There are a lot of statistic solutions out there and they can be used for a lot of different type of websites. Statistics solutions used to be basic, but nowadays these solutions have grown to become robust products. They can be used for personal websites all the way to business websites. There are numerous options to choose from, but I am going to cover 4 popular ones: Webalizer, StatCounter, Mint, and ClickTracks Appetizer.
###Webalizer
Webalizer provides basic stats such as the number of visitors, referral, search term, entry and exit pages, hourly traffic, and basic geographic information. Webalizer is only compatible with Linux servers and is hosted on your end, which means that no one else has your data.
Overview


Visitors


Webalizer is a good solution for anyone who is looking for basic stats and wants to keep the data on their end. The best part of Webalizer is that it’s free and the data is pretty accurate for the price. The software has some graphs, but is overall pretty data intensive. It works great for people who like basic graphs and don’t mind looking at tables of data.
###StatCounter
StatCounter provides the basic stats that Webalizer does, but it also shows you more detailed information. Visitor paths, returning visitors, browser data, operating system, and IP are some of the features that StatCounter provides and Webalizer does not. Unlike Webalizer, StatCounter is a hosted solution and you have to paste a line of code onto each one of your web pages that you want to track. StatCounter provides a graphic representation of the data and also allows you to export your data into an Excel file.
Summary


Geographic


StatCounter is perfect for a website looking for detailed information. It is easy to install and you do not have to be too technically savvy to use it. StatCounter is free, but if your website receives a lot of traffic your older data will be deleted unless you pay StatCounter a monthly fee. Depending on your traffic, you could pay up to $29 per month.
###Mint
Like Webalizer, Mint has to be installed on your server and only works with Linux servers. It provides similar data to StatCounter, but is easier to use. All of the data is on one large page and it uses Ajax to increase the usability of the product. The best thing about Mint is “peppers”, which allow you to plugin features that other developers have created such as conversion funnels. Another feature that Mint has is RSS and you can view your stats through RSS instead of logging into Mint each time.
Stats


The design is appealing and the data is easier to read and understand because of the way things are laid out. The downside of Mint is the $30 one-time fee it costs to use. Overall, Mint is perfect for sites looking for general stats and detailed stats.
###ClickTracks Appetizer
Appetizer also provides the basic features that the others provide, but it differs in the way the data is displayed. Most of the data is overlayed on top of your website. It also provides visitor labeling and provides basic conversion information. You can see which products have been purchased and the referrers that lead to those purchases. You also have the option to setup goals and track them.
Visitors


Labels


ClickTracks Appetizer is more detailed then the other three solutions and it is free. There are more features and it can get complex, but it is very useful for websites that are selling products or services. It gives you basic information on your ads and if they are working out to your benefit unlike the other solutions. It does runs off of your desktop and you have to install software on your computer, but the install process is straightforward and simple.
Based on your needs and constraints you can choose any of these 4 solutions. Every solution provides basic statistics, only some offer the detailed statistics. If you just need the basics, Webalizer could work for you and if you need advanced features, ClickTracks Appetizer could work for you. These solutions provide basic information for ecommerce sites and advanced features for basic websites. There are a lot of other options that are comparable, you may just have to do a little digging to find the perfect fit for your website.