I’m not here to say Google Analytics is “bad.” For many teams, it is the right tool: funnels, audiences, integrations, the whole story. The problem, at least for the kind of project this blog is, is that the power comes with weight—account sprawl, consent flows, and a UI that can feel like a second job. Sometimes you just want to know that someone read the post, without turning your hobby site into a mini data warehouse.
That’s when it helps to go simpler: lightweight scripts, clear dashboards, and providers that are honest about what they collect. Below are a few I’ve been looking at (or already using) that sit closer to that “how many people showed up?” end of the spectrum.
GoatCounter
Free (for reasonable non-commercial / personal use; check their current terms). Open and straightforward: page views, referrers, a clean UI. It feels like analytics for people who don’t want analytics to be a hobby. If you want something minimal and readable at a glance, this one is an easy first stop.
counter.dev
Also free, with a simple model: drop in a small script, see traffic without wading through enterprise screens. I’ve actually wired this one into this site (see the theme’s partial and config if you’re curious)—useful when you need paths and rough volume without a product tour every time you open the dashboard.
Tinylytics
A small paid product (pricing is straightforward on their site). The pitch is in the name: tiny. Good if you like the indie-tool vibe, want something maintained as a product, and are fine paying a little for polish and support instead of time spent in heavier stacks.
Rybbit
A step up in price for this list, but with a different trade-off: they offer around 4 months free to try, the product is open source, and you can self-host if you want the data under your own roof. That’s the option when “simple” still needs to be yours—same ballpark of idea as a lighter GA alternative, with room to grow without a black box.
Why bother?
None of these replace a full product analytics platform. They don’t have to. For a personal blog, a landing page, or a side project, the win is proportionality: a dashboard you’ll actually open, less cookie theater than the average GA setup, and a script that doesn’t feel like you invited a whole analytics department onto the page.
If you’re still on Google Analytics and it serves you, keep it. If you’re tired of the ceremony, pick one of the above, try it for a week, and see if “good enough” is exactly what you needed.
Disclosure: I’m not affiliated with any of these services; links are for convenience. Double-check pricing and terms on their sites before you commit.