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Counter alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Counter: very limited features: no goals, funnels or events, and metrics based on daily unique visitors only. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Counter, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. GoatCounter currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1GoatCounter logoGoatCounterOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 466.5
2Cloudflare Web Analytics logoCloudflare Web AnalyticsFreeNoWeb4 of 462.6
3Umami logoUmamiOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted5 of 559.6
4Plausible Analytics logoPlausible AnalyticsOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 457.2
  1. GoatCounter logo

    1. GoatCounterTop pick

    Best for: Personal sites and blogs that want free, honest stats without tracking people

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    66.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from Counter

    Similar free, donation-supported model with more detail and self-hosting.

    Pros

    • Free hosted service for reasonable public use
    • Very light script, plus pixel and log-import options
    • Easy to self-host as a single binary

    Cons

    • Deliberately basic, with no funnels or ecommerce
    • One-person project with limited support
    • Interface is plain compared with commercial tools
    Visit GoatCounter Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.3100
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is GoatCounter a good Counter alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Open source
    Yes, hosted or self-hosted
    Checked Oct 25, 2026goatcounter.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Price
    Free for reasonable public usage
    Checked Oct 25, 2026goatcounter.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Script size
    ~3.5KB
    Checked Oct 25, 2026goatcounter.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cookies
    None
    Checked Oct 25, 2026goatcounter.com(opens source in a new tab)
  2. Cloudflare Web Analytics logo

    2. Cloudflare Web Analytics

    Best for: Simple sites that only need free, basic traffic and performance numbers

    FreeWeb

    62.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Counter

    Free basic stats from a large provider.

    Pros

    • Completely free
    • No cookies, local storage or fingerprinting
    • Includes Core Web Vitals performance data

    Cons

    • No goals, funnels or custom events
    • Short data retention and basic filtering
    • Limited exports and API access
    Visit Cloudflare Web Analytics Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.387
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Cloudflare Web Analytics a good Counter alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Price
    Free
    Checked Oct 25, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
    DNS change required
    No
    Checked Oct 25, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Cookies
    None, no client-side state
    Checked Oct 25, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Fingerprinting
    No
    Checked Oct 25, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
  3. Umami logo

    3. Umami

    Best for: Developers and small teams wanting modern, self-hostable privacy analytics

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Counter

    Open-source with more reports and a free cloud tier.

    Pros

    • Free to self-host, MIT-licensed
    • Clean, modern dashboard
    • Free cloud Hobby plan to start

    Cons

    • Self-hosting means running your own database
    • Free cloud plan limited to one website
    • Product analytics less mature than dedicated tools
    Visit Umami Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Umami a good Counter alternative?

    Verified facts

    5 of 5 verified
    Free plan
    Hobby, $0/month, 100K events
    Checked Oct 25, 2026umami.is(opens source in a new tab)
    Pro plan
    $20/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026umami.is(opens source in a new tab)
    Business plan
    $200/month
    Checked Oct 25, 2026umami.is(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosting
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026umami.is(opens source in a new tab)
    License
    MIT
    Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)
  4. Plausible Analytics logo

    4. Plausible Analytics

    Best for: Sites that want clear, privacy-first traffic stats without a consent banner

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from Counter

    Paid, polished privacy analytics with goals and funnels.

    Pros

    • Clean single-page dashboard anyone can read
    • Cookie-free with no personal data collected
    • Open source, with a free self-hosted edition

    Cons

    • No free plan on the hosted service
    • Less depth than GA4 or Matomo for analysts
    • Some features land in the cloud before the self-hosted edition
    Visit Plausible Analytics Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.369
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Plausible Analytics a good Counter alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Free trial
    30 days, no credit card
    Checked Oct 25, 2026plausible.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosting
    Community Edition, free, AGPL
    Checked Oct 25, 2026plausible.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Data location
    EU, European-owned infrastructure
    Checked Oct 25, 2026plausible.io(opens source in a new tab)
    Cookie banner
    Not required
    Checked Oct 25, 2026plausible.io(opens source in a new tab)

The best Counter alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

GoatCounter logo

Best Counter alternative for most people

GoatCounter

Similar free, donation-supported model with more detail and self-hosting.

Cloudflare Web Analytics logo

Best Counter alternative for a free option

Cloudflare Web Analytics

Free basic stats from a large provider.

Umami logo

Best Counter alternative for open source

Umami

Open-source with more reports and a free cloud tier.

Plausible Analytics logo

Best Counter alternative for self-hosting

Plausible Analytics

Paid, polished privacy analytics with goals and funnels.

Tinylytics logo

Best Counter alternative for working in the browser

Tinylytics

Small paid analytics with uptime and content checks.

Counter alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Counter?

GoatCounter ranks first right now. Similar free, donation-supported model with more detail and self-hosting. Cloudflare Web Analytics and Umami follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Counter?

Yes. GoatCounter (open source), Cloudflare Web Analytics (free), Umami (open source) and Plausible Analytics (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Counter?

Yes: GoatCounter, Umami and Plausible Analytics. GoatCounter, Umami and Plausible Analytics can also be self-hosted.

Why do people switch from Counter?

The complaints we hear most: very limited features: no goals, funnels or events; metrics based on daily unique visitors only; donation-funded service.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Counter, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.