HitKeep vs Rybbit: Single Binary Analytics Without ClickHouse

Rybbit is an open-source privacy-first analytics platform with session replay, funnels, and user journeys. It uses ClickHouse for storage and deploys via Docker Compose.

HitKeep takes a different approach: one binary, zero dependencies. No ClickHouse, no Docker orchestration, no multi-service stack.

The real comparison is about what you want to carry operationally and whether you need session replay.

Best Fit

Choose HitKeep if you want Rybbit-style analytics depth without ClickHouse, Docker Compose, AGPL licensing concerns, or session replay as part of the product model.

Choose Rybbit if session replay, error tracking, user journeys, and its broader integration list are central requirements.

Fast validation path: start in HitKeep Cloud, track one site, and compare aggregate reporting before changing your self-hosting stack. Operator path: use the self-hosted installation guide when the goal is one binary and one data directory.

Where This Rybbit Comparison Gets Specific

HitKeep belongs on the shortlist when the search is narrower than “Rybbit alternative”:

a Rybbit alternative without ClickHouse, Docker Compose, or AGPL licensing concerns
aggregate analytics for teams that do not need session replay, error tracking, or user journey playback
a WordPress analytics product with automatic outbound click, file download, and form tracking
a privacy-conscious reporting surface with Search Console aggregates, AI visibility analytics, AI chatbot analytics, and read-only MCP reporting
managed EU or US cloud analytics with the same reporting and export model available to self-hosted deployments

Quick-Scan Feature Matrix

Feature	HitKeep	Rybbit
Self-hosted	Single binary (about 100 MB)	Docker Compose + ClickHouse
Managed cloud	EU (Frankfurt) / US (Virginia)	EU (Germany)
External dependencies	None (embedded DuckDB + NSQ)	ClickHouse + Caddy
Cloud memory	About 205-769 MiB in recent HitKeep Cloud checks	2 GB+ (ClickHouse alone)
Minimum cost to self-host	~$6/month VPS	$20+/month
Cookie-less analytics	Yes	Yes
Session replay	No	Yes (Standard+)
Error tracking	No	Yes
Web Vitals	Yes, opt-in	Yes (Standard+)
First-party WordPress plugin	Yes	Documented integration
User journeys	No	Yes (Standard+)
Goals / custom events	Yes	Yes
Automatic events (`outbound_click`, `file_download`, `form_submit`)	Yes	Not documented
Funnels	Yes	Yes
Ecommerce analytics	Yes (GA4 event model)	Custom events
Landing + exit pages	Yes	Yes
Period-over-period comparison	Yes	Limited
UTM reporting	Yes	Yes
Google Search Console Search Analytics import	Yes, aggregate rows only	Not documented
Scheduled email reports	Yes	Not documented
Shareable dashboards	Yes	Not documented
AI visibility analytics	Yes	Not documented
On-site AI chatbot analytics	Yes	Not documented
Team collaboration / RBAC	Yes	Yes (plan-dependent)
WebAuthn passkeys + TOTP MFA	Yes	Not documented
Recovery codes for MFA	Yes	Not documented
Data takeout (JSON, CSV, Parquet)	Yes	Raw data access
Read-only MCP analytics server	Optional read-only MCP over API client tokens	Not documented
Dashboard languages	6 (EN, DE, ES, FR, IT, NL)	English
Clustering / HA	HashiCorp Memberlist	Not documented
License	MIT	AGPL 3.0
Bot filtering (pageviews + events)	Yes (Matomo referrer spam + Spamhaus `DROP` / `DROPv6`)	Advanced built-in
`hostname` / `referrer_host` report filters	Yes	Not documented

Quick Answer

HitKeep is the better choice if you want:

self-hosting without managing ClickHouse or Docker Compose
managed cloud with explicit EU or US region choice
built-in email reports, share links, and role-based permissions
the same product in OSS and cloud without feature gating
MIT licensing without copyleft obligations

Rybbit is stronger if you want:

session replay to watch individual user sessions
built-in error tracking
user journey visualizations showing full navigation paths
a product analytics platform rather than aggregate web analytics

