Pirsch alternatives: 4 free & open-source picks
Curated, verified, and actually free. No trials, no crippled tiers. Star counts and last-activity dates checked by hand, not scraped and forgotten.
Cookieless page views and custom events with a compact dashboard and no hosted meter.
licenseMIT
runsyour machine or their cloud
installCreate an Umami Cloud account or deploy the Node application with Docker Compose and PostgreSQL
dataA self-hosted deployment stores analytics and account data in PostgreSQL; Umami Cloud stores it in Umami's managed service
the catch vs PirschIt has less emphasis on server-side collection and a less compact API workflow than Pirsch, while self-hosting adds operations.
setupNone for hosted signup; self-hosting requires Docker or Node hosting and a PostgreSQL database
facts verified 2026-08-10
Simple cookieless traffic and goals; the Community Edition keeps the dashboard deliberately narrow.
licenseAGPL-3.0+
runsyour server
installDeploy the Community Edition with the official Docker Compose installer
dataAccount and configuration records live in PostgreSQL and analytics events live in ClickHouse on the user's server
the catch vs PirschIt covers page views and goals, but self-hosting is heavier and its server-side collection and API story is less polished than Pirsch's.
setupDocker Compose, roughly 2 GB of RAM, a domain with DNS and TLS, and backups for PostgreSQL and ClickHouse
facts verified 2026-08-10
A broader cookieless dashboard with events, goals and funnels, still deployable from Compose.
licenseAGPL-3.0
runsyour machine or their cloud
installUse the hosted service or deploy the free self-hosted edition with Docker Compose
dataThe self-hosted stack uses PostgreSQL for application data, ClickHouse for analytics and Redis for queues and cache; hosted data lives in Rybbit's cloud
the catch vs PirschIt is newer and considerably busier, with a heavier stack and a less mature compact dashboard and API than Pirsch.
setupThe indefinitely free path is self-hosting, which requires Docker Compose, a domain, secrets and enough resources for three data services
facts verified 2026-08-10
The tiny option: page views, paths and referrers without a product-management department.
runsyour machine or their cloud
installCreate a hosted account or run the single static binary or Docker image
dataA self-hosted instance uses SQLite by default or PostgreSQL; the hosted service stores analytics on GoatCounter's infrastructure and supports JSON and CSV exports
the catch vs PirschIts custom-event, conversion, API and integration capabilities are shallower than Pirsch's.
setupNone for hosted use; self-hosting needs a reachable binary or container plus a public URL and TLS
facts verified 2026-08-10
last updated 2026-08-10 · no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
| tool | license | running it | platforms | stars | active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umami | MIT | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 38,073 | 2026-08 |
| Plausible Community Edition | AGPL-3.0+ | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 28,377 | 2026-08 |
| Rybbit | AGPL-3.0 | docker to self-host | web, ios, android, self-hosted | 12,600 | 2026-08 |
| GoatCounter | open source | docker to self-host | web, self-hosted | 5,800 | 2026-08 |
People still pay for Pirsch because teams pay because analytics must keep collecting and remain trustworthy while the product changes underneath it. The recurring cost buys event schemas, bot filtering, identity, late data, retention, query cost, privacy, backups, and always-on ingestion, not just the visible interface. If none of that applies to you, any pick above saves $72 a year.
Is there a free alternative to Pirsch?
Yes: Umami, Plausible Community Edition, Rybbit and 1 more. Every tool on this page is either open source or genuinely free to use long-term: no trials, no crippled tiers.
Should I just build my own Pirsch?
Our verdict is PARCIAL. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Pirsch, collect cookieless page views and custom events with compact dashboards. The hard boundary is hosted reliability, privacy operations, apis, email reports, and scale, plus data pipeline reliability and analytical depth. If you'd rather build, the exact one-shot prompt is free at puedovibecodearlo.app/pirsch.
