GoatCounter

Open source alternative to Google Analytics, Plausible Analytics, Fathom Analytics, Simple Analytics, Matomo Cloud and Piwik PRO

6.1K stars
EUPL-1.2 (modified)
Active recently
Last commit 38 days ago

Last verified Nov 5, 2026

Track website visitors without cookies or personal data; runs self-hosted or free at goatcounter.com with no GDPR consent banner required.

Visit website GitHub6.1K Deploy on Hostinger

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs, the quick start and the FAQ

who it's for

Who GoatCounter is for#

Personal site and portfolio owners

GoatCounter is a natural fit for personal websites and portfolios that want basic traffic data: which posts are popular, where visitors come from, which countries send traffic. The free hosted service at goatcounter.com requires no server and takes under five minutes to set up with a single script tag.

Skip if:

Skip if you need conversion tracking, goal funnels, or any form of event attribution beyond pageview counting. GoatCounter is a pageview and referral tool; event analytics require a different approach.

Developers building privacy-conscious applications

Developers adding analytics to their own applications benefit from GoatCounter's REST API and backend middleware integration, which lets them record events server-side without any client-side JavaScript. Logfile import from nginx, Apache, Caddy, and CloudFront is also supported, enabling analytics without any code change to the application.

Skip if:

Skip if your application needs user-level tracking, session replay, or product analytics such as click maps or heatmaps. GoatCounter is designed around aggregated privacy-safe counts, not individual user journeys.

Small businesses avoiding GDPR compliance overhead

Small businesses that want traffic data without GDPR consent banners and ongoing cookie policy maintenance can use GoatCounter without collecting personal data, removing the need for a consent management tool. The free hosted service handles the infrastructure; the self-hosted path gives full data ownership.

Skip if:

Skip if your marketing team needs campaign attribution, multi-channel conversion tracking, or audience segmentation. GoatCounter does not support these workflows.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Most web analytics tools track users across sessions using cookies or persistent fingerprints, which triggers GDPR consent requirements and forces site owners to display consent banners on every page. For personal sites and small businesses, managing that compliance process is a significant ongoing pain: banner copy must be legally reviewed, consent preferences must be stored and honored, and data processing agreements must be in place with the analytics provider.

Beneath the compliance burden is a usability gap. Tools like Google Analytics and Matomo offer deep segmentation, funnel analysis, and campaign attribution, but most small site owners use almost none of it. The gap between what the tool measures and what an owner actually reads means analytics become background noise rather than actionable information. Many site owners end up either disabling analytics or running them without looking at the data.

how GoatCounter solves it

How it solves it#

No-cookie unique visit counting

GoatCounter identifies unique visits using a daily rotating salt that generates a non-identifiable session hash. The hash cannot be linked back to a specific user across days, so visits are counted accurately without any cookie, local storage entry, or persistent identifier. Technical details are documented at goatcounter.com/help/sessions.

~3.5KB JavaScript or no-JavaScript tracking pixel

The standard integration adds approximately 3.5KB of JavaScript to your site via a single script tag. For sites where JavaScript is unavailable or undesirable, GoatCounter also supports a no-JavaScript image-based tracking pixel, backend middleware integration via REST API, and logfile import from nginx, Apache, Caddy, or CloudFront.

Single statically-compiled binary with no runtime dependencies

GoatCounter ships as a single Go binary with no runtime dependencies beyond SQLite (bundled) or PostgreSQL. Download the binary for your platform, run goatcounter serve, and the server starts on port 8080. No Node.js, Ruby, or Python runtime is required. Docker images are also published at arp242/goatcounter on DockerHub.

Fine-grained data collection control

Site owners can configure which data GoatCounter collects and stores, including browser information, country, screen size, and referrals, each independently. The privacy policy and GDPR documentation are published at goatcounter.com/privacy and goatcounter.com/gdpr, and the source code is fully auditable on GitHub.

Built-in TLS with automatic ACME certificate management

GoatCounter's built-in HTTP server supports TLS with automatic certificate generation via ACME (Let's Encrypt). Running in production requires no separate reverse proxy: start with goatcounter serve -listen=:443 -tls=tls,rdr,acme. This is distinct from most self-hosted analytics tools, which require a separate nginx or Caddy layer.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

No GDPR consent banner requiredBecause GoatCounter does not process personal data or set cookies, it does not trigger GDPR's consent requirements for most deployments. Site owners running GoatCounter on EU visitors can typically skip the cookie banner entirely, reducing page friction and removing an ongoing compliance task. The documentation at goatcounter.com/gdpr covers the specific legal basis.
Free for personal and small-to-medium business useThe hosted service at goatcounter.com is free for personal sites and small-to-medium businesses with reasonable traffic. Self-hosting is also free with no per-seat or per-pageview limits. Subscription-based alternatives like Plausible Analytics start at $9/month (up to 10k pageviews, plausible.io, read 2026-11-05) and Fathom Analytics at $15/month (up to 100k pageviews, usefathom.com/pricing, read 2026-11-05); GoatCounter covers the same core use cases at no cost.
EUPL-1.2 (modified) open source with full self-hosting rightsGoatCounter is licensed under EUPL-1.2 (modified), which grants the right to self-host for any purpose, including internal commercial use, with no licensing fee. The only difference from standard EUPL-1.2 is a narrowed compatible-licences appendix. Copyleft applies only when you distribute a modified version: running your own private instance has no such requirement. The source code is fully auditable on GitHub at arp242/goatcounter.
Accessible interface for assistive technologyAccessibility is a stated high-priority feature in GoatCounter's design. The dashboard is built to work with screen readers and other assistive technology, which is uncommon among analytics tools. This matters for teams where dashboard users include people relying on assistive technology to navigate data-heavy interfaces.

