Countly

Active

Countly is product analytics for web, mobile and desktop apps: Countly Lite is free to self-host under AGPL-3.0 with added branding terms, and Flex is a managed cloud with a choice of region, priced by monthly active users and data points. Its web SDK keeps a device ID in local storage, falling back to a cookie, and can be set to hold it in memory only.

App analytics
Cloud or self-hosted
Based in United Kingdom
Founded 2012
Checked 17 Sep 2026

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Tracking script

36.4 KB compressed

129.5 KB uncompressed · measured 17 Sep 2026

Heavier than 33 of the 39 other measured scripts. Each line is one tool; hover to see which.

Price

From$175/mo

At 100k monthly tracked usersOn request

Billed by monthly tracked users · checked 17 Sep 2026

Flex (starts at)$175/mo
Higher volumesOn request

Privacy and data

Cookies: Optional
Data location: EU or US
Self-hosting: Available
Source code: Open source

Plans

Free plan: No
Billing unit: Monthly tracked users
Sites on entry plan: Depends on plan
Data retention: Configurable

Strengths

Countly Lite is free to self-host, and its server code includes dashboards, email reports, alerts, remote config, push notifications and rating widgets.
The web SDK can keep its data in local storage, in cookies or only in memory, and the require_consent option holds back each feature until the visitor agrees to it.
Hooks pass data to other systems by email or webhook, and the read and write APIs expose everything the dashboard shows and accept data from any source.
Flex runs each customer on a dedicated instance in the private cloud region they pick, and the pricing page states that Countly has no default access to the data.
The web SDK ignores known bots by user agent and skips prefetched or prerendered pages by default, so those visits stay out of the counts.

Watch-outs

By default, the web SDK stores a random device ID in local storage, falling back to cookies, and keeps it until storage is cleared; the in-memory mode has to be set in code.
Flex publishes only a starting price, tier prices appear while you configure a server, and the 14-day trial requires a credit card.
If a Flex server goes over its tier’s monthly usage limit, access to it is locked until the next cycle, and Countly does not move the tier up on its own.
Funnels, retention, flows, formulas and crash analysis belong to the Intelligence add-on on Flex, and funnels are not part of Countly Lite.
Flex support runs through the Discord community unless you buy a support package, and an SLA is optional on Flex but included in Enterprise.

Who it suits

Countly is product analytics for mobile, web and desktop apps, with engagement features such as push notifications, remote config, A/B tests and surveys. Its three editions use the same SDKs.

Countly Lite is free, self-hosted and published under AGPL-3.0 with an added term that forbids removing Countly branding; the README pitches it at individuals and small teams. Flex is a managed private cloud with one isolated instance per customer in a region you choose, priced by monthly active users and data points rather than seats. Funnels, retention and other deeper analysis come with its Intelligence add-on. Enterprise includes every capability and runs on your own infrastructure or in a private cloud.

For other tools you can run yourself, see open-source tools you can self-host.

Setup

Countly Lite installs on a fresh Ubuntu or Red Hat server with the one-line installer or the countly.install.sh script from a release, and Docker images are available. For version 25.03 and earlier the requirements list a 64-bit system, Node.js 18, MongoDB 6.0, at least two CPUs with AVX support and 2 GB of RAM for testing. After installation, open the server address to create the admin account.

On Flex, you create a server by choosing a tier, region and cloud provider, then add an application. Websites load the web SDK from the Countly server, npm or a CDN, call init with the app key and server URL, then track_sessions and track_pageview.

Single snippet
First-party proxy
Public API
Data export
Email reports
Slack or webhooks (partly)

Moving from another tool

Countly’s documented migration path is between Countly servers. The Data Migration feature, available in Countly Lite and Enterprise, is switched on under Management > Feature Management and then appears under Management > Data Migration. It exports applications with their data and configuration and imports them on another server, either directly with a token that stays valid for seven days or through a downloaded file.

Dashboard users are not migrated, and the old server can forward incoming SDK requests to the new one after the import. Data from other systems can be sent through the write API.

Features

As documented on the vendor’s own pages. “Partly” means the feature has limits or is only on some plans.

Tracking & Reporting

Pageviews & visitors: yes
Live visitor countPartly
Top pages report: yes
Top referrers: yes
UTM campaign trackingPartly
Country & city breakdown: yes
Device, browser, OS: yes
Bounce / engagement: yes
Time on site: yes
Custom events: yes
Goals / conversions: yes
FunnelsPartly
Outbound link trackingPartly
File download trackingPartly
404 / error trackingPartly

Pricing & Plans

Unlimited sites on entry planPartly

Privacy & Compliance

Cookieless by defaultPartly
No personal data collected (vendor’s position)Partly
No consent banner needed (vendor’s position)Partly
Data hosted in EU: yes
Data hosted in US: yes
Self-hostable: yes
Open sourcePartly
Data retentionConfigurable
Bot & spam filtering: yes

Setup & Integrations

Single-snippet install: yes
WordPress plugin: no
Proxy / first-party domain: yes
Public API: yes
Data export (CSV/JSON): yes
Google Search Console connector: no
Email digests: yes
Slack / webhook alertsPartly
Public shareable dashboard: no

Platforms & frameworks

What the vendor documents. A platform that is not listed has no guide, plugin or package from the vendor.

ReactPartly
Google Tag Manager: yes
Server-side tracking: yes

Questions and answers

Is Countly free?

Only Countly Lite, which you install on your own server. The managed Flex edition has a 14-day trial that requires a credit card and then usage-based pricing by monthly active users and data points, while Enterprise has custom pricing and is paid annually.

Does Countly use cookies?

Not by default in a browser that supports local storage. The web SDK keeps its device ID, session state and request queue in local storage and uses cookies only as a fallback. It can be set to use cookies or to keep everything in memory, and a consent mode holds back tracking until the visitor agrees.

Can I host Countly myself?

Yes. Countly Lite is free to self-host under its AGPL-3.0 based license, and Countly Enterprise can be deployed on your own infrastructure or in a private cloud. Flex is the managed option, running on a dedicated instance in a region you choose.

What happens if I exceed my Flex usage limit?

Access to your server is locked until the next cycle. Countly does not upgrade the tier automatically, so the vendor recommends choosing a tier that keeps your usage within its monthly limit.

Sources and checks

Status: Active, checked 17 Sep 2026
Prices: Checked 17 Sep 2026 on the vendor’s pricing page ↗
Tracking script: Measured 17 Sep 2026: downloaded and compressed the same way for every tool
Features: From the vendor’s pages, checked 18 Sep 2026
This page: Text updated 17 Sep 2026

How each value is collected: methodology. Why tools get no overall score: our reasoning.