Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

umami VS PostHog

Compare umami VS PostHog and see what are their differences

umami logo umami

A simple and open-source own your website analytics.

PostHog logo PostHog

An open source suite of product and data tools including product analytics, feature flags, session replay, A/B testing, surveys, and more.
  • umami Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-22
  • PostHog Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-07-05

For developers just starting out, PostHog is a free way to understand how your product is being used, without having to send any data to 3rd parties.

For enterprise customers, one data security becomes a key concern, or B2C businesses where using a SaaS solution is unaffordable, it's typical to see teams hosting an event capture platform, a data lake, and sophisticated analytics tools. The end result is that data scientists are needed and most developers don't have easy access to product intel. PostHog solves that gap - it lets everyone understand how your product is being used, without having to send data to 3rd parties, even once you have scaled to millions of visitors.

It has a JS snippet that can autocapture events, and pre-built libraries to push backend data to. Build up full user histories, visualize product trends, funnels, and run experiments with new features.

umami

Website
umami.is
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
United States

PostHog

$ Details
freemium
Release Date
2020 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
Founder(s)
James Hawkins, Tim Glaser
Employees
20 - 49

umami features and specs

  • Streamlined Content Management
    Umami offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies managing articles, pages, and multimedia content. Its intuitive design makes it easy for users to organize and publish content efficiently.
  • Flexibility and Customization
    Umami provides robust customization options, allowing users to tailor the platform to their specific needs. This includes custom themes, plugins, and APIs for extended functionality.
  • SEO Optimization
    Umami includes built-in SEO tools to help users optimize their content for search engines, improving visibility and driving organic traffic.
  • Multilingual Support
    The platform supports multiple languages, making it accessible for a global audience and allowing users to reach diverse demographics.
  • Community and Support
    Umami has a supportive community and comprehensive documentation that provides valuable resources and assistance for troubleshooting and development.

Possible disadvantages of umami

  • Learning Curve
    New users might experience a steep learning curve due to the myriad of features and customization options available on Umami, requiring time to become proficient.
  • Server Requirements
    Umami requires specific server configurations to run efficiently, which might pose a challenge for users with limited technical expertise or hosting options.
  • Cost
    While Umami offers powerful features, it can be cost-prohibitive for small businesses or individual users when considering premium plugins and additional functionalities.
  • Maintenance
    Users need to regularly update the system and plugins to ensure security and optimal performance, which can be time-consuming and technically demanding.
  • Limited Built-in Analytics
    The platform's built-in analytics tools may not be as comprehensive as required by data-driven businesses, necessitating third-party integrations for advanced analytics.

PostHog features and specs

  • Self-Hosting Option
    PostHog can be self-hosted, allowing you to maintain control over your data and ensuring compliance with strict data privacy regulations.
  • Complete Analytics Suite
    Provides a complete suite of product analytics tools including feature flags, session recordings, and heatmaps, enabling comprehensive user behavior analysis.
  • Open-Source
    Being open-source, PostHog allows for high customizability and the potential to contribute to the codebase, fostering a community-driven development approach.
  • Privacy-Focused
    Designed with privacy in mind, PostHog globally complies with GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy laws, reducing the risk of legal complications.
  • Event-Driven Architecture
    Its event-driven architecture provides high flexibility in tracking custom events, allowing for more detailed and tailored analytics.
  • Integrations
    PostHog integrates with a variety of tools and services such as Slack, GitHub, and Zapier, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity.

Analysis of umami

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Umami is considered good for users who prioritize privacy and want a no-frills analytics tool.

Why this product is good

  • Umami is a simple, privacy-focused web analytics tool. It's open-source and self-hostable, providing insights into website traffic without compromising user privacy. It doesn't use cookies or collect personal data, making it compliant with privacy regulations like GDPR. It's an excellent choice for those looking for a lightweight and straightforward analytics solution.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized website owners
  • Developers seeking a customizable analytics platform
  • Privacy-conscious individuals and organizations
  • Those looking for an alternative to Google Analytics

Analysis of PostHog

Overall verdict

  • Yes, PostHog is a robust and versatile analytics tool. Its open-source nature, coupled with a rich feature set comparable to major analytics platforms, makes it an excellent choice for teams looking for an in-depth and customizable analytics solution.

