GoatCounter is an
open source
web analytics platform available as a free donation-supported hosted
service or self-hosted app. It aims to offer easy to use
and meaningful privacy-friendly web analytics as an alternative to
Google Analytics or Matomo.
Why I made GoatCounter
Privacy-aware; doesn’t track users with unique identifiers and doesn't need a GDPR notice. Fine-grained control over which data is collected. Also see the privacy policy and GDPR consent notices.
Lightweight and fast; adds just ~3.5KB of extra data to your site. Also has JavaScript-free "tracking pixel" option, or you can use it from your application's middleware or import from logfiles.
Identify unique visits without cookies or persistently storing any personal data (details).
Keeps useful statistics such as browser information, location, and screen size. Keep track of referring sites and campaigns.
Easy; if you've been confused by the myriad of options and flexibility of Google Analytics and Matomo that you don't need then GoatCounter will be a breath of fresh air.
Accessibility is a high-priority feature, and the interface works well with assistive technology such as screen readers.
100% committed to open source; you can see exactly what the code does and make improvements, or self-host it for any purpose. See the GitHub page.
Own your data; you can always export all data and cancel at any time.
Integrate on your site with just a single script tag:
<script data-goatcounter="https://yoursite.goatcounter.com/count"
async src="//gc.zgo.at/count.js"></script>
The JavaScript integration is a good option for most, but you can also use a no-JavaScript image-based tracker, integrate in your backend middleware, or parse log files.
Some documents about GoatCounter that don’t fit the documentation page:
GoatCounter.com is currently offered for free for reasonable public usage. Running your personal website or small-to-medium business on it is fine, but sending millions of pageviews/day isn’t.
You can self-host GoatCounter easily if you want to use it for more serious purposes.
Donations are accepted via Github Sponsors to cover server costs.