What is Pirsch used for?

Pirsch is the open-source Go core of Pirsch Analytics, a cookie-free, server-side, privacy-focused web analytics solution that stores data in ClickHouse. It is a good fit for adding privacy-friendly analytics to a Go site, replacing cookie-based tracking and analyzing traffic from server-side logs.

Is Pirsch open source?

Yes. Pirsch is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at pirsch-analytics/pirsch and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. Pirsch is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $6 per month.

Can I self-host Pirsch?

Yes. Pirsch can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Pirsch an alternative to?

Pirsch is an open-source alternative to Google Analytics, Simple Analytics, Fathom Analytics and StatCounter. Other open-source alternatives to Google Analytics include Plausible, Swetrix and Umami.

Is Pirsch actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Pirsch was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v6.28.4, published on 22 July 2026. The project has 1k stars on GitHub.

Pirsch: open-source alternative to Google Analytics

About Pirsch

Pirsch is the open-source core of Pirsch Analytics, a privacy-friendly web analytics product that started as an experiment in analyzing web traffic reliably from the server side with Go. It is a Go library that records page views and visitor data without cookies and without storing personal information.

It works by generating a fingerprint for each visitor, a hash of the IP address, User-Agent, the date and a salt, so visitors can be counted without invading their privacy. The README says this makes it GDPR, CCPA and PECR compliant, and that server-side use can track visitors who use ad blockers. Running the test suite requires a ClickHouse database. The same team offers a managed commercial solution built on this library, hosted in the EU, with an interactive demo of the dashboard.

The code is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and contributions are accepted only if ownership of the contribution is transferred to the maintainers. It is used by embedding it in your own Go application or by using the hosted product. It suits Go developers and site owners who want cookie-free analytics.

Key features

Server-side, cookie-free tracking
Fingerprint-based visitor counting
No personal data stored
ClickHouse storage
Tracks visitors who use ad blockers
Go library with managed hosted option

Good fit for

→Adding privacy-friendly analytics to a Go site
→Replacing cookie-based tracking
→Analyzing traffic from server-side logs

Built with: Go
Tags: web-analytics; privacy; cookieless; go; clickhouse; gdpr; server-side; library; self-hosted

Pirsch: questions and answers

What is Pirsch used for?: Pirsch is the open-source Go core of Pirsch Analytics, a cookie-free, server-side, privacy-focused web analytics solution that stores data in ClickHouse. It is a good fit for adding privacy-friendly analytics to a Go site, replacing cookie-based tracking and analyzing traffic from server-side logs.
Is Pirsch open source?: Yes. Pirsch is open source under the AGPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at pirsch-analytics/pirsch and is written mainly in Go.
Is Pirsch free?: Yes. Pirsch is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available, with paid plans from $6 per month.
Can I self-host Pirsch?: Yes. Pirsch can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Pirsch an alternative to?: Pirsch is an open-source alternative to Google Analytics, Simple Analytics, Fathom Analytics and StatCounter. Other open-source alternatives to Google Analytics include Plausible, Swetrix and Umami.
Is Pirsch actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Pirsch was on 1 October 2026, and the latest release is v6.28.4, published on 22 July 2026. The project has 1k stars on GitHub.