ExpressVPN vs Plausible Analytics

ExpressVPN and Plausible Analytics (Simple, open source, lightweight (< 1 KB) and privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics.) both appear on the Smoower Developer Ecosystem Index.

Plausible Analytics (rank #338) holds a narrow lead over ExpressVPN (rank #569) on the overall Smoower ecosystem score (43 vs 35). The gap of 8 points reflects composite signals across code, docs, community and reach.

On code quality (the state of repositories, tests, releases and polish), ExpressVPN is slightly ahead of Plausible Analytics. On community (issue response, PR reviews and discussion health), Plausible Analytics is clearly ahead of ExpressVPN. On reach (how visible the ecosystem is beyond its own repos), Plausible Analytics is slightly ahead of ExpressVPN. On momentum (release cadence and how fast the ecosystem moves), Plausible Analytics is clearly ahead of ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN carries 1,250 GitHub stars across 12 public repos, with 3 repositories active in the last 90 days and 7 external contributors on record. Plausible Analytics shows 31,145 stars across 21 public repos, 7 active in the last 90 days and 23 external contributors. The star gap on its own does not decide the comparison, but Plausible Analytics's footprint is roughly 24.9x larger, which usually shows up in downstream signals like inbound issues and third party integrations.

ExpressVPN is the stronger read for anyone weighting code quality. Plausible Analytics looks better where community is the deciding factor. The table below breaks the scores down pillar by pillar; the linked profiles cover the underlying repos, docs and community signals in full.