Liwan

Paid LinuxMacSelf-hostedWeb

What Liwan is

Liwan is free, open-source web analytics that you host yourself. It processes events on your server and stores data in your deployment, with unlimited retention and no conversion funnels. The dashboard automatically shows most-visited pages, traffic sources, and changes over time while filtering bots by default. A small tracking script can be added with one HTML line and works with any framework or CMS. Liwan runs as a single binary or Docker container, including its dashboard and database without extra services. Configuration covers visitor grouping, geolocation detail, UTM attribution, session metrics, retention, and traffic-drop rules. Optional session reporting includes bounce rate, average time, entry page, and exit page, with calculated durations capped at 30 minutes. Liwan says it does not store raw IP addresses, cookies, cross-site identifiers, full referrer paths, or ordinary URL query strings and fragments. SSO supports one provider at a time, while password sign-in remains available.

Who it suits

Liwan suits teams that want self-hosted analytics and control over where event data is stored. It is useful for operators comfortable deploying a binary or Docker container on Linux, macOS, or their own infrastructure.

What it does well

Free and open source
Unlimited data retention
Single-binary or Docker deployment
Automatic bot filtering in reports
Tracking script works with any framework

What to know first

No conversion funnels
SSO supports only one provider at a time
Password sign-in remains enabled with SSO
Advanced authentication features are planned later

Verdict

Liwan offers a compact self-hosted analytics setup with configurable collection and privacy controls. Its built-in dashboard and database reduce deployment components, while authentication remains limited in the current release.

Facts from Liwan's own pages

Authentication limit: Password sign-in remains available after SSO is enabled, and the documentation describes SSO as the first release with more advanced authentication and account-management features planned for later releases. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Collection controls: Operators can configure visitor grouping, geolocation detail, UTM attribution, session metrics, retention, and traffic drop rules. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Conversion funnels: No · liwan.dev, 19 Sept 2026
Data retention: unlimited · liwan.dev, 19 Sept 2026
Deployment: Liwan runs as a single binary or Docker container, with its dashboard and database built in and no additional services to manage. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Installation platforms: The single-binary installation page lists pre-built binaries for Linux x86_64 and ARM64, and macOS ARM64. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Install platforms: The single-binary installation page lists prebuilt binaries for Linux x86_64 and ARM64 and macOS ARM64; the getting-started page also documents Docker and Docker Compose. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Integrations: SSO supports one external provider at a time: Google, Microsoft Entra ID, or a generic OpenID Connect provider. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
IP processing: The server uses the request IP during processing for visitor grouping, rate limiting, and optional geolocation, then discards it. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Maker: The legal notice identifies Henry Gressmann as responsible for the Liwan site and lists an address in Fellbach, Germany. · henrygressmann.de, 12 Oct 2026
Privacy: Liwan says it does not store raw IP addresses, tracking cookies, cross-site visitor identifiers, full referrer paths, or ordinary page URL query strings and fragments. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Product: Liwan is self-hosted web analytics that processes events on your server and stores them in your deployment. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Session metrics: Optional session metrics include bounce rate, average time on site, entry page, and exit page; calculated durations are limited to 30 minutes. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
SSO limitation: Password sign-in remains available after SSO is enabled, and the documentation says more advanced authentication and account-management features are planned for later releases. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Support: The site lists [email protected] as its contact email. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Tracking: A small tracking script can be added with one line of HTML and works with any framework or CMS. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Traffic reporting: Its dashboard shows most-visited pages, traffic sources, and changes over time, updates automatically, and filters bots by default. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Traffic reports: Its dashboard shows most-visited pages, traffic sources, and changes over time, and updates automatically while filtering bots by default. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026
Visitor grouping: Visitor grouping modes include accurate, network-based, and random per request, and the grouping salt rotates daily so groups do not persist across rotation periods. · liwan.dev, 12 Oct 2026

Where Liwan stands on Freedom251

Web analytics tools#137 of 142