{
  "slug": "goatcounter",
  "category": "web-analytics",
  "name": "GoatCounter",
  "description": "Open source web analytics that shows aggregate visitor counts without cookies or stored IP addresses. Available as a hosted service at goatcounter.com or as a self-hosted binary.",
  "website": "https://www.goatcounter.com",
  "source": "https://github.com/arp242/goatcounter",
  "license": null,
  "platforms": [
    "web"
  ],
  "jurisdiction": {
    "code": "IE",
    "name": "Ireland",
    "eyes": null,
    "eu": true,
    "gdpr": true,
    "cloud_act": null
  },
  "pick": false,
  "pick_reason": null,
  "disclosure": null,
  "grade": "C",
  "score": 73,
  "coverage": 100,
  "summary": "GoatCounter scores 73 out of 100 (grade C) on the website analytics criteria. It meets 7 of 11 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, no cookies, no personal data and self-hostable. It does not meet independent audit, transparency report, tells users about requests and security headers. It is based in Ireland: Not in the Five, Nine or Fourteen Eyes; EU member (GDPR). Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade F.",
  "url": "https://privacyratings.com/web-analytics/goatcounter/",
  "markdown": "https://privacyratings.com/web-analytics/goatcounter/index.md",
  "answers": {
    "open_source": {
      "title": "Open source",
      "weight": 3,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://github.com/arp242/goatcounter/blob/master/LICENSE",
      "note": "EUPL-1.2, with a shortened list of compatible licenses."
    },
    "no_trackers": {
      "title": "No trackers or telemetry",
      "weight": 3,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://www.goatcounter.com/help/privacy",
      "note": "The website loads no third-party trackers, and the privacy policy states no information is shared with third parties."
    },
    "no_ads": {
      "title": "No ads or data sales",
      "weight": 2,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://www.goatcounter.com/contribute",
      "note": "Funded by donations and paid plans, with no ads."
    },
    "independent_audit": {
      "title": "Independent audit",
      "weight": 2,
      "answer": "no",
      "evidence": null,
      "note": "No independent audit is published."
    },
    "transparency_report": {
      "title": "Transparency report",
      "weight": 2,
      "answer": "no",
      "evidence": null,
      "note": "No transparency report or government request policy is published."
    },
    "user_notice": {
      "title": "Tells users about requests",
      "weight": 1,
      "answer": "no",
      "evidence": null,
      "note": "No published policy on notifying users about data requests."
    },
    "tls": {
      "title": "TLS configuration",
      "weight": 2,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=www.goatcounter.com&hideResults=on",
      "note": "Grade A"
    },
    "security_headers": {
      "title": "Security headers",
      "weight": 1,
      "answer": "no",
      "evidence": "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/observatory/analyze?host=www.goatcounter.com",
      "note": "Grade F (15/100+)"
    },
    "web_standards": {
      "title": "Modern web standards",
      "weight": 1,
      "answer": "pending",
      "evidence": null,
      "note": "Not tested yet."
    },
    "no_cookies": {
      "title": "No cookies",
      "weight": 2,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://www.goatcounter.com/help/privacy",
      "note": "Nothing is stored in the browser with cookies, localStorage, cache or other methods."
    },
    "no_personal_data": {
      "title": "No personal data",
      "weight": 3,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://www.goatcounter.com/help/sessions",
      "note": "IP addresses and User-Agent headers are only held in memory for session counting and never stored to disk."
    },
    "self_hostable": {
      "title": "Self-hostable",
      "weight": 1,
      "answer": "yes",
      "evidence": "https://github.com/arp242/goatcounter#self-hosting-goatcounter",
      "note": "Official binaries and instructions for self-hosting are provided."
    }
  },
  "tests": {
    "ssllabs": "A",
    "observatory": "F",
    "internetnl_web": null,
    "internetnl_mail": null,
    "trackers": [],
    "tested_at": "2026-10-01T06:59:45.908Z"
  },
  "last_modified": "2026-10-01T07:44:20Z"
}