Ackee vs Counterscale
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ackee
Self-hosted, privacy-focused analytics tool
VS
Counterscale
Scalable web analytics that runs on Cloudflare Workers
| Feature | Ackee | Counterscale |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 80 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | one-click, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,709 | ★ 2,148 |
| First released | 2018 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Ackee and Counterscale?
Ackee
Ackee is a self-hosted, Node-based analytics tool that tracks website visitors while respecting privacy and avoiding cookies. It targets developers wanting minimal, ethical analytics. It is deployed via Docker.
- Privacy-focused tracking
- GraphQL API
- Clean minimal dashboard
- No cookies used
Counterscale
Counterscale is a simple, privacy-friendly web analytics tool designed to be easy to deploy and maintain on Cloudflare Workers. It tracks page views and visitors with minimal infrastructure.
- Runs on Cloudflare Workers
- Privacy-friendly tracking
- Minimal infrastructure
- Cheap to operate
Ackee vs Counterscale: key differences
Ackee is written in JavaScript, while Counterscale is built with TypeScript. Counterscale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ackee. Ackee is the more established project (first released 2018), while Counterscale arrived in 2024. Ackee has the considerably larger community, at 4,709 GitHub stars versus 2,148. Ackee lists first-class Docker deployment; Counterscale does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Ackee if…
- Lightweight and private
- Easy to deploy
- Nice minimal UI
Watch out for
- Limited reporting depth
- Needs MongoDB
Choose Counterscale if…
- Almost free to run
- Very easy deployment
Watch out for
- Cloudflare dependency
- Basic feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Ackee or Counterscale better?
Neither is universally better. Ackee has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ackee and Counterscale free and open-source?
Yes. Ackee is licensed under MIT and Counterscale under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ackee and Counterscale with Docker?
Ackee: yes. Counterscale: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Ackee or Counterscale?
Counterscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ackee. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.