Counterscale vs GoatCounter
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
GoatCounter
Easy and privacy-friendly web analytics
| Feature | Counterscale | GoatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | EUPL-1.2 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | one-click, source | binary, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,148 | ★ 5,997 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Counterscale and GoatCounter?
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
GoatCounter
GoatCounter is an open-source web analytics platform that is easy to use and privacy-friendly, collecting no personal data. It targets small site owners and hobbyists. It is deployed as a single binary or via Docker.
- No personal data collected
- Single-binary deployment
- Works without JavaScript
- Lightweight and fast
Counterscale vs GoatCounter: key differences
Counterscale is written in TypeScript, while GoatCounter is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Counterscale versus EUPL-1.2 for GoatCounter. Counterscale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for GoatCounter. GoatCounter is the more established project (first released 2019), while Counterscale arrived in 2024. GoatCounter has the considerably larger community, at 5,997 GitHub stars versus 2,148. GoatCounter 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 GoatCounter if…
- Extremely easy to run
- Very lightweight
- Privacy-friendly
Watch out for
- Basic reporting depth
- Small project
Frequently asked questions
Is Counterscale or GoatCounter better?
Neither is universally better. GoatCounter has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Counterscale and GoatCounter free and open-source?
Yes. Counterscale is licensed under MIT and GoatCounter under EUPL-1.2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Counterscale and GoatCounter with Docker?
Counterscale: check the project docs for container support. GoatCounter: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Counterscale or GoatCounter?
Counterscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for GoatCounter. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.