HitKeep vs Umami: Self-Hosted Analytics Without PostgreSQL

If you are looking for an Umami alternative, the old “simple pageview dashboard” comparison is no longer useful.

Umami v3 now includes:

funnels
journeys
retention
revenue
attribution
teams
share URLs
cloud reporting features

So the current comparison is not “simple analytics tool vs simple analytics tool.” It is:

Do you want broader analytics depth on a Node + PostgreSQL stack?
or do you want a simpler self-hosted and cloud analytics product with stronger operator control?

Best Fit

Choose HitKeep if you want an Umami alternative with no PostgreSQL dependency, managed EU or US cloud, automatic events, Search Console aggregates, ecommerce, AI visibility, team API clients, and open exports.

Choose Umami if you need journeys, retention reports, deeper event analytics, or its mature hosted cloud product.

Fast validation path: start in HitKeep Cloud, run it beside Umami for one site, and compare weekly reporting workflows. Operator path: use the self-hosted installation guide when the main target is fewer runtime dependencies.

Where This Umami Comparison Gets Specific

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

a self-hosted Umami alternative without PostgreSQL, ClickHouse, Redis, or Kafka
a WordPress analytics product with automatic outbound click, file download, and form tracking
a smaller operator-controlled analytics product for goals, funnels, ecommerce, UTM reports, email reports, share links, and exports
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 core product model available to self-hosted deployments

Quick-Scan Feature Matrix

Feature	HitKeep	Umami v3
Self-hosted	Single binary (about 100 MB)	Node.js + PostgreSQL
Managed cloud	EU / US	Yes
External dependencies	None (embedded DuckDB + NSQ)	PostgreSQL
Cloud memory	About 205-769 MiB in recent HitKeep Cloud checks	512 MB+
Minimum cost to self-host	~$6/month VPS	$10+/month
Cookie-less web analytics	Yes	Yes
Dashboard languages	6 (EN, DE, ES, FR, IT, NL)	30+
Goals / custom events	Yes	Yes
Automatic events (`outbound_click`, `file_download`, `form_submit`)	Yes	Requires configuration
Web Vitals analytics	Yes, opt-in	Not documented
First-party WordPress plugin	Yes	Vendor-specific
Funnels	Yes	Yes
Landing pages and exit pages	Yes	Pages report
Ecommerce (purchase, begin_checkout, add_to_cart, view_item)	Yes	Revenue tracking
Period-over-period comparison	Yes	Yes
Google Search Console Search Analytics import	Yes, aggregate rows only	Not documented
AI visibility analytics	Yes	Not documented
On-site AI chatbot analytics	Yes	Not documented
Built-in OSS spam filtering (pageviews + events)	Yes (Matomo + Spamhaus `DROP` / `DROPv6`)	Not documented
Journeys / user flow reports	No	Yes
Retention reporting	No	Yes
Attribution depth	Focused UTM reporting	Yes
Event property breakdowns	Limited	Yes
Scheduled email reports	Yes	Cloud only
Shareable dashboards / URLs	Yes	Yes
Teams and transfers	Yes	Yes
WebAuthn passkeys + TOTP MFA	Yes	Password-based
Recovery codes for MFA	Yes	No
Team-owned API clients	Yes	API tokens
Read-only MCP analytics server	Optional read-only MCP over API client tokens	Not documented
Data takeout (JSON, CSV, Parquet)	Yes	API export
Clustering / HA	HashiCorp Memberlist	PostgreSQL replication

Quick Answer

HitKeep is the better Umami alternative if you want:

simpler self-hosting than Node plus PostgreSQL
managed cloud with an explicit EU or US region choice
a stronger built-in reporting/admin surface for smaller teams
email reports, share links, permissions, and takeout exports in one product

Umami is stronger if you want:

journeys
retention reporting
revenue and attribution depth
a broader analytics surface out of the box

HitKeep events analytics with event timeseries and property breakdown

That is the trade-off: HitKeep covers the event-and-conversion workflows many teams care about, while Umami goes further into behavioral analytics like journeys and retention.

Compliance Note

If the evaluation is primarily about privacy law rather than analytics depth, also read the Compliance Overview.

HitKeep can give you a simpler ownership and residency story, but compliance still depends on how you deploy and govern the tracker. The current public tracker still uses sessionStorage, so do not treat it as automatically exempt from PECR / ePrivacy analysis.

Why Teams Look for an Umami Alternative

The most common reason is not that Umami is weak. It is that Umami has become broad enough that some teams no longer want the runtime complexity that comes with it.

Typical reasons:

wanting simpler deployment and backup workflows
preferring one binary over a Node plus PostgreSQL stack
wanting stronger out-of-the-box reporting/admin workflows for internal teams
wanting a product that can be self-hosted or managed without changing categories

That is where HitKeep is attractive.

