Ackee vs Counterscale (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ackee and Counterscale share a 2.0 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Ackee
Self-hosted, cookie-free analytics you run on your own server
Which one is for you
Pick Ackee if
- Fits if you already run a server and want analytics without cookies
- Works for developers who want the data on their own machine
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want someone else to host it: there's no hosted version
- Too light for marketing teams, with few charts and filters
- Watch out: no paid support plan is listed
- Skip it if you don't want to run updates yourself
Pick Counterscale if
- Fits if you already use Cloudflare and want simple traffic counts
- Works for developers who like a command-line install
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't have a Cloudflare account, as it needs one
- Watch out: data is kept for only 90 days
- Too light for funnels or session replay, which aren't listed
- Watch out: costs beyond the free Workers plan are billed by Cloudflare
- Not for you if you want a hosted version, because there isn't one
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAAckeeFair | 2.0GPACounterscaleFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CFree software, but only free if you host it yourself, and the ladder puts that at the middle. The server bill is yours. | CThe code is free, but you bring your own Cloudflare account and host it yourself. |
| Free plan and trial | BNo fees at all and no caps, but you need your own server. | BNo paid plan and no limits listed, but beyond Cloudflare's free tier you pay Cloudflare. |
| Features | CViews, referrers, durations, several domains and a GraphQL API. It does that job fully, a smaller job than most analytics tools. | CLive traffic, referrers and engagement. No funnels or session replay, and it's a small job. |
| Ease of use | DDocker or manual install on your own server, and you run the updates. No store rating. | DYou deploy and update it yourself with a command-line installer. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web dashboard with a GraphQL API. No integrations named. | CWeb only, running on Cloudflare Workers. |
| Best for | cookie-free analytics you host yourself | cookie-free stats on your own Cloudflare account |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ackee and Counterscale. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ackee has no paid plan and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Counterscale has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other website and product analytics tools on the chart, none scores higher than Ackee for less, and none scores higher than Counterscale for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Counterscale also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| Ackee | Counterscale | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Ackee (electerious) | Counterscale |
| Price read from | ackee.electerious.com | counterscale.dev |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ackee
- There is no hosted version on the site: you install, host and update Ackee yourself.
- The interface is deliberately minimal, with few charts and filters.
- The website lists no paid support plans.
Counterscale
- Needs a Cloudflare account; costs beyond the free Workers plan are billed by Cloudflare.
- Data is kept for only 90 days.
- You deploy and update it yourself; there is no hosted version.
- Covers web traffic only, with no funnels or session replay listed on the site.
Key features
Ackee
- Multiple domains
- The vendor says there is no limit on the number of domains or apps you can analyze from one installation.
- Views, referrers and durations
- Insights cover amount of visits, visit duration, referrers, language, screen dimensions, operating system, browser and device.
- Anonymized tracking
- No cookies and no unique user tracking; a multi-step process anonymizes tracked data.
- GraphQL API
- A central GraphQL API lets you pull data into your own interface or collect it from other services and apps.
- Docker and manual installs
- The Get started guide covers deploying with Docker, Heroku, Netlify or manually.
Counterscale
- Live traffic stats
- Shows pageviews, referrers, user engagement and similar web analytics essentials in a dashboard, with a public demo to browse.
- No cookies or fingerprinting
- The site says it uses no cookies and no browser fingerprinting, and that you control the data end to end.
- Five-minute CLI install
- A command-line wizard deploys the server to Cloudflare, after which a lightweight JavaScript reporter goes on your site.
- Runs on Cloudflare's free tier
- Records up to 50k pageviews a day on Cloudflare's free Workers plan, and scales to millions of views for a small cost.
- 90-day data retention
- Data is retained for only 90 days, which limits how far back you can look.
Plans
Ackee
Self-hosted$0
Open-source software you install and run on your own server; hosting costs are yours.
Counterscale
Self-hosted$0
Free open-source code; you bring your own Cloudflare account and host it yourself.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ackee or Counterscale?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Ackee and Counterscale are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Ackee or Counterscale?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Ackee and Counterscale have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.