Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

AWStats VS GoAccess

Compare AWStats VS GoAccess and see what are their differences

AWStats logo AWStats

AWStats is a Open Source Web Analytics software written in Perl.

GoAccess logo GoAccess

Open source real-time web log analyzer and interactive viewer that runs in a terminal in *nix...
  • AWStats Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-15
  • GoAccess Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-02

AWStats features and specs

  • Open Source
    AWStats is open-source software, allowing users to inspect, modify, and enhance the code to suit their needs. This makes it a cost-effective solution for individuals or organizations with limited budgets.
  • Detailed Reporting
    It offers a comprehensive array of reports on various metrics like visitor numbers, page views, and referral sites. This can help businesses understand their traffic and visitor behavior better.
  • Log File Compatibility
    AWStats works with most common types of log files, including Apache, Nginx, and IIS. This makes it a versatile tool for webmasters managing different server environments.
  • Multiple Operating Systems
    Supports multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux. This cross-platform compatibility allows it to be used in diverse IT environments easily.
  • Real-Time Updates
    AWStats can be configured to provide real-time updates, allowing webmasters to monitor the latest traffic data without delays.
  • Customizability
    Because it is open source, it can be tailored extensively to meet specific needs, whether that means customizing the look and feel of reports or adding new functionality through plugins.

Possible disadvantages of AWStats

  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup can be complex and time-consuming, especially for users who are not familiar with web server log files and configuration.
  • Resource Intensive
    AWStats can be resource-intensive, particularly when analyzing large log files. This may require significant processing power and memory, potentially slowing down other processes.
  • Limited Real-Time Analytics
    Although it offers real-time updates, the granular real-time analytics might not be as comprehensive as more modern web analytics tools like Google Analytics.
  • User Interface
    The user interface is relatively outdated compared to more contemporary analytics tools. This can make it less intuitive and harder to navigate for users accustomed to modern interfaces.
  • Security Concerns
    Being open source, there might be vulnerabilities if the software is not kept up to date with the latest security patches and versions.
  • No Cloud Support
    Unlike some modern analytics solutions, AWStats is primarily a server-side application and does not offer native cloud support or integrations.

GoAccess features and specs

  • Real-time Log Processing
    GoAccess offers real-time log processing and analysis, providing instant insights into web traffic without needing to refresh the data manually.
  • Interactive Web Interface
    It provides an interactive and responsive web-based interface for visualizing data, which makes it user-friendly and easy to navigate.
  • Low Resource Consumption
    GoAccess is designed to be lightweight, making it efficient in terms of resource consumption (CPU and memory usage), which is beneficial for high-traffic websites.
  • Customizable Reports
    Users can customize reports according to their needs, including filtering logs based on time ranges, visitors, and more, enhancing the usability of the tool.
  • Multiple Log Format Support
    The tool supports various web log formats (e.g., Common Log Format, Combined Log Format), making it versatile for different web server setups.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source software, GoAccess is free to use and can be modified as per users' requirements, fostering community contributions and adaptations.

Possible disadvantages of GoAccess

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Although GoAccess is powerful, it requires a learning curve, especially for users who are not familiar with command-line interfaces or web log analysis.
  • Limited Historical Data Analysis
    GoAccess is primarily designed for real-time analysis, and managing or retaining extensive historical data can be challenging without implementing additional storage solutions.
  • Lacks Advanced Features
    While GoAccess covers basic web log analytics well, it lacks some advanced features and integrations that more comprehensive analytics platforms provide.
  • Manual Report Generation
    Automating report generation and distribution can be complex, as the process typically requires manual set-up and scripting, which might not be ideal for all users.
  • Scalability Issues
    For very large-scale deployments with immense amounts of log data, performance and scalability might become an issue, necessitating advanced configurations or alternative solutions.

AWStats videos

Traffic Stats Comparison: Google Analytics vs CPanel AWSTATS vs Webalizer vs Analog Stats

More videos:

  • Tutorial - AWStats Web Stats - HOW TO READ Your Website Traffic Statistics
  • Tutorial - CPanel Tutorial - How to Use AWSTATS to Check Web Traffic

GoAccess videos

Goaccess Tool Review

More videos:

  • Review - GoAccess: Open Source Real-time Web Log Analyzer and Interactive Viewer
  • Review - GoAccess - Web Log Analyzer

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to AWStats and GoAccess)
Analytics
60 60%
40% 40
Web Analytics
57 57%
43% 43
Mobile Analytics
100 100%
0% 0
Monitoring Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare AWStats and GoAccess

