Yes. Umami is open source and can be self-hosted for free, but you still pay for your own server, database, maintenance, and backups.

Why choose Beam over Umami?

Choose Beam if you want a hosted setup with no server maintenance, no Docker stack, and pricing that starts free. Choose Umami if open source control and self-hosting matter more than convenience.

Does Umami support more advanced analytics than Beam?

Yes. Umami supports custom events, funnels, retention, and more advanced product analytics features. Beam is intentionally simpler and focused on fast website analytics.

Comparison

Beam vs Umami Analytics

Umami is one of the strongest open-source privacy analytics tools available. If you want to run your own stack, it's excellent. Beam is for the opposite buyer: someone who wants privacy-first analytics without touching infrastructure.

Feature	Beam	Competitor
Entry price	Free (1 site, 50K pv/mo)	Software is free; hosting costs extra
Hosting model	Fully hosted SaaS	Self-hosted by default; cloud available
Setup complexity	Create account + paste script	Deploy app + database + updates
Open source	No	Yes
Self-hostable	No	Yes
Cookies used	None	None
GDPR compliant	Yes	Yes
Tracking script	< 2 KB	< 2 KB
Advanced product analytics	Not the focus	Funnels, retention, events
Ongoing maintenance	None for customers	You handle infra, updates, backups
Best fit	Simple hosted website analytics	Teams wanting open-source control

Umami has earned its reputation. It is open source, privacy-focused, and flexible enough to cover both simple website analytics and more product-style use cases. If you want full control of your deployment and are comfortable running your own application plus database, Umami is a serious option.

The trade-off is operational cost, not just subscription cost. Even if the software itself is free, you still need somewhere to run it. Umami's own docs point users toward self-hosting on providers like DigitalOcean, where a starter server begins around $5/month before database, backups, and your own time. For a developer who enjoys owning the stack, that is fine. For everyone else, it is work.

Beam is intentionally narrower. It skips the extra layers and gives you hosted, cookie-free analytics with a script tag and a clean dashboard. If your priority is "private analytics online in five minutes," Beam is the simpler path. If your priority is open-source control and extensibility, Umami is stronger.

Compare more options

Beam vs Matomo

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Beam vs Simple Analytics

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Beam vs Plausible

Compare Beam against another indie-friendly hosted privacy analytics tool.

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