Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Simple Analytics

GoatCounter is a lightweight web analytics service focused on simplicity and privacy. It provides essential traffic insights (pageviews, referrers, screen size, location, etc.) without the complexity and heavy tracking approach of traditional analytics suites.

Key Features

• Privacy-focused analytics with a strong emphasis on minimal data collection
• Cookieless tracking by default (configurable) and no cross-site tracking
• Very small tracking script and fast page-load impact
• Clean dashboard for pageviews, referrers, popular pages, and basic client details
• Event tracking for custom interactions (e.g., button clicks)
• Goals/campaign tracking via UTM parameters
• Bot filtering and basic spam protection controls
• Import/export options (including data export for backups/migrations)

Use Cases

• Website owners who want basic traffic analytics without third-party trackers
• Privacy-conscious blogs, documentation sites, and small business websites
• Lightweight analytics for static sites where performance matters

Limitations and Considerations

• Intentionally avoids “enterprise” features (e.g., deep behavioral analytics, session replay)
• Feature set is focused on core web metrics rather than full product analytics

GoatCounter is best suited for users who want straightforward web traffic reporting with minimal overhead and a privacy-first approach. It works well as a simpler alternative to mainstream analytics platforms when you don’t need heavy user profiling or complex funnels.