HitKeep funnel analytics showing multi-step conversion performance and drop-off

Where HitKeep Is Better

1. Dramatically simpler self-hosting

Rybbit requires Docker Compose with ClickHouse, Caddy, and the Rybbit application as separate services. That is a real multi-service stack:

ClickHouse needs 2 GB+ of RAM on its own
you are managing container orchestration, not just running a binary
backups require coordinating across services

HitKeep keeps the runtime minimal:

one Go binary with memory use covered in Facts and Limits
embedded DuckDB with batch appender for high-throughput ingest
embedded NSQ for internal messaging
a single database file to back up

A $6/month VPS is sufficient. If your requirement is “privacy analytics without turning it into a platform project”, HitKeep is a better fit.

2. No ClickHouse to manage

ClickHouse is a capable columnar database, but it is also a real operational commitment:

memory tuning
disk management and compaction
database upgrades
monitoring and alerting

HitKeep embeds DuckDB directly. You get columnar OLAP performance (~120 MB per million pageviews) without running a separate database process.

3. Cleaner cloud and self-hosted story

HitKeep runs as:

self-hosted OSS (single binary)
managed cloud in EU Frankfurt
managed cloud in US Virginia

Same product, same features, no edition confusion. Rybbit’s cloud is EU-only and the self-hosted edition uses AGPL 3.0 licensing.

4. Stronger collaboration and reporting

HitKeep includes out of the box:

These features are not documented in Rybbit’s current offering or are gated behind higher-tier plans.

5. Better fit for AI-era content and product reporting

HitKeep now includes:

AI visibility analytics for AI crawler fetches and later AI-referred visits
AI chatbot analytics for on-site assistant conversations, citations, handoffs, and assisted conversions

That matters if AI assistants are becoming part of both your acquisition mix and your product surface. Rybbit is still stronger where session replay and journey inspection are the priority; HitKeep is sharper where you want aggregate reporting on AI discovery and chatbot outcomes.

6. MIT vs AGPL licensing

HitKeep uses the MIT license: no copyleft obligations. You can embed, modify, and redistribute without sharing your changes.

Rybbit uses AGPL 3.0, which requires that any modifications to the software: including those running as a network service: must be made available as open source. This matters for organizations with legal policies around copyleft.

7. Better data portability

HitKeep supports data takeout in JSON, CSV, and Parquet (GDPR Article 20). Combined with retention policies and Parquet archiving, you have full control over your data lifecycle.

Where Rybbit Is Better

1. Session replay is a real differentiator

Rybbit’s session replay lets you watch individual user sessions to identify usability issues, broken flows, and confusion points.

HitKeep does not offer session replay. It focuses on aggregate analytics: pageviews, events, funnels, and conversions. If watching individual user sessions is a core requirement, Rybbit has a clear advantage.

2. Built-in error tracking

Rybbit includes error detection and reporting directly in the analytics platform. HitKeep does not track JavaScript errors: you would need a separate tool like Sentry for that.

3. User journey visualizations

Rybbit can show complete navigation paths from landing to conversion. HitKeep has funnels (predefined step sequences), but not open-ended journey mapping.

4. Web Vitals scope

Both products can report Web Vitals. HitKeep keeps this opt-in and aggregate-first: LCP, INP, CLS, FCP, and TTFB p75 values, rating counts, and page breakdowns without session replay or attribution/debug payloads.

5. Bot and spam filtering

Rybbit has built-in advanced bot detection and filtering. HitKeep does not try to be a full bot-management platform, but in the current product it includes an OSS baseline that is much stronger than simple IP suppression alone:

IP exclusions for your own traffic and known infrastructure
bot and spam filtering using the Matomo referrer spam list at pageview ingest
Spamhaus DROP and DROPv6 network suppression at ingest time for both pageviews and custom events
hostname and referrer_host filters for investigating noisy traffic after it is stored

If you need challenge flows, fingerprinting, or anti-abuse scoring, Rybbit or a dedicated edge security product still has the advantage.

6. Broader framework integrations

Rybbit documents 40+ framework integrations (Next.js, React, Vue, WordPress, Shopify). HitKeep provides a universal JavaScript snippet and a REST API for server-side tracking.

