Open Web Analytics

Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a self-hosted web analytics framework written in PHP that you install next to your site, giving you pageviews, visitor and e-commerce reporting without shipping data to a third party. It is popular with WordPress site owners and privacy-conscious teams who want a Google Analytics stand-in on their own server. The software is free under the GNU GPL v2 or later.

What the free plan gives you

Everything, because there is no paid edition. You get visitor, pageview and e-commerce transaction tracking, configurable custom actions, click heatmaps, session recording through the Domstream feature, visitor geolocation, a multi-user reporting interface, and a REST API for administration and data access. A WordPress plugin handles integration for that platform, and a PHP SDK covers other applications. Because data sits in your own MySQL database there are no event quotas, retention limits or site counts.

Where the free plan stops

The ceiling is operational rather than commercial. You need a PHP host with MySQL, you handle upgrades and backups, and the interface is dated compared with hosted tools like Plausible or PostHog. There is no vendor support contract; help comes from GitHub issues and the wiki, and the project asks for donations to fund development.

Who it suits

OWA is a sensible pick if you already run PHP hosting, want full data ownership and are comfortable maintaining a small server-side app. If you want a modern dashboard with zero maintenance, a hosted privacy-first analytics service will cost money but save time.