---
title: "9 Best Open Source Analytics Tools in 2026 (Compared)"
description: "Comprehensive comparison of the best open source web analytics and product analytics tools in 2026. Self-hosted and cloud options with pricing, features, and honest reviews."
date: 2024-11-10
updated: 2026-02-13
cover: /content/cover-best-web-analytics.jpg
tag: Comparison
team: OpenPanel Team
---
import { Faqs, FaqItem } from '@/components/faq';
import { Figure } from '@/components/figure'

The best open source web analytics tools in 2026 are **OpenPanel** (best overall for web + product analytics), **PostHog** (best all-in-one platform), **Plausible** (best for simplicity), and **Matomo** (best Google Analytics replacement). All offer self-hosting, privacy-first tracking, and GDPR compliance.

Open source analytics tools give you what proprietary platforms like Google Analytics can't: **complete data ownership**, **no vendor lock-in**, **privacy compliance by design**, and **the ability to self-host for free**. Whether you need simple pageview tracking or advanced product analytics with funnels, retention, and session replay — there's an open source solution that fits. If you're specifically looking to replace GA4, see our [Google Analytics alternative comparison](/compare/google-analytics-alternative) and [migration guide](/guides/migrate-from-google-analytics).

Here's a quick comparison of all 9 tools:

| Tool | Type | License | Self-Host | Cloud Pricing (from) | Best For |
|------|------|---------|-----------|---------------------|----------|
| [**OpenPanel**](#openpanel) | Web + Product | AGPL-3.0 | Free | $2.50/mo | Teams wanting Mixpanel-like analytics, open source |
| [**PostHog**](#posthog) | Product + Web | MIT | Free | $0 + usage | Developers needing analytics + flags + experiments |
| [**Plausible**](#plausible) | Web | AGPL-3.0 | Free | $9/mo | Simple, privacy-first pageview analytics |
| [**Matomo**](#matomo) | Web | GPL-3.0 | Free | €29/mo | Google Analytics replacement with full feature set |
| [**Fathom**](#fathom) | Web | Proprietary | License | $15/mo | Privacy-focused teams wanting zero maintenance |
| [**Umami**](#umami) | Web | MIT | Free | $0 + usage | Developers wanting lightweight, self-hosted analytics |
| [**Ackee**](#ackee) | Web | MIT | Free | None | Minimalist self-hosted tracking |
| [**Pirsch**](#pirsch) | Web | AGPL-3.0 | License | $6/mo | Server-side analytics without JavaScript |
| [**Swetrix**](#swetrix) | Web | AGPL-3.0 | Free | $5/mo | Cookieless analytics with performance monitoring |

Now let's dive deep into each tool.

## What to Look for in Open Source Analytics

Before picking a tool, consider these key factors:

- **Web analytics vs product analytics** — Do you just need pageviews and traffic sources, or do you need event tracking, funnels, retention, and user journeys?
- **Self-hosted vs cloud** — Self-hosting gives you full data control and is often free, but requires server maintenance. Cloud hosting is easier but costs money.
- **Privacy and compliance** — Does the tool track without cookies? Is it GDPR/CCPA compliant by design?
- **Ease of setup** — Some tools take minutes to deploy, others need significant DevOps work.
- **Community and maintenance** — Is the project actively maintained? How large is the community?
- **Pricing model** — Event-based, pageview-based, or flat fee? How does cost scale with growth?

## OpenPanel

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/openpanel.png"
  caption="OpenPanel's overview page giving you a first glance of your web analytics"
/>

### Summary
OpenPanel is an open source analytics platform that combines **web analytics and product analytics** in one tool. Think of it as Mixpanel meets Plausible — you get real-time [event tracking](/features/event-tracking), customizable charts, an overview dashboard with instant insights, individual user and session views, [funnels](/features/funnels), [retention analysis](/features/retention), and multiple SDKs. It uses cookieless tracking and is GDPR compliant by design. You can self-host for free or use the Cloud service with a 30-day free trial.