Facts To Check Before Switching

Use Facts and Limits before citing HitKeep runtime or privacy claims from this comparison.

Check	HitKeep fact
Deployment model	Self-hosted single Linux binary or managed EU/US cloud
External services	Embedded DuckDB and NSQ; no PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, ClickHouse, separate queue, cache, or database service for core analytics
Binary size and memory	Current Linux release binaries are about 100 MB; recent HitKeep Cloud checks showed about 205-769 MiB of memory use
Storage and backups	DuckDB files live under the configured data directory; multiteam deployments include `tenants/*/hitkeep.db`
Privacy behavior	`hk.js` sets no analytics cookies, uses `sessionStorage` for session continuity, and respects DNT unless configured otherwise
Automatic events	`outbound_click`, `file_download`, and `form_submit`
Exports and non-replacements	JSON, CSV, Parquet, NDJSON, and XLSX where supported; HitKeep does not replace session replay, feature flags, experimentation, CMP, SIEM, CRM, or a warehouse used as the system of record

What HitKeep Does Not Replace

Be realistic before choosing:

session replay: HitKeep does not record user sessions
error tracking: you will need a separate tool
Web Vitals attribution/debug payloads: HitKeep reports aggregate p75 and page breakdowns, not selector-level diagnostics
user journey mapping: HitKeep has funnels, not open-ended journeys

If session replay and error tracking are core requirements, Rybbit or a dedicated product analytics tool is the better choice.

When To Choose HitKeep Instead of Rybbit

Choose HitKeep when:

you want self-hosting without ClickHouse and Docker Compose
you want managed cloud with explicit EU or US region choice
you need aggregate analytics, goals, funnels, and ecommerce: not session-level recording
you care about MIT licensing
you want email reports, shareable dashboards, and RBAC out of the box
operational simplicity matters more than product analytics depth

When To Choose Rybbit Instead of HitKeep

Choose Rybbit when:

session replay is a core requirement
you need built-in error tracking and Web Vitals
user journey visualization matters
you are comfortable managing a Docker Compose + ClickHouse stack
AGPL licensing is acceptable for your organization

Migration Notes

There is no direct Rybbit importer. Run HitKeep beside Rybbit, compare aggregate traffic, events, goals, funnels, and ecommerce reporting, then decide whether you still need session replay and ClickHouse-backed product analytics.

Use HitKeep Cloud when you want to test the reporting surface before touching your Docker Compose stack. Use self-hosted HitKeep when the migration goal is one binary, embedded DuckDB, and fewer moving parts.

Try HitKeep Cloud First

If Rybbit’s ClickHouse stack is the concern, do not start by replacing infrastructure. Start with HitKeep Cloud, validate the reports, then decide whether to keep cloud or self-host the same product.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HitKeep a good alternative to Rybbit?

Yes, if self-hosting simplicity is a priority. HitKeep deploys as a single binary with no external databases, while Rybbit requires Docker Compose and ClickHouse. HitKeep also offers managed cloud in EU or US regions with no feature gating between self-hosted and cloud.

Does Rybbit have session replay?

Yes. Rybbit includes session replay on its Standard plan and above. HitKeep does not offer session replay: it focuses on aggregate analytics, goals, funnels, and ecommerce tracking without recording individual user sessions.

HitKeep is designed to simplify GDPR compliance: cookie-less by default, self-hosting or EU-hosted cloud, and fewer third-party analytics transfers. Compliance depends on your deployment and legal analysis. Read the Compliance Overview.

Does HitKeep work without cookies?

Yes. HitKeep uses cookie-less tracking by default. The current tracker uses sessionStorage for session continuity. This is not a cookie, but PECR / ePrivacy analysis still applies depending on jurisdiction.

Can I self-host Rybbit without ClickHouse?

No. Rybbit requires ClickHouse for analytics data storage, deployed via Docker Compose. HitKeep embeds DuckDB directly in its single binary, eliminating the need for any external database.

Can I try HitKeep Cloud before replacing Rybbit?

Yes. Start with one site in HitKeep Cloud, keep Rybbit running, and compare whether aggregate reporting covers your needs before changing your ClickHouse stack.