Where HitKeep Is Better

1. The self-hosting story is much simpler

Umami self-hosting still means:

Node runtime or Docker deployment
PostgreSQL
more moving parts to patch and back up

HitKeep keeps the runtime smaller:

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
LRU caching for auth and rate limiters

A $6/month VPS is sufficient. That matters for small teams, low-ops environments, and anyone who wants analytics without carrying a broader app stack.

2. Reporting and collaboration are strong for the size of the product

HitKeep already gives you:

scheduled email reports
shareable dashboards
roles and permissions
team-owned and personal API clients
data portability and takeout in JSON, CSV, and Parquet

For many teams, that covers the real internal reporting workflow better than “broader analytics surface, but more stack to operate.”

3. Deeper ecommerce and conversion tracking

HitKeep now includes:

GA4-inspired ecommerce events (purchase, begin_checkout, add_to_cart, view_item)
landing pages and exit pages analysis
period-over-period comparison with delta badges
funnels with multi-step conversion analysis
goals with flexible matching

These are first-class features, not bolted-on revenue tracking.

4. Cloud and OSS now fit into one product story

You can run HitKeep as:

self-hosted OSS
managed cloud in EU Frankfurt
managed cloud in US Virginia

That is a better fit for teams that want flexibility without switching analytics products later.

5. Stronger security and authentication

HitKeep ships with WebAuthn passkeys + TOTP MFA with recovery codes, team-owned API clients, and a dashboard in 6 languages (EN, DE, ES, FR, IT, NL). For high availability, clustering via HashiCorp Memberlist is built in.

6. Data ownership and region choice are clearer

Umami gives you self-hosting and cloud.

HitKeep adds a more explicit operator-control story around:

local-first/self-hosted data ownership
takeout exports in JSON, CSV, and Parquet
retention and archiving
region-specific managed hosting choice

That is useful if procurement or internal governance cares as much about where the data plane lives as about the reports themselves.

Where Umami Is Better

1. Umami v3 is broader on analytics depth

Umami’s current docs cover:

If you need post-acquisition product analytics depth, Umami is stronger today.

2. Behavioral analysis is better developed

Journeys, retention, attribution, and richer event breakdowns are meaningful current gaps between the products.

3. Umami Cloud is a mature managed option

Its cloud docs cover:

If your main requirement is a managed hosted option with those broader reports today, Umami is a strong candidate.

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 enterprise attribution, CMP, SIEM, CRM, warehouse, feature flag, or experimentation workflows

What HitKeep Still Does Not Replace

Be explicit before switching:

journeys
retention reports
deeper attribution
richer event breakdowns

If those are critical reports, Umami remains ahead.

When To Choose HitKeep Instead of Umami

Choose HitKeep when:

you want a simpler Umami alternative for self-hosting
you want managed cloud, but also want the option to self-host later
you mainly need traffic, goals, funnels, focused ecommerce, reporting, sharing, and team access control

When To Choose Umami Instead of HitKeep

Choose Umami when:

journeys, retention, revenue, and attribution matter now
your team wants broader analytics depth and is comfortable operating the extra stack
Umami Cloud is a closer match to your hosted analytics needs

Migration Notes

HitKeep does not import Umami historical data. Run both tools in parallel, recreate the goals and ecommerce events you care about, and compare whether HitKeep’s simpler model covers the reporting work.

Use HitKeep Cloud when you want to test HitKeep without adding another self-hosted service. Use self-hosted HitKeep when the reason to move is reducing Node/PostgreSQL operations.

Try HitKeep Cloud First

If Umami Cloud is convenient but you want a stronger ownership path, start with HitKeep Cloud. If the reporting fit is good, the same product can later run as a single binary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HitKeep a good alternative to Umami?

Yes, if you want simpler self-hosting and do not need journeys or retention reports. HitKeep deploys as a single about-100 MB Linux binary with no PostgreSQL dependency, and includes funnels, ecommerce, email reports, and team collaboration out of the box. Memory use is documented in Facts and Limits. If journeys and retention are critical, Umami v3 is the better choice.

Can I migrate from Umami to HitKeep?

HitKeep does not import Umami data. Run both in parallel to validate coverage. HitKeep’s goals, funnels, and ecommerce events cover the most common conversion tracking needs.

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 use less resources than Umami?

HitKeep has a smaller operating surface: one about-100 MB Linux binary with embedded DuckDB and NSQ. Umami requires Node.js plus PostgreSQL, typically needing 512 MB+ RAM before database overhead. Facts and Limits has the current memory range.

Can I try HitKeep Cloud before replacing Umami?

Yes. Start with one site in HitKeep Cloud, keep Umami running, and compare whether HitKeep covers your weekly reports before changing your self-hosted stack.