- Homepage: [**https://openpanel.dev**](https://openpanel.dev)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/Openpanel-dev/openpanel**](https://github.com/Openpanel-dev/openpanel)  
- License: **AGPL-3.0**  
- Rating: **5/5**
- Discount: 30% off (first 3 months): [Use discount code **GOOGLE**](https://dashboard.openpanel.dev/onboarding)

### Pricing

OpenPanel Cloud has a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. After the trial, you choose the tier matching your monthly event volume. Self-hosting is completely free — you provide your own infrastructure.

| Events per Month | Price (USD/month) |
| ---------------- | ----------------- |
| Up to 5,000      | $2.50             |
| Up to 10,000     | $5                |
| Up to 100,000    | $20               |
| Up to 250,000    | $30               |
| Up to 500,000    | $50               |
| Up to 1,000,000  | $90               |
| Up to 2,500,000  | $180              |
| Up to 5,000,000  | $250              |
| Up to 10,000,000 | $350              |
| Up to 20,000,000 | $530              |
| Up to 30,000,000 | $680              |
| Up to 40,000,000 | $800              |
| Up to 50,000,000 | $900              |

> All Cloud plans include unlimited websites, unlimited dashboards, unlimited team members, email & Discord support, and 5 years of data retention. No add-ons or hidden costs.

### Pros
- Open source and self-hostable — you control your data completely
- Combines web and product analytics in one platform (replaces both GA and Mixpanel)
- Real-time tracking and instant insights, no delays
- Cookieless, GDPR/CCPA compliant by design — no consent banners needed
- Generous free trial and straightforward usage-based pricing
- All features included at every tier, no add-ons

### Cons
- Cloud costs grow as event volume increases
- Self-hosting requires server setup and maintenance
- Project is newer with a smaller community than Matomo or PostHog
- No built-in session replay or heatmaps (yet)

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does OpenPanel pricing work after the free trial?">
After your 30-day free trial, you pick the plan that covers your monthly events. If you exceed your tier's limit, you simply move up to the next tier or contact sales for a custom enterprise plan. All features are included at every pricing level.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What tools can OpenPanel replace?">
OpenPanel can replace Mixpanel, Amplitude, and Google Analytics by offering both product and web analytics in a single, privacy-friendly platform. It tracks events, pageviews, user journeys, funnels, and retention — all without cookies.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's included in the open source version of OpenPanel?">
Everything — custom dashboards, charts, real-time views, user/session drill-downs, funnels, retention, and all SDKs ship under an AGPL-3.0 license with no feature gating. The self-hosted version is identical to the cloud version.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What are the hosting requirements for OpenPanel?">
A mid-range VPS (approximately 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, SSD) running Docker Compose is sufficient for most projects. Scale vertically as event volume grows. A decent VPS costs $20-50/month and can handle millions of events.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="Is there a hosted option for OpenPanel?">
Yes. OpenPanel Cloud starts with a 30-day free trial (no credit card required), then switches to usage-based tiers — for example, $20/month for 100K events or $90/month for 1M events.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to OpenPanel
**Plausible Analytics**  
- Open source, privacy-focused web analytics with flat pricing  
- Lightweight, cookieless tracking and simple dashboards  
- Predictable monthly cost starting at $9 for 10,000 pageviews  
- Ideal if you need core web metrics without product analytics  

## PostHog

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/posthog.png"
  caption="PostHog"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs PostHog](/compare/posthog-alternative)

### Summary
PostHog is an open source platform for product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, error tracking, and surveys — all in one place. It's developer-focused and offers both self-hosting and a generous cloud free tier. If you need a Swiss Army knife for product development, PostHog is a strong choice.

- Homepage: [**https://posthog.com**](https://posthog.com)
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/PostHog/posthog**](https://github.com/PostHog/posthog)
- License: **MIT**
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

PostHog offers a generous free tier with 1 million analytics events per month, plus 5,000 session recordings, 1M feature flag requests, and more. Beyond the free limits, pricing uses volume-based step-down rates:

| Monthly Events | Cost per Event | Example Monthly Cost |
|---------------|---------------|---------------------|
| First 1M | Free | $0 |
| 1-2M | $0.00005 | ~$50 |
| 2-15M | $0.0000343 | ~$396 (at 12M) |
| 15-50M | $0.0000295 | Declining rate |
| 50-100M | $0.0000218 | Declining rate |
| 100-250M | $0.000015 | Declining rate |

Anonymous events are 55-80% cheaper than identified events, which can significantly reduce costs.