AWStats Reviews

Top 5 open source alternatives to Google Analytics
Web server log files provide a rich vein of information about visitors to your site, but tapping into that vein isn't always easy. That's where AWStats comes to the rescue. While it lacks the most modern look and feel, AWStats more than makes up for that with breadth of data it can present.
Source: opensource.com

GoAccess Reviews

Top 5 NGINX Log Analyzer Tools – Driving Business Growth with Data
GoAccess is a free log analysis tool suitable for IT professionals who need quick access to real-time server data and reports. The program runs as a command line in Unix/Linux operating systems and can evaluate log formats including Nginx, CloudFront, Apache, Amazon S3, and Elastic Load Balancing.
Lightweight alternatives to Google Analytics
I record people for 7 days on my site, and shove the data into https://goaccess.io/ which sends me the result in a crappy email summary, without IP addresses. So I'm effectively keeping zero in the long term, although I *am* retaining *some* data in the short term.
Source: lwn.net
Best Log Management Tools: Useful Tools for Log Management, Monitoring, Analytics, and More
GoAccess is a real-time log analyzer software intended to be run through the terminal of Unix systems, or through the browser. It provides a rapid logging environment where data can be displayed within milliseconds of it being stored on the server.
Source: stackify.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GoAccess seems to be a lot more popular than AWStats. While we know about 55 links to GoAccess, we've tracked only 4 mentions of AWStats. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

AWStats mentions (4)

  • Counterscale and the New Self-Hosted
    > it isn’t a managed SaaS product. It’s open source software purpose-built to self-host on Cloudflare’s developer cloud, in such a way that anyone can do it. This doesn't sound like self-hosting, it sounds like self-operated. Is it possible to run Counter scale on-prem against logs from HAProxy, Nginx, or Apache? That would be cool, and is the benchmark because AWStats [0] has been around for decades and works... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Ask HN: What do you use to track visitors on your blog?
    AWstats [1] on an isolated machine. I just pull down logs to it from each node to keep logs off the live servers. [1] - https://awstats.sourceforge.io/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Simple Apache Log Parser
    Https://awstats.sourceforge.io/ — used that stuff ~15 years ago already. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: Alternatives to Google Analytics
    I don't know if many still use it but AWStats [1] is one of the oldest self hosted solutions. I used it ages ago but I nullify my access logs daily. [1] - https://awstats.sourceforge.io/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago

GoAccess mentions (55)

  • Ask HN: Light self-hosted logs/metrics/traces dashboard?
    Or you can use GoAccess [0] [0] https://goaccess.io/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • goaccess for nginx report
    But how about if we want to analyze the access.log file as a single report? I found goaccess can help to the rescue. So here is how I used this tool to generate a report. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Ask HN: Interesting TUIs (text user interfaces), maybe forgotten ones?
    Not forgotten by any means but goaccess is nice and simple to use https://goaccess.io/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • You don't need analytics on your blog
    If one wants server-side metrics with a little more info than the author's "hacky little script", there's always goaccess [1], which functions in broadly the same way. I even use it with Firebase Hosting-hosted sites via [2] (which I wrote). [1] http://goaccess.io/ [2] https://github.com/Silicon-Ally/gcp-clf. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Using Analytics on My Website
    > Just use GoAcces for fuck's sake. GoAccess seems pretty cool and is probably a good task for the job, when you need something simple, thanks for recommending it: https://goaccess.io/ Even if you have analytics of some sort already in place, I think it'd probably still be a nice idea to run GoAccess on your server, behind some additional auth, so you can check up on how the web servers are performing. That said,... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing AWStats and GoAccess, you can also consider the following products

Google Analytics - Improve your website to increase conversions, improve the user experience, and make more money using Google Analytics. Measure, understand and quantify engagement on your site with customized and in-depth reports.

Matomo - Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform

Plausible.io - Plausible Analytics is a simple, open-source, lightweight (< 1 KB) and privacy-friendly web analytics alternative to Google Analytics. Made and hosted in the EU, powered by European-owned cloud infrastructure 🇪🇺

Open Web Analytics - Open Web Analytics - Web Analytics – Open Source Web Analytics Framework

Clicky - Clicky Web Analytics is a simple way to monitor, analyze, and react to your blog or web site's traffic in real time.

DataDog Log Management - DataDog Log Management is a trusted and nimble software that is surfacing the log analysis with complete visualizations and prediction.