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GoatCounter alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave GoatCounter: deliberately basic, with no funnels or ecommerce, and one-person project with limited support. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces GoatCounter, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Cloudflare Web Analytics currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Cloudflare Web Analytics logoCloudflare Web AnalyticsFreeNoWeb4 of 466.5
2Umami logoUmamiOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted5 of 562.6
3Plausible Analytics logoPlausible AnalyticsOpen sourceYesWeb, Self-hosted4 of 459.6
4CoCounterOpen sourceYesWeb4 of 457.2
5Liwan logoLiwanOpen sourceYesSelf-hosted, Web4 of 455.3
  1. Cloudflare Web Analytics logo

    1. Cloudflare Web AnalyticsTop pick

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

    FreeWeb

    66.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from GoatCounter

    Free hosted stats with Core Web Vitals, 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 ×0.3100
    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 Cloudflare Web Analytics a good GoatCounter 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)
  2. Umami logo

    2. Umami

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

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    62.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from GoatCounter

    More features and a modern dashboard, still open source.

    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 ×0.387
    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 Umami a good GoatCounter 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)
  3. Plausible Analytics logo

    3. Plausible Analytics

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

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from GoatCounter

    Polished paid service with goals, funnels and revenue tracking.

    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 ×0.377
    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 Plausible Analytics a good GoatCounter 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)
  4. Co

    4. Counter

    Best for: Side projects and personal sites that want free, minimal visitor stats

    Open sourceWeb

    57.2

    score / 100

    Why switch from GoatCounter

    Another free, open-source and very simple privacy analytics service.

    Pros

    • Free, with optional pay-what-you-want
    • No cookies, logging or IP fingerprinting
    • AGPL open-source code

    Cons

    • Very limited features: no goals, funnels or events
    • Metrics based on daily unique visitors only
    • Donation-funded service
    Visit Counter 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 Counter a good GoatCounter alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    AGPL-3.0
    Checked Oct 25, 2026counter.dev(opens source in a new tab)
    Privacy
    No cookies, logging or IP fingerprinting
    Checked Oct 25, 2026counter.dev(opens source in a new tab)
    Payment
    Pay when ready
    Checked Oct 25, 2026counter.dev(opens source in a new tab)
    Metrics basis
    Unique visitors per day
    Checked Oct 25, 2026counter.dev(opens source in a new tab)
  5. Liwan logo

    5. Liwan

    Best for: Developers who want privacy analytics with nothing extra to run

    Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted, Web

    55.3

    score / 100

    Why switch from GoatCounter

    Self-hosted single-binary analytics with a real-time dashboard.

    Pros

    • Single binary with built-in database
    • No tracking cookies or raw IP storage
    • Single sign-on with common identity providers

    Cons

    • Young project with a small community
    • No hosted version
    • Fewer reports than larger tools
    Visit Liwan Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.363
    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 Liwan a good GoatCounter alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    Apache 2.0
    Checked Oct 25, 2026liwan.dev(opens source in a new tab)
    Deployment
    Single binary or Docker container
    Checked Oct 25, 2026liwan.dev(opens source in a new tab)
    Privacy
    No tracking cookies; raw IPs not recorded
    Checked Oct 25, 2026liwan.dev(opens source in a new tab)
    Single sign-on
    Google Workspace, Entra ID, OIDC
    Checked Oct 25, 2026liwan.dev(opens source in a new tab)

The best GoatCounter alternative for…

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

Cloudflare Web Analytics logo

Best GoatCounter alternative for most people

Cloudflare Web Analytics

Free hosted stats with Core Web Vitals, from a large provider.

Umami logo

Best GoatCounter alternative for a free option

Umami

More features and a modern dashboard, still open source.

Plausible Analytics logo

Best GoatCounter alternative for open source

Plausible Analytics

Polished paid service with goals, funnels and revenue tracking.

Liwan logo

Best GoatCounter alternative for self-hosting

Liwan

Self-hosted single-binary analytics with a real-time dashboard.

Co

Best GoatCounter alternative for working in the browser

Counter

Another free, open-source and very simple privacy analytics service.

GoatCounter alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to GoatCounter?

Cloudflare Web Analytics ranks first right now. Free hosted stats with Core Web Vitals, from a large provider. Umami and Plausible Analytics follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to GoatCounter?

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

Is there an open-source alternative to GoatCounter?

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

Why do people switch from GoatCounter?

The complaints we hear most: deliberately basic, with no funnels or ecommerce; one-person project with limited support; interface is plain compared with commercial tools.

How is this list ranked?

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