### Pros
- Open source and self-host friendly — you keep full data control
- All-in-one suite: analytics, replays, flags, experiments, errors, surveys
- Generous monthly free tier for smaller projects
- Strong developer community and active development

### Cons
- Usage-based pricing can be hard to predict as you grow
- Managing a self-hosted instance takes significant ops work
- Self-hosting vs cloud is not feature-equivalent
- Complexity — the sheer number of features can be overwhelming

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does PostHog pricing work after the free tier?">
PostHog uses volume-based step-down pricing. After the first 1M free events, you pay $0.00005 per event for the next million, then the rate drops as volume increases. A company sending 12M events monthly would pay approximately $393/month.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between PostHog and OpenPanel?">
OpenPanel is more affordable than PostHog once you exceed 1 million events, making it a cost-effective choice for growing projects. While PostHog offers a broader range of features (flags, experiments, surveys, error tracking), OpenPanel focuses on web and product analytics with simpler self-hosting and identical cloud/self-hosted feature parity.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What tools can PostHog replace?">
By bundling product analytics, web analytics, session replay, feature flags, experiments, error tracking, and surveys, PostHog can replace Mixpanel, Amplitude, Google Analytics, Hotjar/FullStory, and LaunchDarkly in one stack.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's included in the open source version?">
PostHog Open Source (MIT) includes almost every feature but is limited to a single project per instance and comes without an uptime guarantee — ideal for hobby or proof-of-concept use.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What are the self-hosting requirements?">
The team recommends at least 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM and 30 GB+ storage. Self-hosting works best up to ~300K events/month; beyond that, PostHog Cloud handles scaling for you.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="Is there a hosted option?">
Yes. PostHog Cloud offers a free tier (1M events, 5K recordings, 1M flag API requests) with US or EU data residency, then pay-as-you-go pricing after the free limits.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

## Plausible

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/plausible.png"
  caption="Plausible"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs Plausible](/compare/plausible-alternative)

### Summary
Plausible is an open source, privacy-friendly web analytics tool built as a lightweight alternative to Google Analytics. It tracks pageviews and custom events without cookies or personal data. You get real-time reports, goals, custom events, email/Slack reports, and GDPR/CCPA compliance out of the box. It's the go-to choice if you want simple, clean analytics without complexity.

- Homepage: [**https://plausible.io**](https://plausible.io)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/plausible/analytics**](https://github.com/plausible/analytics)  
- License: **AGPL v3**
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

Plausible uses traffic-based plans billed monthly or yearly (2 months free on annual). All plans include unlimited data retention, unlimited team members, Google Analytics import, and all core features.

| Plan      | Pageviews per Month | Price (Monthly) | Price (Yearly) | Sites | Data Retention |
|-----------|---------------------|-----------------|----------------|-------|----------------|
| Starter   | Up to 10,000        | $9              | $90            | 1     | Unlimited      |
| Growth    | Up to 100,000       | $14             | $140           | 3     | Unlimited      |
| Business  | Up to 200,000       | $19             | $190           | 10    | Unlimited      |
| Enterprise| 200,001+            | Custom          | Custom         | 10+   | Unlimited      |

### Pros
- Designed for privacy — no cookies, no personal data tracking
- Simple, intuitive dashboard that anyone can understand
- Open source with free self-host option and transparent pricing
- Very lightweight script (~1 KB) that doesn't slow your site

### Cons
- No free tier beyond self-hosting
- Costs can rise quickly as traffic grows
- No product analytics features (no [funnels](/features/funnels), retention, or user-level tracking)
- No session replay or heatmaps

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between Plausible and OpenPanel?">
Both offer privacy-friendly, open source web analytics with easy self-hosting. However, OpenPanel goes further by including advanced product analytics features — such as event tracking, user journeys, funnels, and retention analysis — making it suitable for teams that need deeper insights into user behavior, not just website traffic. If you want the simplest possible analytics, Plausible is great; if you need product analytics too, OpenPanel is the better fit.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="How does Plausible protect user privacy?">
Plausible does not use cookies or collect personal data. All tracking is aggregated and anonymized, making it GDPR and CCPA compliant by design. No consent banners needed.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What tools can Plausible replace?">
Plausible is a privacy-first alternative to Google Analytics and other pageview-focused trackers, giving you simple dashboards without cookies or personal data collection.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's included in the open source version?">
Everything you see in Plausible Cloud — real-time dashboards, goals, custom events, unlimited retention and team members — is also in the self-hosted AGPL build.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="Is there a hosted option?">
Yes. Plausible Cloud starts at $9/month for 10K pageviews with simple, traffic-based pricing. A 30-day free trial is available.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Plausible
**Umami**  
- Umami is almost a 1-to-1 alternative to Plausible with an MIT license
- Free cloud tier with 1M events/month

