Ackee vs Pirsch
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
Pirsch
Go library and API for privacy-friendly, cookie-free web analytics
| Feature | Ackee | Pirsch |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,709 | ★ 1,030 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Ackee and Pirsch?
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
Pirsch
Pirsch is a Go library for server-side, cookie-free web analytics. The open-source repository provides the tracking and statistics code you embed in your own application; the hosted pirsch.io dashboard is a separate commercial product.
- Cookie-free tracking
- No personal data collected
- Lightweight tracking script
- Go analytics engine
Ackee vs Pirsch: key differences
Ackee is written in JavaScript, while Pirsch is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Ackee versus AGPL-3.0 for Pirsch. Ackee is the more established project (first released 2018), while Pirsch arrived in 2020. Ackee has the considerably larger community, at 4,709 GitHub stars versus 1,030.
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 Pirsch if…
- GDPR-friendly by design
- Fast and efficient
Watch out for
- Self-hosting needs assembly
- Smaller ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is Ackee or Pirsch better?
Ackee is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Pirsch if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Ackee and Pirsch free and open-source?
Yes. Ackee is licensed under MIT and Pirsch under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ackee and Pirsch with Docker?
Ackee: yes. Pirsch: yes.