-test results; and
- TLS expiry, DNS resolution and reverse-proxy error rates.
Troubleshooting common sizing and setup failures
The service is killed for out-of-memory errors
Check host memory and container logs first. Stop unrelated workloads, reduce competing services, or move from a 2 GB plan to 4 GB or more. Increasing CPU alone will not correct a memory shortage. Review retention and event volume if usage has grown since installation.
Disk usage rises unexpectedly
Check ClickHouse data, Docker image layers, logs and backup files separately. Confirm that retention settings match your reporting needs, rotate or relocate logs appropriately, and expand the persistent volume before it reaches capacity. Keep backups on separate storage so a full production disk does not also destroy the only copy.
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The hostname works over HTTP but HTTPS fails
Verify that DNS resolves to the correct host, the required HTTPS port is reachable, and the certificate method matches your architecture. If using the older stack, remember that it needs a reverse proxy for TLS. Check proxy forwarding and BASE_URL for scheme or hostname mismatches.
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Confirm that the VPS is ARM64 rather than a different ARM variant and that NEON is available. A container image or dependency may also need to support your architecture; check the release documentation before moving production data.
Users never receive verification mail
Validate SMTP host, port, credentials and sender settings, then inspect both application logs and the mail provider’s delivery records. If email verification is not available, use Plausible’s documented manual administrator verification path.
Privacy and license context
Plausible Community Edition is the free self-hosted release and is open source under AGPLv3 or later. Plausible’s security documentation states: “The raw IP address and User-Agent are never stored in logs, databases or anywhere on disk.” That describes Plausible’s stated handling by the application. You still control reverse-proxy logs, operating-system logs, backups, access permissions and retention on your own server, so configure those layers to match your privacy obligations.
How to compare VPS plans for Plausible
Compare infrastructure on the dimensions that affect this stack rather than on advertised CPU counts alone:
- Memory headroom: enough RAM for ClickHouse, PostgreSQL, the application, Docker and the host without constant swapping.
- Architecture and instructions: x86_64 or ARM64 with SSE 4.2 or NEON.
- Storage behavior: persistent SSD performance, expansion options, snapshots and separate backup storage.
- Network and DNS: reliable connectivity, control of the required DNS records and straightforward reverse-proxy integration.
- Location: a region that meets latency and data-residency requirements for your organization.
- Support and recovery: documented restore procedures, monitoring options and a support channel appropriate to your risk.
- Total cost: include backups, additional storage, snapshots, traffic overages and a larger plan when retention increases.
Provider pricing changes frequently and is separate from Plausible’s software requirements. Treat the specifications above as a compatibility and planning baseline, then measure your own event workload.
Bottom line
Plausible can run on a 2 GB VPS for a small installation, because the current Community Edition README recommends that amount as a lower starting point. For a new production deployment, a Docker-capable 4 GB VPS with two or more vCPUs, persistent SSD storage, a compatible x86_64 or ARM64 CPU, controlled DNS and HTTPS is the safer default. Size upward when event volume, retention, backups or neighboring services increase, because Plausible publishes no universal vCPU, disk or visitor limit.
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