**OpenPanel**
- Similar to both Umami and Plausible but also adds product analytics to the mix

## Matomo

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/matomo.png"
  caption="Matomo"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs Matomo](/compare/matomo-alternative)

### Summary
Matomo (formerly Piwik) is the most established open source web analytics platform. It's been around since 2007 and positions itself as the leading Google Analytics alternative. You can track web and mobile visits, build charts, create dashboards, set goals, run A/B tests, record sessions, view heatmaps, and more. You own all your data and can choose to self-host for free or use Matomo Cloud.

- Homepage: [**https://matomo.org**](https://matomo.org)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/matomo-org/matomo**](https://github.com/matomo-org/matomo)  
- License: **GNU GPL v3**
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

| Plan         | Price                            | Hits per Month        | Support                                    | Websites | Data Retention |
| ------------ | -------------------------------- | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | -------- | -------------- |
| On-Premise   | €0                               | Unlimited             | Free community support or paid subscriptions | Unlimited| Forever        |
| Cloud (50K)  | €29/month or €290/year           | Up to 50,000          | Email support & Customer Success Manager    | 30       | 24 months      |

For higher volumes (100K, 300K, 1M+ hits), contact sales for enterprise pricing.

### Pros
- Most mature open source analytics platform (since 2007)
- Full data ownership and GDPR/CCPA compliance
- Rich feature set: dashboards, A/B tests, heatmaps, session recordings, funnels
- Free self-hosted option with no limits on hits or users
- Large plugin ecosystem

### Cons
- Self-hosting requires server setup, maintenance, and PHP knowledge
- Cloud costs rise sharply beyond the base 50K tier
- Many advanced plugins (A/B testing, heatmaps, etc.) require paid subscriptions even on self-hosted
- UI can feel dated compared to newer tools

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="What is included in Matomo Cloud's €29/month plan?">
For €29 per month (or €290/year), you get up to 50,000 hits, 30 websites, 30 team members, 24 months of raw data retention, email support, and a Customer Success Manager.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What tools can Matomo replace?">
Matomo is designed as a direct GDPR-compliant replacement for Google Analytics 4. It covers web analytics, ecommerce tracking, and basic product analytics.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's included in the open source version?">
Self-hosted Matomo covers user and event tracking, ecommerce analytics, segmentation, and customizable dashboards. However, premium add-ons (A/B testing, heatmaps, session recordings) cost extra.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What are the self-hosting requirements?">
For ~100K pageviews/month: 2 CPU, 2 GB RAM and 50 GB SSD. Over 1M pageviews, Matomo recommends separate app and database servers.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="Is there a hosted option?">
Yes. Matomo Cloud charges by "hits per month" and unlocks all paid add-ons out of the box. Plans start at €29/month for 50K hits.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Matomo
**Fathom Analytics**  
- Privacy-focused, simple analytics with no cookies or personal data  
- Flat monthly pricing (starts at $15/month) for unlimited sites
- Easy setup with minimal interface for core metrics  

## Fathom

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/fathom.png"
  caption="Fathom"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs Fathom](/compare/fathom-alternative)

### Summary
Fathom is a privacy-focused web analytics tool that tracks pageviews and events without cookies or personal data. You get real-time reports, unlimited data retention, unlimited sites, and simple dashboards. While Fathom isn't truly open source (it's proprietary with a self-host license available), it's included here because it's a popular alternative in the privacy-first analytics space.

