GoatCounter vs Minimal Analytics (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, GoatCounter grades higher than Minimal Analytics: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
GoatCounter grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Minimal Analytics
A 1.5 kB snippet that sends page views to Google Analytics
Which one is for you
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
Pick Minimal Analytics if
- Fits if you already use Google Analytics and want a very small script
- Works for developers comfortable pasting a snippet
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a dashboard, as it has none
- Watch out: the ID placeholder and /collect endpoint follow the older format, and GA4 is not mentioned
- Skip it if you need advanced features such as AdWords tracking, as the page says not to use it for those
- Watch out: the code is a GitHub gist, and the page names no company or support channel
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAGoatCounterGood | 2.6GPAMinimal AnalyticsGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree for personal sites and small-to-medium businesses, or free to self-host. It's donation-supported, with no paid plan. | AThe snippet is free to copy, which counts as free and substantial. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no cap a normal site would reach. Millions of pageviews a day are out of scope. | AFree outright, with no paid plans and no caps listed. |
| Features | 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. | DOne narrow function, sending page views and events to Google Analytics, and it needs Google Analytics to be useful. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You sign up and add one script, or self-host. | CYou paste code and set your tracking ID, with no store rating on record. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with an API and a couple of static-site tools (Gatsby, Publii). | CWeb only, and it sends data to Google Analytics only. |
| Best for | free, privacy-minded visitor stats | a tiny snippet that sends page views to Google Analytics |
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: GoatCounter and Minimal Analytics. How we grade
Price against what you get
GoatCounter has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Minimal Analytics has no paid plan and scores 1.7.
GoatCounter scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other website and product analytics tools on the chart, none scores higher than GoatCounter for less, and none scores higher than Minimal Analytics 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
- GoatCounter is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Minimal Analytics also covers page speed.
At a glance
| GoatCounter | Minimal Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | None | The snippet is free to copy from the site; no plans or prices are listed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | GoatCounter | Minimal Analytics |
| Price read from | goatcounter.com | minimalanalytics.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Minimal Analytics
- It only sends data to Google Analytics; there is no dashboard of its own.
- The page says not to use it for advanced features such as AdWords tracking.
- Its ID placeholder (XX-XXXXXXXXX-X) and /collect endpoint follow the older Google Analytics format; GA4 is not mentioned, so check it records to your property.
- The code is published as a GitHub gist; the page names no company or support channel.
Key features
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.
Minimal Analytics
- Small footprint
- The site compares its 1.5 kB snippet with 73 kB for Google Tag Manager plus Analytics.
- Page view tracking
- Sends page views directly to Google Analytics without external libraries, and works with single page apps built with React or Vue.js.
- Custom events
- ma.trackEvent takes a category, action, label and value.
- Exception tracking
- ma.trackException records an error description and whether it was fatal.
- Configurable data
- Options switch IP anonymization, color depth, character set, screen size and language on or off.
Plans
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.
Minimal Analytics
Free snippet$0
Copy the snippet from the page and add your Google Analytics tracking ID.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, GoatCounter or Minimal Analytics?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both GoatCounter and Minimal Analytics are free to use.
Which has a free plan, GoatCounter or Minimal Analytics?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both GoatCounter and Minimal Analytics 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.