happenstance vs Plausible

Skip the setup.
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Plausible is beautifully simple. But it's marketing analytics—page views and referrers. Happenstance gives you product analytics—every button, form, and user journey.

Happenstance

Zero-config

  1. 1 Add one script tag to your site
  2. 2 Done. Every interaction tracked automatically.
~30 seconds

Plausible

Traditional setup

  1. 1 Create Plausible account
  2. 2 Add their script tag
  3. 3 Page views work automatically
  4. 4 But for custom events...
  5. 5 Add plausible() calls to your code
  6. 6 Define each event manually
Hours to days

Plausible is a breath of fresh air in the analytics world. Simple, privacy-friendly, and beautiful. But it's designed for marketing metrics—page views, referrers, and basic goals. For product analytics—tracking which buttons get clicked, which forms get abandoned, which features drive engagement—you need Happenstance.

Feature Comparison

FeatureHappenstancePlausible
Zero-config setup
Automatic event discovery
Page view tracking
Custom event trackingAutomaticManual
Button click tracking
Form submit tracking
Error tracking
Goal tracking
Funnel analysis
Privacy-friendly
No cookies
Open source
Free tier10k events/moNone

Why teams switch

Teams love Plausible's simplicity but outgrow it when they need deeper product insights. Tracking custom events in Plausible requires code changes for each event. Happenstance discovers every interaction automatically—no instrumentation needed.

How to migrate from Plausible

  1. 1 Add the Happenstance script tag alongside your Plausible script.
  2. 2 Notice how Happenstance automatically discovers clicks and form submissions that Plausible doesn't track.
  3. 3 Set up goals in Happenstance to match your Plausible goals.
  4. 4 Remove the Plausible script tag when you're ready.
  5. 5 Enjoy deeper product insights with the same privacy-first approach.

Who should use what

Choose Happenstance if...

You want product analytics — click tracking, form submissions, error capture, and user journeys — with the same simplicity and privacy that drew you to Plausible.

Choose Plausible if...

You only need marketing metrics — page views, referrers, and basic goals. Plausible's open-source model and EU hosting are also key differentiators.

Integration Code

Happenstance (complete setup)

<script src="https://happenstance.click/v1/track.js"></script>

Plausible (just initialization)

<!-- Plausible script (page views only) -->
<script src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js">
</script>

<!-- For custom events, add code: -->
<script>
plausible('Signup', {props: {plan: 'Pro'}});
</script>

Plausible is perfect for content sites and marketing pages where page views are the main metric. Happenstance is for product teams who need to understand user behavior at the interaction level.

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