- Homepage: [**https://usefathom.com**](https://usefathom.com)  
- GitHub: **No public repository** (proprietary)
- License: **Proprietary** (self-host license available)  
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

Fathom bills by monthly data points (pageviews + events). All plans include unlimited sites, data retention, email reports, exports, and support.

| Plan                   | Data Points / Month | Price (Monthly) | Price (Yearly, 17% off) |
| ---------------------- | ------------------- | --------------- | ----------------------- |
| Starter                | Up to 100,000       | $15             | $150/yr                 |
| Growth                 | Up to 200,000       | $25             | $250/yr                 |
| Business               | Up to 500,000       | $45             | $450/yr                 |
| Scale                  | Up to 1,000,000     | $60             | $600/yr                 |
| Scale+                 | Up to 2,000,000     | $100            | $1,000/yr               |
| Enterprise Small       | Up to 5,000,000     | $140            | $1,400/yr               |
| Enterprise Medium      | Up to 10,000,000    | $200            | $2,000/yr               |
| Enterprise Large       | Up to 15,000,000    | $290            | $2,900/yr               |
| Enterprise X-Large     | Up to 20,000,000    | $380            | $3,800/yr               |
| Enterprise Custom      | Over 25,000,000     | Contact sales   | Contact sales           |

### Pros
- No cookies or personal data collection by design
- Real-time, simple dashboard with core metrics
- Unlimited sites and data retention on every plan
- EU-isolation option available for GDPR compliance

### Cons
- **Not open source** — proprietary platform with no public code
- Costs rise linearly as traffic grows
- No product analytics features (no funnels, retention, or user tracking)
- No session replay or heatmaps

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does Fathom pricing work after the free trial?">
Fathom charges by data-point tiers. You start on the plan matching your monthly pageviews and events, and you move up if you exceed your quota.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between Fathom and OpenPanel?">
Fathom is a hosted, proprietary analytics service with simple, tiered pricing focused on web analytics only. OpenPanel is open source and privacy-friendly, offering both web and product analytics, real-time views, individual [session tracking](/features/session-tracking), funnels, retention, charts, cookieless GDPR compliance, and multiple SDKs you can self-host for free.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Fathom
**Simple Analytics**  
- Privacy-first, cookie-free analytics under a flat fee model  
- Tracks pageviews only with a focus on simplicity  
- No free tier but predictable pricing by site count  
- Clean dashboard and easy setup with no code changes  

## Umami

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/umami.png"
  caption="Umami"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs Umami](/compare/umami-alternative)

### Summary
Umami is an open source, privacy-friendly web analytics tool. It tracks pageviews and basic events without cookies or personal data. The lightweight script (~2 KB) loads fast and is GDPR/CCPA compliant by default. It's one of the simplest open source analytics tools to self-host, making it popular with developers who want a quick Google Analytics replacement.

- Homepage: [**https://umami.is**](https://umami.is)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/umami-software/umami**](https://github.com/umami-software/umami)  
- License: **MIT**  
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

Self-hosted Umami is free with unlimited sites and events, managed by you with community support.

Umami Cloud is free for the first 1 million events per month. Beyond that, you pay $0.00002 per additional event.

| Plan        | Price                            | Monthly Free Limits | Support       | Retention  |
| ----------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------- | ---------- |
| Self-host   | $0                               | Unlimited events & sites | Community forum | Unlimited  |
| Cloud       | $0 + $0.00002 per event over 1M  | 1,000,000 events    | Email support | 5 years    |

### Pros
- Fully open source (MIT) and self-hosted option gives you complete data control
- Privacy-first design with no cookies or personal data collection
- Very lightweight tracking script that won't slow your site
- Simple to self-host with Docker Compose

### Cons
- Limited to basic web metrics; no product analytics, session replay, or heatmaps
- Running your own server means maintenance and updates
- Cloud costs can add up at high event volumes
- Fewer advanced features compared to OpenPanel or PostHog

