Counter.dev

Counter.dev is a minimal, privacy-focused web analytics tool created by a German developer. True to its name, Counter.dev focuses on doing one thing well: counting website visitors. It takes a radically minimalist approach to analytics, providing only the most essential metrics without the complexity and privacy concerns of traditional analytics platforms.

Completely Free Forever

Unlike most analytics tools that offer freemium models or paid plans, Counter.dev is completely free and plans to remain so. The project is funded through donations and maintained as a passion project. There are no premium tiers, no usage limits, and no hidden costs. This makes Counter.dev an attractive option for hobbyists, students, open-source projects, and anyone who needs basic analytics without budget constraints.

The commitment to being free is backed by the project's open-source nature. Anyone can inspect the code, contribute improvements, or fork the project if needed. This transparency ensures that the tool remains trustworthy and that the free model is sustainable.

Minimalist Philosophy

Counter.dev embraces minimalism in every aspect of its design. The dashboard is stripped down to the essentials: total visitors, pageviews, referrers, countries, browsers, operating systems, and screen sizes. There are no complex reports, no segmentation tools, and no fancy visualizations. What you see is what you get.

This minimalist approach has several benefits. The learning curve is essentially zero - you can understand everything Counter.dev offers within minutes. The interface loads instantly and performs smoothly. And the lack of complex features means there is less potential for privacy-invading functionality.

Privacy-First Design

Counter.dev does not use cookies, does not collect personal data, and does not track individual users. The tracking script is extremely lightweight and collects only aggregate statistics. IP addresses are not stored, and there is no way to identify or profile individual visitors.

This privacy-first approach means no cookie consent banners are required. Counter.dev is GDPR compliant by design, not through legal workarounds or consent mechanisms. For website owners who want to respect their visitors' privacy while still understanding basic traffic patterns, Counter.dev offers a straightforward solution.

Open Source and Transparent

Counter.dev is fully open source under the MIT license. The source code is available on GitHub, where anyone can inspect how data is collected and processed. This transparency is crucial for privacy-focused tools - you do not have to trust claims about data handling because you can verify them yourself.

The open-source nature also means you can self-host Counter.dev if you prefer. Running your own instance gives you complete control over your analytics data and eliminates any third-party data processing. Self-hosting documentation is available for those who want to go this route.

Lightweight Script

The Counter.dev tracking script is extremely small, weighing in at less than 1KB. This minimal footprint has virtually no impact on page load times or performance scores. The script loads asynchronously and makes a single request to record page visits.

For performance-conscious website owners, this lightweight approach is a significant advantage over bloated analytics scripts that can negatively impact Core Web Vitals and user experience.

Limitations to Consider

Counter.dev's minimalist approach comes with significant limitations. There is no event tracking, no goal tracking, no conversion funnels, and no real-time data. You cannot track custom events, measure e-commerce transactions, or analyze user flows. The data retention is limited, and historical data beyond a certain period may not be available.

The project is maintained by a single developer, which means support is limited and feature development is slow. There is no guaranteed uptime or SLA, making Counter.dev unsuitable for mission-critical business analytics. The free hosting could theoretically be discontinued if the project becomes unsustainable.

Who Should Use Counter.dev

Counter.dev is ideal for personal blogs and portfolios, open-source project websites, hobby sites and side projects, developers who want minimal analytics for their tools, small websites that just need basic traffic numbers, and anyone who wants free, privacy-respecting analytics without complexity. It is not suitable for businesses that need detailed analytics, e-commerce sites, marketing teams requiring conversion tracking, or anyone who needs guaranteed uptime and support.