Counterscale vs Counter.dev Selfhost
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Counterscale | Counter.dev Selfhost |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 78 · Good |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | one-click, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,148 | ★ 1,009 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Counterscale and Counter.dev Selfhost?
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
Counter.dev Selfhost
Counter.dev is a minimalist, privacy-respecting web analytics service that can be self-hosted. It records page visits without cookies and shows a compact stats view.
- Cookie-free analytics
- Minimal dashboard
- Easy embed
- Privacy respecting
Counterscale vs Counter.dev Selfhost: key differences
Counterscale is written in TypeScript, while Counter.dev Selfhost is built with JavaScript. Counterscale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Counter.dev Selfhost. Counter.dev Selfhost is the more established project (first released 2020), while Counterscale arrived in 2024. Counterscale has the considerably larger community, at 2,148 GitHub stars versus 1,009. Counter.dev Selfhost lists first-class Docker deployment; Counterscale does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Counterscale if…
- Almost free to run
- Very easy deployment
Watch out for
- Cloudflare dependency
- Basic feature set
Choose Counter.dev Selfhost if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Counterscale or Counter.dev Selfhost better?
Neither is universally better. Counterscale has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Counterscale and Counter.dev Selfhost free and open-source?
Yes. Counterscale is licensed under MIT and Counter.dev Selfhost under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Counterscale and Counter.dev Selfhost with Docker?
Counterscale: check the project docs for container support. Counter.dev Selfhost: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Counterscale or Counter.dev Selfhost?
Counterscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Counter.dev Selfhost. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.