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does Umami pricing work after the free tier?">
After the first 1 million events each month, Umami Cloud charges $0.00002 for each additional event. There are no per-site or per-user fees.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between Umami and OpenPanel?">
Umami provides open source, cookieless web analytics focused on pageviews and basic events. OpenPanel is also open source and privacy-friendly but adds product analytics, real-time dashboards, individual session and user tracking, funnels, retention analysis, event visualization charts, and multiple SDKs — all cookieless and GDPR compliant.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What tools can Umami replace?">
Umami is primarily a Google Analytics replacement for teams that want cookie-free, privacy-first pageview tracking without the complexity.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's included in the open source version?">
There's no feature gap — funnels, user paths, retention, and custom events are all in the MIT-licensed build.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What are the self-hosting requirements?">
A server with Node 18+ and either MySQL 8+ or PostgreSQL 12+. Official Docker Compose templates make deployment straightforward.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="Is there a hosted option?">
Yes. Umami Cloud lets you track up to 1M events each month for free, then bills $0.00002 per event thereafter.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Umami
**GoatCounter**  
- Open source, privacy-focused analytics with simple pageview and event tracking  
- Self-host for free or use hosted plans starting at €5/month  
- Lightweight script, no cookies required, GDPR compliant  
- Very simple setup and predictable flat pricing  

## Ackee

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/ackee.png"
  caption="Ackee"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs Ackee](/compare/ackee-alternative)

### Summary
Ackee is an open source, self-hosted web analytics tool that focuses on privacy and minimalism. It runs on your own server with Node.js and MongoDB, tracks pageviews and custom events without cookies or personal data, and presents stats in a minimal interface. It uses a GraphQL API and keeps all tracked data anonymized by default.

- Homepage: [**https://ackee.electerious.com**](https://ackee.electerious.com)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/electerious/Ackee**](https://github.com/electerious/Ackee)  
- License: **MIT**
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

Ackee is completely free to self-host. You download the code, run it on your server, and there are no limits on sites, pageviews, team members, or data retention.

> _Note: There is no official Ackee-hosted service. Some third-party providers (like Elestio) offer managed Ackee hosting, but pricing varies by provider._

### Pros
- Fully open source and free to self-host — you control all your data
- Privacy-first design: no cookies, anonymized tracking, GDPR/CCPA compliant
- Lightweight and minimal UI with fast load times
- GraphQL API allows custom integrations and flexible querying

### Cons
- Limited to basic metrics (no funnels, session replay, or heatmaps)
- Requires server setup, maintenance, and security updates
- No official hosted offering — managed hosting depends on third parties
- Minimal feature set won't suit teams needing advanced analytics
- Requires MongoDB, which adds complexity

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does Ackee pricing work?">
Ackee is free forever if you self-host. There is no paid tier or usage fees for the core software. Your only costs are the server infrastructure you run it on.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between Ackee and OpenPanel?">
Ackee is a self-hosted, minimal web analytics tool that tracks pageviews and basic events without cookies. OpenPanel is also open source and privacy-friendly but adds product analytics, real-time dashboards, individual session and user tracking, funnels, retention, event visualization charts, and multiple SDKs you can use via cloud or self-host.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Ackee
**GoatCounter**  
- Open source and privacy-focused, with GDPR-compliant, cookieless tracking  
- Self-host free or use hosted plans starting at €5/month  
- Simple pageview and basic event metrics, predictable flat pricing  

## Pirsch

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/pirsch.png"
  caption="Pirsch"
/>

> See our detailed comparison: [OpenPanel vs Pirsch](/compare/pirsch-analytics-alternative)

### Summary
Pirsch is a server-side, cookieless, privacy-focused web analytics solution built in Go. It generates anonymized visitor fingerprints, works even with ad blockers, and is GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant. The server-side approach means the tracking isn't affected by client-side blockers — a unique advantage.

- Homepage: [**https://pirsch.io**](https://pirsch.io)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/pirsch-analytics/pirsch**](https://github.com/pirsch-analytics/pirsch)  
- License: **AGPL-3.0**
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

Pirsch offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. After that, plans are usage-based on monthly pageviews:

| Plan            | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Pageviews Included | Websites  |
|-----------------|---------------|--------------|--------------------|-----------| 
| Standard        | $6            | $60          | Up to 10,000       | Up to 50  |
| Plus            | $12           | $120         | Custom             | Unlimited |
| Enterprise      | Custom        | Custom       | Custom             | Custom    |

Plus plan adds funnels, A/B testing, custom domains/themes, white-labeling, priority support, and event goals.

