Counter is an analytics tool for Freelancers and Developers, offered as free. Based in Germany, founded in 2020. Popular alternatives include Plausible Analytics, Umami, Pirsch.
About Counter
Counter is a free, open-source web analytics service at counter.dev that focuses on the essentials: page views, unique visits, referrers, countries, devices, browsers, screen sizes and time-of-day patterns. It runs from a single lightweight script, does not use cookies and does not track individual users across sites, which keeps pages fast and avoids most of the privacy problems that come with traditional analytics.
There are no paid tiers in the usual sense. The service is free to use and funded by voluntary pay-what-you-want contributions, and the source code is public so technically minded users can inspect how data is collected. Setup takes a minute: create an account, paste the snippet and the dashboard starts filling in. The dashboard shows a short set of charts on one page rather than dozens of reports.
Counter is a good fit for personal blogs, portfolios, documentation sites and side projects where the owner only wants to know whether people visit and where they come from. It is not built for businesses: there are no custom events, goals, funnels, conversion tracking, segments or team features, and support is community level. GoatCounter is a similar free and minimal option, Cloudflare Web Analytics is free for sites on Cloudflare, and Plausible, Fathom or Umami are the next step when you need events and goals with a privacy-first approach.
Because it is so minimal, Counter works well alongside other tools rather than as a long-term analytics stack for a growing company.
Key features of Counter
- Minimal script
- No cookies
- Referrers and devices
- Open source
- Free
- Simple dashboard
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free
- Private
- Lightweight
- Easy
Cons
- Very basic
- No events
- Limited support
- Few features
Counter pricing
Counter uses a free model.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Donation-funded; pay when ready, AGPL-3.0 source |
Source: github.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
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How Counter compares in Analytics
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 47
- Starting price
- $0
- Free alternatives
- 7
0 votes from members
Category median is $25/mo
Free or open-source tools in Analytics
Counter ranks #1 of 47 analytics tools by community votes and is not directly comparable on price.
Common use cases
- 1Personal blog
- 2Side project
- 3Portfolio site
- 4Quick stats
Best for
Hobby sites.
Not ideal for
Business analytics.
Integrations
- Any website (script)
Our take
Counter is the simplest free analytics.
FAQ
- What is Counter?
- Counter is a free, minimal, privacy-respecting analytics.
- How much does Counter cost?
- Counter is Free; there is no mandatory paid plan.
- What are the best alternatives to Counter?
- Community-listed alternatives to Counter include Plausible Analytics, Umami, Pirsch, Raah.dev.
- What does Counter integrate with?
- Counter integrates with Any website (script) and more.
- Which platforms does Counter support?
- Counter is available on web.
- Who is Counter for?
- Hobby sites.
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