Fathom Lite 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 | Fathom Lite | Counter.dev Selfhost |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 78 · Good |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,019 | ★ 1,009 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Fathom Lite and Counter.dev Selfhost?
Fathom Lite
Fathom Lite is the open-source edition of Fathom Analytics, providing simple, privacy-focused website analytics. It targets users who want a lightweight self-hosted analytics tool. It is deployed as a single binary or via Docker.
- Simple privacy-focused analytics
- Single-binary deployment
- No cookies
- Lightweight dashboard
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
Fathom Lite vs Counter.dev Selfhost: key differences
Fathom Lite is written in Go, while Counter.dev Selfhost is built with JavaScript. Fathom Lite is the more established project (first released 2018), while Counter.dev Selfhost arrived in 2020. Fathom Lite has the considerably larger community, at 8,019 GitHub stars versus 1,009.
Why pick each one
Choose Fathom Lite if…
- Very easy to run
- Privacy-friendly
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Lite edition no longer actively developed
- 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 Fathom Lite or Counter.dev Selfhost better?
Neither is universally better. Fathom Lite has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Fathom Lite and Counter.dev Selfhost free and open-source?
Yes. Fathom Lite is licensed under MIT and Counter.dev Selfhost under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fathom Lite and Counter.dev Selfhost with Docker?
Fathom Lite: yes. Counter.dev Selfhost: yes.