### Pros
- Server-side tracking works around ad blockers — get more complete data
- Privacy-focused with no cookies and anonymized data by default
- Lightweight Go library and multiple SDKs (JS, PHP, Laravel, etc.)
- Hosted in the EU on German servers (Hetzner)

### Cons
- Self-hosting requires an enterprise license (not free)
- Usage tiers can get costly as traffic grows
- No session replay or heatmaps
- Smaller community compared to Plausible or Matomo

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does Pirsch pricing work after the free trial?">
After 30 days, you choose the tier matching your monthly pageviews. If you exceed your included pageviews, you upgrade to the next tier or contact sales for enterprise options.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between Pirsch and OpenPanel?">
Pirsch is a server-side Go-based analytics service focused on ad-blocker-resistant tracking and EU hosting. OpenPanel is fully open source, privacy-friendly, and cookieless, offering both web and product analytics, real-time dashboards, individual session/user tracking, funnels, retention, and multiple SDKs you can self-host for free.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Pirsch
**Plausible Analytics**  
- Open source, cookieless web analytics with a flat pricing model  
- Simple dashboard, real-time data, and GDPR/CCPA compliance  
- Self-host for free or use hosted plans starting at $9/month for 10,000 pageviews  


## Swetrix

<Figure
  src="/content/tools/swetrix.png"
  caption="Swetrix"
/>

### Summary
Swetrix is an open source, cookieless web analytics platform that focuses on privacy and ease of use. You can track pageviews, custom events, user flows, performance metrics, and more — all without cookie banners. It also includes web performance monitoring, which most other tools in this list don't offer.

- Homepage: [**https://swetrix.com**](https://swetrix.com)  
- GitHub: [**https://github.com/Swetrix/swetrix**](https://github.com/Swetrix/swetrix)  
- License: **AGPL-3.0**
- Rating: **4/5**

### Pricing

Swetrix offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. After that, you pick a plan based on monthly events:

| Plan               | Events per Month | Price (USD/month) |
| ------------------ | ---------------- | ----------------- |
| Basic              | Up to 10,000     | $5                |
| Growth             | Up to 100,000    | $15               |
| Pro                | Up to 200,000    | $25               |
| Business           | Up to 500,000    | $45               |
| Premium            | Up to 1,000,000  | $59               |
| Enterprise Small   | Up to 2,000,000  | $84               |
| Enterprise Medium  | Up to 5,000,000  | $110              |
| Enterprise Large   | Up to 10,000,000 | $150              |
| Enterprise X-Large | Over 10,000,000  | Contact sales     |   

### Pros
- Fully open source and self-hostable for complete data control
- Cookieless tracking that is GDPR/CCPA compliant by design
- Includes web performance monitoring (page load times, Core Web Vitals)
- Clean, simple dashboard with user flows, alerts, and exports

### Cons
- Hosted plans use usage-based tiers, so costs rise with traffic
- Self-hosting requires setup, maintenance, and hosting infrastructure
- No session replay or heatmaps
- Smaller community compared to more established tools

### FAQ

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="How does Swetrix pricing work after the free trial?">
After your 14-day trial, you choose the plan that covers your monthly events. If you exceed your plan's limit, you move up to the next tier or contact sales for a custom enterprise plan.
</FaqItem>
<FaqItem question="What's the difference between Swetrix and OpenPanel?">
Swetrix is a cookieless, open source web analytics tool focused on pageviews, events, performance monitoring, and user flows. OpenPanel also offers web analytics but adds product analytics with event tracking, funnels, retention, individual user/session views, and multiple SDKs — all cookieless and GDPR compliant.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>

### Alternative to Swetrix
**Plausible Analytics**  
- Open source, privacy-first web analytics with flat pricing  
- Tracks pageviews and goals with no cookies required  
- Self-host for free or start hosted plans at $9/month for 10,000 pageviews  
- Simple setup and predictable costs  

## Pricing Comparison: All 9 Tools at a Glance

Here's how the cloud/hosted pricing compares across all tools at common event volumes:

| Monthly Events | OpenPanel | PostHog | Plausible | Matomo Cloud | Fathom | Umami Cloud | Pirsch | Swetrix |
|---------------|-----------|---------|-----------|-------------|--------|-------------|--------|---------|
| 10K | $5 | $0 | $9 | €29 | $15 | $0 | $6 | $5 |
| 100K | $20 | $0 | $14 | €29 | $15 | $0 | ~$12+ | $15 |
| 500K | $50 | $0 | ~$19+ | Custom | $45 | $0 | Custom | $45 |
| 1M | $90 | $0 | Custom | Custom | $60 | $0 | Custom | $59 |
| 5M | $250 | ~$187 | Custom | Custom | $140 | ~$80 | Custom | $110 |
| 10M | $350 | ~$393 | Custom | Custom | $200 | ~$180 | Custom | $150 |

