Counterscale vs Rybbit
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rybbit
Open-source, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative
| Feature | Counterscale | Rybbit |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | one-click, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,147 | ★ 13,058 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics, Mixpanel |
What are Counterscale and Rybbit?
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
Rybbit
Rybbit is an open-source and privacy-friendly web and product analytics platform. It is cookieless, GDPR compliant, and offers an intuitive dashboard for tracking traffic and user behavior.
- Cookieless and GDPR compliant
- Real-time dashboard
- Funnels and user journeys
- Web and product analytics
Counterscale vs Rybbit: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Counterscale versus AGPL-3.0 for Rybbit. Counterscale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Rybbit. Rybbit has the considerably larger community, at 13,058 GitHub stars versus 2,147. Rybbit 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 Rybbit if…
- Modern intuitive UI
- Combines web and product analytics
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Requires ClickHouse
Frequently asked questions
Is Counterscale or Rybbit better?
Neither is universally better. Rybbit has the larger community, while Counterscale is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Counterscale and Rybbit free and open-source?
Yes. Counterscale is licensed under MIT and Rybbit under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Counterscale and Rybbit with Docker?
Counterscale: check the project docs for container support. Rybbit: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Counterscale or Rybbit?
Counterscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Rybbit. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.