Trade-offs

-No funnel analysis, conversion goals, or A/B testingGoatCounter tracks pageviews, referrals, browser data, location, and screen size, but does not support conversion goals, event funnels, A/B test tracking, or attribution modeling. Teams that need to measure product sign-ups, checkout completions, or campaign ROI will need a different tool. This is a deliberate scope constraint, not a roadmap gap.
-EUPL-1.2 (modified) copyleft applies when distributing modificationsDistributing a modified version of GoatCounter (for example, shipping it as a managed service to customers) requires releasing modifications under EUPL-1.2 (modified) or a compatible license. Running it privately for your own site or organization has no such restriction. Teams building a hosted analytics service on top of GoatCounter need to review the license terms before shipping.
-47 open issues; primarily single-maintainer developmentGoatCounter has 47 open issues and is primarily developed by one maintainer (arp242). Feature requests and bug fixes depend on a single contributor's availability. This is not unusual for a project with over 6,000 stars, but teams should factor maintainer availability into their evaluation for production-critical deployments.

versus alternatives

GoatCounter vs alternatives#

GoatCounter vs Google Analytics

Both tools track website traffic, but they serve different scopes. Google Analytics 4 is a full marketing analytics tool with event tracking, funnels, attribution, and advertising integrations; GoatCounter is focused on pageview and referral data for site owners who do not need that breadth.

Feature	GoatCounter	Google Analytics
License	EUPL-1.2 (modified)	Proprietary
Self-hosting	Yes	No
Cookie requirement	None	Required for some features
GDPR consent banner	Not required	Required
Data location	Your server or goatcounter.com	Google's servers
Pricing	Free	Free

GoatCounter is the stronger choice when privacy compliance, data sovereignty, or simplicity matter. Google Analytics is worth considering when you need campaign attribution, conversion funnels, advertising integration, or audience segmentation that GoatCounter does not support.

GoatCounter vs Plausible Analytics

Plausible Analytics and GoatCounter share the same privacy-first, no-cookie design. The key differences are cost and feature depth: Plausible's hosted service starts at $9/month for up to 10k pageviews (plausible.io, read 2026-11-05) and includes conversion goals; GoatCounter's hosted service is free (donation-supported) and focused on pageview and referral data.

Feature	GoatCounter	Plausible Analytics
License	EUPL-1.2 (modified)	AGPL-3.0 (self-hosted)
Self-hosting	Yes	Yes
Hosted pricing	Free (donations)	$9+/month (plausible.io, read 2026-11-05)
GDPR consent banner	Not required	Not required
Conversion goals	No	Yes

GoatCounter fits sites where zero cost and minimal configuration matter most. Plausible Analytics is a better fit when you need conversion goal tracking or a polished managed service with dedicated support.

GoatCounter vs Fathom Analytics

Fathom Analytics is a fully managed, paid service with EU-based data storage and no self-hosting option, starting at $15/month (up to 100k pageviews, usefathom.com/pricing, read 2026-11-05).

Feature	GoatCounter	Fathom Analytics
Self-hosting	Yes	No
License	EUPL-1.2	Proprietary
Pricing	Free	$15+/month
EU data storage	Depends on host	Yes (EU-based)
Conversion goals	No	Yes

GoatCounter is the stronger choice for anyone who needs self-hosting or has no analytics budget. Fathom Analytics is worth considering for teams that want a fully managed service with consistent EU data residency and no infrastructure to manage.

install · quick start

Quick start#

bash

Self-hosting GoatCounter uses Docker with a named volume for the SQLite database.
```bash
docker run -p 8080:8080 -v goatcounter-data:/home/goatcounter/goatcounter-data arp242/goatcounter
```

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: GoJavaScript

frequently asked

FAQ#

Is GoatCounter GDPR-compliant without a consent banner?

Yes, for most deployments. GoatCounter does not set cookies or store personal data, which means processing typically falls outside GDPR's consent requirements. The official documentation at goatcounter.com/gdpr covers the legal basis in detail and discusses edge cases. Site owners with complex legal situations should review it with their own counsel.

Can I self-host GoatCounter on my own server?

Yes. GoatCounter is licensed under EUPL-1.2 and can be self-hosted for any purpose, including commercial internal use, with no licensing fee. Download the statically-compiled binary for your platform from the GitHub releases page, run goatcounter serve, and the server starts on port 8080 with SQLite as the default database. Docker images are also available at arp242/goatcounter on DockerHub.

What is the EUPL-1.2 (modified) license and can I use GoatCounter commercially?

GoatCounter uses a slightly modified version of EUPL-1.2 (European Union Public Licence 1.2). The only difference from standard EUPL-1.2 is a narrowed compatible-licences appendix that removes GNU GPL, LGPL, and MPL from the compatibility list. The rights are identical: use, modify, distribute, and self-host in any circumstance, including for commercial internal use. The copyleft clause applies only when you distribute a modified version of the software to others: running GoatCounter privately for your own company or clients does not trigger it. Teams planning to resell a modified version as a managed service should review the license terms before shipping.

Does GoatCounter work without JavaScript?

Yes. In addition to the standard ~3.5KB JavaScript integration, GoatCounter supports a no-JavaScript image-based tracking pixel for static sites or email tracking, backend middleware integration via its REST API for server-side recording, and logfile import from nginx, Apache, Caddy, and CloudFront. These options are documented at goatcounter.com/code and goatcounter.com/api.

How does GoatCounter count unique visitors without cookies?

GoatCounter uses a daily rotating salt to generate a session hash from the visitor's IP address, User-Agent, and timestamp. The salt changes every 24 hours, so the hash cannot be linked across days. This identifies unique visits within a session without storing any persistent identifier, without setting cookies, and without retaining the original IP address. Technical details are at goatcounter.com/help/sessions.

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