GoatCounter

GoatCounter

GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics platform that respects user privacy. It is a simple, easy-to-use alternative to Google Analytics that does not use cookies and does not track or profile users.
GoatCounter image
privacy opensource selfhosted web-analytics

GoatCounter: Open-Source Web Analytics Platform

GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics platform that respects user privacy. It is a simple, easy-to-use alternative to Google Analytics that does not use cookies and does not track or profile users.

What is GoatCounter?

GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics platform developed with a strong focus on privacy. Unlike other analytics services like Google Analytics, GoatCounter does not use cookies to track users across websites, and does not collect or store any personally identifiable data.

Some key features of GoatCounter include:

  • Easy setup - Just add a single JavaScript file to your website.
  • Visitors metric - Get an accurate count of total unique visitors.
  • Pageviews metric - Track total pageviews and top pages.
  • Referrers - See where visitors come from.
  • No user tracking - The focus is on simple counts, not user profiles.
  • Lightweight - Very little data sent or stored.
  • Open source - Host it yourself for complete data ownership.

GoatCounter aims to provide easy yet meaningful and privacy-centric website analytics. For those looking for an ethical alternative to services like Google Analytics, GoatCounter strikes an excellent balance between usability and user privacy.

GoatCounter Features

Features

  1. Simple and lightweight
  2. Open source
  3. Privacy focused - no user tracking
  4. Customizable and hackable
  5. Can self-host or use hosted service
  6. Real-time stats
  7. Good documentation
  8. Browser extension available
  9. Email reports

Pricing

  • Freemium
  • Open Source

Pros

Respects user privacy

Easy to setup and use

Lightweight and fast

Open source and transparent

Great for small sites

Good free plan available

Self-hostable

Cons

Less features than Google Analytics

Requires some technical knowledge to setup

Limited customization in free plan

No mobile app


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