GoatCounter vs Metabase
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?
GoatCounter
Easy and privacy-friendly web analytics
VS
Metabase
Open-source business intelligence and dashboards
| Feature | GoatCounter | Metabase |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | EUPL-1.2 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Clojure |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,864 | ★ 48,597 |
| First released | 2019 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Tableau, Looker |
Why pick each one
Choose Metabase if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 48.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Clojure
Frequently asked questions
Is GoatCounter or Metabase better?
Neither is universally better. Metabase has the larger community, while GoatCounter is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are GoatCounter and Metabase free and open-source?
Yes. GoatCounter is licensed under EUPL-1.2 and Metabase under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GoatCounter and Metabase with Docker?
GoatCounter: yes. Metabase: yes.