Histats vs Open Web Analytics (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Histats if

• Fits if you run several small sites and want free stats
• Works for people who want a visible hit counter on the page

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need support, as it is a forum or Facebook
• Watch out: the log analyzer covers only the last 20,000 hits
• Watch out: the site lists no paid tier, so no business support terms are published
• Watch out: check its privacy and cookie policies before using it where consent rules apply

Pick Open Web Analytics if

• Fits if you can host PHP and want analytics you control
• Works for people with several sites on one install

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you don't want to run a server and database
• Not for you if you need paid support, as it's only a wiki and GitHub
• Watch out: WordPress needs a separate plugin and other PHP apps use the SDK
• Tight if you want funnels, since none are listed
• Watch out: the site gives no company details or founding year

Histats

• Support is through a forum or Facebook, per the features page.
• The log analyzer covers the last 20,000 hits.
• The service is web-only and the site lists no paid tier, so no business-level support terms are published.
• The site shows a widget opt-out and policy page, so check its privacy and cookie policies before using it where consent rules apply.

Open Web Analytics

• It is self-hosted only; there is no hosted service on the pages read, so you manage the server, database and upgrades.
• WordPress needs a separate OWA integration plugin, and other PHP apps use the PHP SDK.
• Support is through the documentation wiki and the GitHub repository; no paid support is listed.
• The site publishes no founding year or company details; the project is run on GitHub.

Histats

Real-time statistics

Online visitors, recent and most active visits, popular pages and referrers, and geolocation update as traffic arrives.

Log analyzer

Covers the last 20,000 hits with IP tags, visitor paths and segmentation by IP, country, city, referrer, search keyword, entry page and hardware. Saved filters can be reloaded.

Traffic reports

Hourly, daily and monthly analytics for referring sites, search engines, social networks, browsers, operating systems, languages and visited URLs.

Tags and custom events

Page titles and tags, custom events and variables, and downloads or clicks can be tracked.

Counter styles

A hidden tracker, or a visible counter chosen from 500 or more styles, with configurable starting values.

Multi-site control panel

One account manages up to 300 sites, with user access management and privacy settings for each site's stats page.

Open Web Analytics

Visitor and page tracking

Tracks visitors, page views, e-commerce transactions and configurable actions using a first-party JavaScript tracker.

Heatmaps

Generates click heatmaps for pages, as listed among the server's features on its GitHub page.

Domstream session recordings

Records visitor sessions in a feature called Domstream, so a visit can be replayed.

Many sites, many users

One OWA server can track an unlimited number of websites and offers a multi-user reporting interface.

REST API and modules

A REST API covers administration and data access, and custom modules extend the framework.

Cookie lifetime options

Tracker options shorten cookie lifetimes or make them session cookies, for sites that need a shorter retention period.

Histats

• Free$0

  All features, up to 300 sites per account, with no service limits up to 10 million hits a day.

Open Web Analytics

• Open source$0

  Free to download and self-host under GPLv2, with no paid edition listed. You supply the server and database.