Compare · GoatCounter
Best GoatCounter alternative.
Like GoatCounter's simple, cookie-free stats? Pieowl keeps no cookies and adds product analytics: funnels, retention, cohorts, user profiles and session replay. Your data is stored in our EU cloud.
- No cookies
- Funnels and retention
- Session replay
- EU cloud
Pieowl vs GoatCounter: which is right for you?
Pieowl if…
- 1SaaS products that need user-level analytics and retention
- 2Teams that need funnels and conversion tracking
- 3React Native apps that report into the same Pieowl site as the website
GoatCounter if…
- 1Personal blogs and small sites that want simple stats
- 2Developers who want the simplest self-host: one binary and SQLite
- 3Sites that want tracking with no JavaScript (tracking pixel or log files)
Both skip cookies. GoatCounter is minimal web stats. Pieowl adds product analytics.
Why consider Pieowl over GoatCounter?
GoatCounter is a small, privacy-aware web analytics tool made by Martin Tournoij. It counts unique visits without cookies and without storing personal data. It shows referrers, campaigns, browsers, locations and screen sizes. The hosted service is free for reasonable public use, and you can self-host it as a single binary with SQLite or PostgreSQL. Its code is public under the EUPL 1.2 license.
GoatCounter is simple on purpose. It does not offer funnels, retention, user profiles or session replay. For a personal blog that's fine. For a product with signups and paying users, you need more.
Pieowl keeps the privacy basics: no cookies, no stored IP addresses, and a visitor hash with a salt that changes daily. On top, you get funnels, retention, cohorts, user profiles, session replay, revenue tracking and an MCP server, so your own AI assistant can answer questions about your data.
Pieowl stores events in ClickHouse, a database built for analytics queries. It runs in our EU cloud, from $9/month for 10K events after a 14-day free trial. Unlike GoatCounter, Pieowl has no self-hosted option.
Key differences at a glance
How Pieowl and GoatCounter compare on key factors. Checked October 2026.
| Feature | Pieowl | GoatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Key differences | ||
| User identification | Optional, when you call identify | No unique identifiers |
| Funnels and retention | Yes | No |
| Tracking without JavaScript | Server SDKs and HTTP API | Tracking pixel, middleware or log files |
| Session replay | Yes, opt-in per site | No |
| Free option | 14-day free trial, then from $9/mo; no self-hosted option | Free hosted (reasonable public use) and free self-host |
| Web analytics | ||
| Page views and unique visits | Yes | Yes |
| Referrers | Yes | Yes |
| Location | Yes | Yes |
| Browser and screen size | Yes | Yes |
| Campaign tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Realtime view | Yes | Not listed |
| Product analytics | ||
| Custom events with properties | Yes | Not listed |
| Funnels | Yes | No |
| Retention | Yes | No |
| User profilesGoatCounter does not track users with unique identifiers | Yes | No |
| Cohorts | Yes | No |
| User paths (Sankey chart) | Yes | No |
| Advanced features | ||
| Session replay recordings | Yes | No |
| Revenue tracking | Yes | No |
| Ask your AI assistant (MCP) | Yes | No |
| Tracking pixel (no JavaScript) | No | Yes |
| Import from server log files | No | Yes |
| Slack and Discord notifications | Yes | Not listed |
| Privacy | ||
| No cookies | Yes | Yes |
| No personal data stored | IPs not stored; identify is optional | Yes |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes |
| Export all your data | API, S3 or Google Cloud Storage | Yes |
| Bot filtering | Yes | Not listed |
| SDKs and platforms | ||
| Script tag for any website | Yes | Yes |
| React Native SDK | Yes | No |
| Server-side tracking | Node.js SDK | Backend middleware |
| HTTP API | Yes | Yes |
| Deployment | ||
| Hosted service | EU cloud | goatcounter.com |
| Docker | No | Yes |
| Single binary deployment | No | Yes |
| SQLite support | No | Yes |
Technical comparison
For developers, here is the technical breakdown.
| Feature | Pieowl | GoatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Script sizeBoth are small. Pieowl's replay add-on loads only if you turn replay on. | About 3 KB gzipped | About 3.5 KB of extra data |
| Platforms |
|
|
| Self hosting | No (cloud only) | Single static binary with SQLite or PostgreSQL, or Docker |
| Database | ClickHouse (column store, built for analytics) | SQLite or PostgreSQL |
| Language | TypeScript (Node.js) | Go |
Pricing comparison
GoatCounter is free and runs on donations. Pieowl is paid after a 14-day free trial, and is cloud only. GoatCounter details checked October 2026.