*PostHog and Umami include 1M free events/month. Plausible prices by pageviews, not events. Matomo prices by "hits." Exact pricing varies — check each provider for current rates.*

## How to Choose the Right Open Source Analytics Tool

**Choose OpenPanel if** you want the power of product analytics (funnels, retention, user tracking) combined with web analytics, at an affordable price. Best for startups and growing companies.

**Choose PostHog if** you need an all-in-one developer platform with analytics, feature flags, experiments, error tracking, and surveys. Best for engineering-heavy teams.

**Choose Plausible if** you want the simplest possible privacy-first web analytics. No complexity, just clean traffic data. Best for blogs, marketing sites, and simple web projects.

**Choose Matomo if** you need a mature, full-featured Google Analytics replacement with heatmaps, session recordings, and A/B testing. Best for enterprises moving away from GA4. See our full [Google Analytics alternative comparison](/compare/google-analytics-alternative) for a detailed breakdown.

**Choose Umami if** you want a lightweight, MIT-licensed tool to self-host with minimal setup. Best for developers who want basic analytics on personal projects.

**Choose Fathom if** you want simple privacy analytics without any self-hosting. Best for businesses that want zero maintenance.

**Choose Pirsch if** you need server-side tracking that works around ad blockers. Best for sites where tracking accuracy is critical.

**Choose Swetrix if** you want web analytics plus performance monitoring in one tool. Best for teams focused on web performance.

**Choose Ackee if** you want the most minimal self-hosted solution possible. Best for personal projects or developers who want maximum simplicity.

<Faqs>
<FaqItem question="What is the best open source web analytics tool?">
The best open source web analytics tool depends on your needs. For combined web and product analytics, OpenPanel offers the best value. For simplicity, Plausible is hard to beat. For an all-in-one developer platform, PostHog is the most comprehensive. For a mature Google Analytics replacement, Matomo has the longest track record. All four offer self-hosting and GDPR compliance.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="What is the best open source alternative to Google Analytics?">
The top open source alternatives to Google Analytics are Matomo (most similar feature set), Plausible (simplest and most privacy-focused), OpenPanel (adds product analytics), and Umami (lightest weight). All are GDPR compliant and can be self-hosted for free. Matomo is the most direct replacement since it tracks similar metrics to GA4. For a detailed comparison, see our [Google Analytics alternative page](/compare/google-analytics-alternative). Ready to switch? Follow our step-by-step [migration guide](/guides/migrate-from-google-analytics).
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Can I self-host open source analytics for free?">
Yes. OpenPanel, PostHog, Plausible, Matomo, Umami, Ackee, and Swetrix all offer free self-hosting. Your only cost is the server infrastructure, which typically runs $5-50/month for a VPS depending on your traffic volume. Self-hosting gives you complete data ownership and privacy control.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="What is the best open source product analytics tool?">
For open source product analytics (event tracking, funnels, retention, user journeys), the top options are OpenPanel and PostHog. OpenPanel is more affordable and simpler to self-host, while PostHog offers additional features like feature flags, experiments, and error tracking. Both support self-hosting and have generous free tiers on their cloud platforms.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Which open source analytics tools don't use cookies?">
Most modern open source analytics tools are cookieless by design. OpenPanel, Plausible, Umami, Pirsch, Fathom, Swetrix, and Ackee all track without cookies. Matomo offers a cookieless tracking mode. PostHog uses cookies by default but can be configured for cookieless tracking. Cookieless tools don't require consent banners, improving both user experience and data accuracy.
</FaqItem>

<FaqItem question="Is open source analytics secure?">
Open source analytics can be more secure than proprietary alternatives because the code is publicly auditable. With self-hosted solutions, your data never leaves your servers. Tools like OpenPanel, Matomo, and PostHog are GDPR and CCPA compliant by design, with built-in privacy features like IP anonymization and data minimization.
</FaqItem>
</Faqs>
