SHSelfHostIndex

Counterscale vs Offen Fair Web Analytics

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
CO Counterscale Scalable web analytics that runs on Cloudflare Workers VS OF Offen Fair Web Analytics Transparent, fair web analytics that respects users
FeatureCounterscaleOffen Fair Web Analytics
Deploy effort≈5-minute setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score80 · Excellent46 · Fair
CategoryWeb AnalyticsWeb Analytics
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB256 MB
Deploymentone-click, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,148★ 981
First released20242019
ReplacesGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Analytics

What are Counterscale and Offen Fair Web Analytics?

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

Read the full Counterscale guide →

Offen Fair Web Analytics

Offen Fair Web Analytics is a privacy-focused analytics tool that gives website operators insights while letting visitors see and delete their own data. It is transparent and consent-based.

  • Visitor data transparency
  • End-to-end encrypted data
  • Consent-based tracking
  • Users can delete their data

Counterscale vs Offen Fair Web Analytics: key differences

Counterscale is written in TypeScript, while Offen Fair Web Analytics is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Counterscale versus Apache-2.0 for Offen Fair Web Analytics. Counterscale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Offen Fair Web Analytics. Offen Fair Web Analytics is the more established project (first released 2019), while Counterscale arrived in 2024. Counterscale has the considerably larger community, at 2,148 GitHub stars versus 981. Offen Fair Web Analytics 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
Counterscale details

Choose Offen Fair Web Analytics if…

  • Exceptionally privacy-respecting
  • Builds visitor trust

Watch out for

  • Less mainstream
  • Consent UI changes metrics
Offen Fair Web Analytics details

Frequently asked questions

Is Counterscale or Offen Fair Web Analytics better?

Counterscale is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Offen Fair Web Analytics if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Counterscale and Offen Fair Web Analytics free and open-source?

Yes. Counterscale is licensed under MIT and Offen Fair Web Analytics under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Counterscale and Offen Fair Web Analytics with Docker?

Counterscale: check the project docs for container support. Offen Fair Web Analytics: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, Counterscale or Offen Fair Web Analytics?

Counterscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Offen Fair Web Analytics. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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