Offen review 2026: this open-source, privacy-first web analytics tool uses opt-in consent and end-to-end encryption. See features, self-hosting, and…
Offen is a self-hosted, open-source alternative to Google Analytics built around explicit visitor consent: instead of tracking everyone by default, it only records data from visitors who actively opt in, and those visitors can then view exactly what was collected about them.
The project was started in 2019 by German developers Frederik Ring and Hendrik Niefeld and has since grown into a small suite of related privacy tools, including a standalone consent manager, all released as open source and maintained under their studio, offen.software, based in Berlin.
Offen tracks pageviews, referrers, and basic usage metrics using first-party cookies only, with all stored data encrypted end-to-end and no data shared with third parties or ad networks.
Because it's self-hosted, site owners deploy it via a single downloadable binary or a Docker image on their own infrastructure, giving full control over where data lives, which matters for teams with strict data-residency or GDPR requirements.
Offen is completely free with no paid tier, since it is open-source software distributed for self-hosting rather than sold as a hosted service. Costs are limited to whatever server infrastructure you choose to run it on.
Ongoing development has been supported through grants, notably from the NLnet Foundation, rather than subscription revenue, which keeps the tool free but means release pace depends on the small founding team's capacity and funding.
Yes, Offen is fully open source and free, distributed for self-hosting with no paid tier or hosted SaaS option.
Offen only collects data from visitors who actively opt in, encrypts stored data end-to-end, and lets visitors see their own collected data, whereas Google Analytics tracks by default and doesn't expose raw visitor-level data back to users.
Offen was created by German developers Frederik Ring and Hendrik Niefeld, who started the project in 2019 and now maintain it under their Berlin-based studio, offen.software.
Offen can be deployed by downloading a single compiled binary or running the official Docker image on your own server or cloud infrastructure.
Offen is designed around opt-in consent, data minimization, and first-party-only cookies, which aligns closely with GDPR principles, though compliance also depends on how it's configured and disclosed on your site.
The interface is available in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
No, Offen is self-hosted only; there is no official managed hosting or SaaS plan.