Why this product is good

  • PostHog is a full-featured analytics platform that provides powerful tools for product teams to understand user behavior without sending data to third parties. It offers features such as event tracking, session recording, feature flags, and heatmaps, making it a comprehensive solution for product analytics. The platform is open-source, allowing for customization and self-hosting, which is a significant advantage for teams with specific needs or concerns about data privacy.

Recommended for

    PostHog is particularly well-suited for product teams, developers, and startups that require deep insights into user interactions and need the flexibility of a self-hosted solution. It is also a good fit for organizations that prioritize data privacy and want to maintain full control over their data.

umami videos

Umami Burger Review

More videos:

  • Review - The Original Umami Burger REVIEWED!!

PostHog videos

PostHog Walk Through

More videos:

  • Review - Open Source Product Analytics With PostHog

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to umami and PostHog)
Analytics
48 48%
52% 52
Web Analytics
55 55%
45% 45
Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Developer 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 umami and PostHog

umami Reviews

Top 5 Self-Hosted, Open Source Alternatives to Google Analytics
Use Case Example: A portfolio website for a freelance designer utilizes Umami to monitor visitor interactions and optimize content accordingly.
Source: zeabur.com

PostHog Reviews

The best Hotjar alternatives & competitors, compared
According to BuiltWith, as of February 2024, PostHog is used on 5,169 (0.52%) of the top 1 million websites. Hotjar is used by 72,048 of the top 1 million websites. Typical PostHog users are engineers and product managers at startups and mid-size companies, such as Webshare, AssemblyAI, and Purplewave.
Source: posthog.com
The 8 best free and open-source feature flag services
BlogBackSign inBlogThe 8 best free and open-source feature flag servicesPosted byThe best open-source feature flag tools1. PostHogWhat is PostHog?Supported librariesHow much does it cost?2. UnleashWhat is Unleash?Supported SDKsHow much does it cost?3. GrowthBookWhat is GrowthBook?Supported SDKsHow much does it cost?4. FlagsmithWhat is Flagsmith?Supported SDKsHow much does it...
Source: posthog.com

Social recommendations and mentions

umami might be a bit more popular than PostHog. We know about 97 links to it since March 2021 and only 72 links to PostHog. 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.

umami mentions (97)

  • Self-hosted Umami still gets blocked by adblockers if your subdomain is named umami
    I self-host Umami for my SaaS, ParserBee. The main reason I picked it: privacy-friendly, cookie-less, first-party analytics that adblockers supposedly leave alone because the script comes from your own domain. - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • My app didn't go "viral". My AWS bill did.
    Umami told me Clew Directive got 14 visits last month. AWS told me I owed $31 for it. That works out to $2.21 a visitor, which would make it the most expensive free learning-path tool in California. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Chris Banes' Skills Repo: Claude Code Meets Android Development
    Also a small tooling aside โ€” if you're tracking how often skills get used across your team (or just want analytics on your dev blog without the GDPR cookie banner dance), privacy-focused options like Umami or Plausible give you full data ownership and a much lighter footprint than Google Analytics. I migrated two side projects to Umami last year and haven't looked back. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Running 3 SaaS products on a single Hetzner CCX23
    Augur targets EU-regulated buyers. Putting Google Analytics on its landing page would be a self-own. I run Umami inside Augur's stack โ€” same Docker Compose, same Postgres pattern, same backup discipline โ€” privacy-clean, cookie-banner-free, GDPR-easy. The analytics endpoint is internal to the stack; nothing leaves the box. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Migrating Off Google Analytics: Umami vs Plausible vs Fathom
    So this post is about something I've been chewing on for months but finally moved on: ripping Google Analytics out of three side projects and picking a privacy-focused alternative. Specifically, I'll compare Umami, Plausible, and Fathom โ€” the three I actually evaluated โ€” and walk through the migration steps that worked for me. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
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PostHog mentions (72)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing umami and PostHog, you can also consider the following products

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 ๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ

Mixpanel - Mixpanel is the most advanced analytics platform in the world for mobile & web.

Fathom Analytics - Simple, trustworthy website analytics (finally)

Amplitude - Chart Your Path to Growth with Digital Analytics

Matomo - Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform

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.