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Ackee vs GoatCounter (2026): which should you pick?

As of Nov 12, 2026, GoatCounter grades higher than Ackee: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.

Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA

GoatCounter grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.

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

Free
Full detailsackee.electerious.com

GoatCounter

Open source web analytics, free and donation-supported

Free
Full detailsgoatcounter.com

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 GoatCounter if

  • Fits if you want visitor stats with no personal data collected
  • Works for personal sites and small businesses on a budget

Look elsewhere if

  • Too light for funnels, heatmaps or recordings
  • Skip it if your site gets millions of pageviews a day, as the hosted service is not meant for that
  • Watch out: it's funded by donations, so no support commitment is published
  • Not for you if you need a paid plan with guarantees

How we grade them

2.0GPAAckeeFair2.8GPAGoatCounterGood
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.
AFree for personal sites and small-to-medium businesses, or free to self-host. It's donation-supported, with no paid plan.
Free plan and trial
BNo fees at all and no caps, but you need your own server.
AFree outright, with no cap a normal site would reach. Millions of pageviews a day are out of scope.
Features
CViews, referrers, durations, several domains and a GraphQL API. It does that job fully, a smaller job than most analytics tools.
CPageviews, referrers, browsers, locations, screen sizes and campaigns, plus exports and an API. It does that job fully, a smaller job than most analytics tools.
Ease of use
DDocker or manual install on your own server, and you run the updates. No store rating.
CNo store rating on record. You sign up and add one script, or self-host.
Platforms and integrations
CA web dashboard with a GraphQL API. No integrations named.
CWeb only, with an API and a couple of static-site tools (Gatsby, Publii).
Best forcookie-free analytics you host yourselffree, privacy-minded visitor stats

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 GoatCounter. 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. GoatCounter has no paid plan and scores 2.0.

GoatCounter scores higher 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 GoatCounter for less.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

D1.0C2.0B3.0A4.0Free$0.5$1$2$5$10$20$50$100$200$500$1kMore for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessAckeeGoatCounter

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
The full chart of website and product analytics tools, and the best at every price

Where they differ

    In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APIWeb analytics

    At a glance

    AckeeGoatCounter
    PricingFreeFree
    Starts atFreeFree
    Free planNoneNone
    Free trialNone listedNone listed
    Web
    Made byAckee (electerious)GoatCounter
    Price read fromackee.electerious.comgoatcounter.com
    CheckedNov 12, 2026Nov 12, 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.

    GoatCounter

    • The hosted service is meant for reasonable public use; heavy traffic is pointed to self-hosting.
    • Funded by donations through GitHub Sponsors, so there is no paid plan or published support commitment.
    • A deliberately small feature set; the vendor presents it as a simpler alternative to Google Analytics and Matomo.

    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.

    GoatCounter

    No personal-data tracking
    Visits are told apart without cookies or persistently stored personal data. The vendor says no GDPR notice is needed and lets you control what is collected.
    Light script
    The tracking script adds about 3.5KB to a page. A JavaScript-free tracking pixel is also offered.
    Several ways to send data
    Use the script tag, an image-based tracker, your application's middleware, or import server log files.
    Basic visitor statistics
    Reports show browser, location, screen size, referring sites and campaigns.
    Exports and an API
    All data can be exported, and the documentation lists CSV and JSON exports and a JSON API.
    Accessible interface
    The vendor lists accessibility as a high-priority feature, and says the interface works with screen readers.

    Plans

    Ackee

    • Self-hosted$0

      Open-source software you install and run on your own server; hosting costs are yours.

    GoatCounter

    • Hosted service$0

      Free for reasonable public usage, such as a personal site or a small-to-medium business. Millions of pageviews a day are out of scope.

    • Self-hosted$0

      Run the open source app on your own server for any purpose; you pay only for your own hosting.

    Common questions

    Which is cheaper, Ackee or GoatCounter?

    As of Nov 12, 2026, both Ackee and GoatCounter are free to use.

    Which has a free plan, Ackee or GoatCounter?

    As of Nov 12, 2026, both Ackee and GoatCounter 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.
    How we review and grade