Pieowl
Pay per event. Every feature on every plan.- 14-day free trial, no card needed.
- Starter: from $9/month for 10K events, $19 for 100K and $69 for 1M.
- Growth: twice the Starter price, for up to 30 sites and 30 team members.
- Over 10M events a month: talk to us.
- Pay yearly and get 2 months free.
- Paid plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
GoatCounter
Free, supported by donations- Hosted: free for reasonable public use, which covers personal sites and small-to-medium businesses.
- Self-hosted: free.
- Donations through GitHub Sponsors help cover server costs.
Moving from GoatCounter to Pieowl
Both use a small script, so switching is quick.
- 01Add the Pieowl script
Add your site at app.pieowl.com and put the Pieowl snippet on it. Page views start coming in right away.
- 02Track your key actions
Call pieowl('track', 'event_name', { ...properties }) for signups and other actions, or add a data-track attribute to buttons.
- 03Identify users (optional)
Call pieowl('identify', { profileId }) after login to unlock user profiles, retention and cohorts. Skip it and Pieowl never gets names or user IDs.
- 04Set up funnels and retention
Build your signup or checkout funnel and a retention chart. Or ask your AI assistant to run them for you over MCP.
- 05Remove the GoatCounter script
When the numbers look right, remove GoatCounter. Neither tool uses cookies, so your cookie setup does not change.
Effort: Easy
Estimated time: 30 minutes to 1 hourSDK compatibility
Both use one script tag. Pieowl adds a track call for events and identify for logged-in users.Historical data
Pieowl has no GoatCounter importer. GoatCounter lets you export all your data, so you can keep a copy of your history.
Where Pieowl is a better fit than GoatCounter
Pick Pieowl when you need more than page and visitor stats.
SaaS products with logged-in users
Identify users after login to see retention, cohorts and each user's history. GoatCounter does not track users with unique identifiers.
Finding where people drop off
Funnels show which step people leave at, with breakdowns by device, campaign and more.
Seeing what happened in a visit
Session replay shows a visit step by step. It's opt-in per site, and text and form fields are always hidden.
Tracking revenue
Send a purchase with pieowl('revenue', amount) and see revenue by source, campaign and referrer.
Getting answers fast
Connect Claude, Cursor or another AI assistant over MCP and ask about your data in plain English.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about switching from GoatCounter to Pieowl. GoatCounter details checked October 2026.
Is Pieowl as privacy-friendly as GoatCounter?
Both set no cookies. Pieowl does not store IP addresses, and its visitor hash uses a salt that changes daily. The difference: Pieowl lets you identify logged-in users if you choose to. GoatCounter does not track users with unique identifiers.
Why switch from GoatCounter to Pieowl?
People switch when they need funnels, retention, cohorts, user profiles, session replay or revenue tracking. GoatCounter keeps things simple on purpose and does not offer these.
How does pricing compare?
GoatCounter's hosted service is free for reasonable public use and runs on donations. Pieowl has a 14-day free trial, then Starter is $9/month for 10K events, $19/month for 100K and $69/month for 1M. GoatCounter can also be self-hosted for free; Pieowl is cloud only.
Which has the smaller tracking script?
They're about the same. GoatCounter adds about 3.5 KB to your page. Pieowl's script is about 3 KB gzipped.
Can GoatCounter track without JavaScript?
Yes. GoatCounter has a tracking pixel and can import server log files. Pieowl needs its script or SDK, or you can send events from your server with the HTTP API.
Can I self-host Pieowl?
No. Pieowl is cloud only, hosted in the EU. GoatCounter is a single binary that runs with SQLite or PostgreSQL, so it is very easy to run on your own small server.
What license does GoatCounter use?
GoatCounter uses a slightly modified version of the European Union Public License (EUPL) 1.2.
Do I need a cookie banner with Pieowl?
Often not for analytics. Pieowl sets no cookies and stores nothing on your visitors' devices, so in many cases you don't need a consent banner for it. It depends on your country and the features you use: session replay needs consent, and some countries, like Germany, Poland and Ireland, have no exemption for analytics. Our docs page "Do you need a cookie banner?" has the details.
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Ready to make the switch?
14-day free trial, no card needed. Then from $9 a month for 10K events.