Pirsch Analytics

YES

Replaceable in one session with an AI coding agent.

Cookie-free analytics built around server-side collection: you can report page views from your own backend instead of a browser script, which no ad blocker can interrupt.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is

Build me analytics that collect from my server, not from the browser.

STACK
- A middleware in my existing app, writing straight to my own database
- A single HTML dashboard reading the same database

COLLECTION
- Record every request the app answers: path, method, status, duration, referrer host, language tag
- Reduce the user agent to one coarse bucket each for device, browser and operating system, then throw the raw string away
- Never store a raw IP

IDENTITY WITHOUT A COOKIE
- A visitor is HMAC(ip + user agent + a daily-rotating salt)
- The salt rotates at midnight UTC and the old one is discarded, so yesterday cannot be joined to today

WHAT IS NOT A VIEW
- Static assets, prefetches, redirects and HEAD requests are recorded but excluded from the published number
- Put that filter in one SQL view, not in fifteen queries

THE DASHBOARD
- Views, visitors, top pages, referrers, and a day series over a chosen window
- Computed at query time; no stored aggregates

Include the middleware, the schema, the views and a README on the salt rotation.

What you lose

Backend SDKs for several languages, so collection survives an ad blocker without you writing the transport
Session stitching from a rotating hash, which is fiddlier than it sounds to get right
Funnels and event tracking on top of plain page views
A maintained bot list, the usual difference between a real number and a flattering one

If you would rather not build

A middleware writing to your existing database, which is what the prompt above builds

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Pirsch

The analytics engine itself, as a Go library you embed.

pirsch-analytics/pirschfree · open source

Plausible

Cookie-free analytics, self-hostable with Docker.

plausible/analyticsfree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

85/100

Verdict yes at 85. Collecting server-side is genuinely easier than collecting in a browser, and it is what makes this one of the more replaceable analytics products.

History

tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 dayspeak 1/day

0113 Jul18 Jul23 Jul28 Jul2 Aug7 Aug11 Aug

— views— prompt copies none yet— votes none yet

Questions about Pirsch Analytics

answered from the record above

Is Pirsch Analytics free?

No — the plan we track is $8 a month. Hobby at $8/month billed monthly, around $6 annually, for 10,000 page views.

Can you replace Pirsch Analytics by building your own?

YES. Replaceable in one session with an AI coding agent. Replacement score 85 out of 100, build time one session. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Pirsch Analytics cost?

$8 a month on Hobby — $96 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Pirsch Analytics?

Backend SDKs for several languages, so collection survives an ad blocker without you writing the transport; Session stitching from a rotating hash, which is fiddlier than it sounds to get right; Funnels and event tracking on top of plain page views; A maintained bot list, the usual difference between a real number and a flattering one. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Pirsch Analytics?

Yes: Pirsch, Plausible. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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