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MotherDuck vs Plausible Analytics

A side-by-side editorial comparison of MotherDuck and Plausible Analytics — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

MotherDuck vs Plausible Analytics: at a glance

FeatureMotherDuckPlausible Analytics
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score6.30.0
Sparks · 30d10
Top themesduckdb-cloud, agentic-analytics, data-apps, access-controlweb analytics, privacy, self-hosted, segments
Last editorial update1d ago17d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is MotherDuck?

MotherDuck adds who-can-open controls to Dives and a SQL view of compute usage.

MotherDuck ships a weekly changelog. The November 12 release lets owners keep a Dive private or share it with roles, users or the whole organization, with matching GRANT READ ON DIVE commands; new Dives start private. Flight run access can now be managed in the UI, and Business plans can query hourly Duckling usage per user from MD_INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COMPUTE_USAGE. It lands a week after the redesign that put Agent Chat on the home screen.

Read the full MotherDuck trajectory →

What is Plausible Analytics?

Plausible's tracked feed stops at a Dec 2025 pre-release that limits shared links to a segment.

The release feed SparkPulse tracks for Plausible Analytics only holds Community Edition pre-releases, and the newest is v3.2.0-rc.0 from December 2025. That build shows a visitor-percentage breakdown on every report and lets shared links be limited to one segment. v3.1.0-rc.0 before it introduced a per-site dynamic tracking script, an optional non-interactive flag for events, and a reworked dark theme.

Read the full Plausible Analytics trajectory →

MotherDuck vs Plausible Analytics: editorial side-by-side

M
MotherDuck
ANALYTICS
6.3

MotherDuck adds who-can-open controls to Dives and a SQL view of compute usage.

◆ Current state

MotherDuck ships a weekly changelog. The November 12 release lets owners keep a Dive private or share it with roles, users or the whole organization, with matching GRANT READ ON DIVE commands; new Dives start private. Flight run access can now be managed in the UI, and Business plans can query hourly Duckling usage per user from MD_INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COMPUTE_USAGE. It lands a week after the redesign that put Agent Chat on the home screen.

◆ Where it's heading

The agent-first redesign made Dives and Flights the things people create; the releases since are about controlling who sees and runs them and what they cost. Governance that began with row- and column-level security in October now covers the agent-built objects too.

◆ Prediction

Next likely are finer controls on what Agent Chat can do on a user's behalf, or usage limits built on the new compute usage view, since both follow from the permissions and cost work in the last two releases.

P0.0

Plausible's tracked feed stops at a Dec 2025 pre-release that limits shared links to a segment.

◆ Current state

The release feed SparkPulse tracks for Plausible Analytics only holds Community Edition pre-releases, and the newest is v3.2.0-rc.0 from December 2025. That build shows a visitor-percentage breakdown on every report and lets shared links be limited to one segment. v3.1.0-rc.0 before it introduced a per-site dynamic tracking script, an optional non-interactive flag for events, and a reworked dark theme.

◆ Where it's heading

Across the 3.x line Plausible has been adding analysis depth to a deliberately simple dashboard: exit-rate sorting, new date shorthands, segments, and percentage breakdowns. Shared links and segments are being tied together, so a public or client-facing view can show a slice of the data. Self-hosters need to follow upgrade steps, including a required ClickHouse upgrade in 3.0.

◆ Prediction

The feed has nothing after December 2025, so it is unclear whether v3.2.0 went stable. If the tracked source updates, the next visible step is probably a v3.2.0 final with more segment and shared-link controls.

Alternatives to MotherDuck and Plausible Analytics

Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either MotherDuck or Plausible Analytics.

See all MotherDuck alternatives → · See all Plausible Analytics alternatives →

Recent activity from MotherDuck and Plausible Analytics

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2d agoMotherDuckDive sharing controls, Flight access UI and compute usage in SQL
  2. 11d agoMotherDuckRedesigned UI puts Agent Chat on the home screen ⚡
  3. 22d agoMotherDuckRow-level security, Dive write-back and Flight run grants
  4. 29d agoMotherDuckImage inputs for prompt_jev() and Agent Chat that builds Dives
  5. 1mo agoMotherDuckAdmin API user listing, connection timeouts, prompt_jev() in EU
  6. 1mo agoMotherDuckAI functions 50-60% cheaper; prompt_jev() billing begins
  7. 10mo agoPlausible AnalyticsPlausible 3.2 RC: segment-limited shared links, visitor % on reports
  8. 1y agoPlausible AnalyticsPlausible 3.1 RC1 fixes tracker config backfill
  9. 1y agoPlausible AnalyticsPlausible 3.1 RC: per-site tracking script, non-interactive events
  10. 1y agoPlausible AnalyticsPlausible 3.0 RC6: exit-rate sorting, 28d/91d, ClickHouse upgrade
  11. 1y agoPlausible AnalyticsPlausible 3.0 RC5: branch merge, no notes

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between MotherDuck and Plausible Analytics?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. MotherDuck is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is MotherDuck better than Plausible Analytics?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. MotherDuck is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to MotherDuck?

Top MotherDuck alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "MotherDuck alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/motherduck for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Plausible Analytics?

Top Plausible Analytics alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Plausible Analytics alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/plausible-analytics for the full list with editorial commentary on each.