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Business Intelligence · head to head

Cabin vs Swagger UI

Cabin logo

Cabin

Business Intelligence

Cookieless web analytics that also reports the carbon footprint of your website

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit CabinFull review
Swagger UI logo

Swagger UI

Developer Tools

Interactive API documentation generated from OpenAPI specs

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit Swagger UIFull review

The short version

  • Cabin is a privacy-first analytics tool.
  • Swagger UI is free; Cabin starts at $14/mo.
  • Only Cabin lists cookieless tracking; only Swagger UI lists OpenAPI rendering.
  • Where Swagger UI falls short: only as good as the specification: a thin OpenAPI file produces thin documentation.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cabin and Swagger UI actually diverge.

Attributes where Cabin and Swagger UI differ
AttributeCabinSwagger UI
Pricing modelPer month by pageview volumeOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebWeb, Self-hosted
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cabin

  • Cookieless tracking
  • Carbon reporting
  • 1.2kb script
  • Custom events
  • Ad-blocker bypass
  • MCP access
  • Branded dashboards
  • EU data storage

Only in Swagger UI

  • OpenAPI rendering
  • Try it out
  • Schema display
  • Self-hostable

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cabin

  • Replacing Google Analytics on a site where a cookie consent banner is hurting conversion and you do not need behavioural advertising datanot Swagger UI
  • An organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissionsnot Swagger UI
  • An agency managing many client sites that wants unlimited domains and branded client dashboards for a flat $45 a monthnot Swagger UI
  • A developer who wants to query site analytics conversationally through an MCP-connected assistant rather than reading a dashboardnot Swagger UI

Swagger UI

  • Publishing API documentation that stays in step with the specificationnot Cabin
  • Letting developers try endpoints before writing any client codenot Cabin
  • Internal API discovery across teamsnot Cabin

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cabin

  • The analytics are deliberately shallow: no funnels, no cohort retention, no session replay and no user-level journeys, so anything beyond traffic and event counts requires a second tool
  • Carbon figures are modelled from bytes transferred using CO2.js assumptions about grid intensity and device energy, not measured, so they are directionally useful and should never be presented as audited emissions data
  • Cabin is a product of Normally, a design studio, rather than a company whose sole business is analytics, which puts a reasonable question mark over long-term roadmap investment and support depth
  • The 30-day retention on the free tier and 12 months on Plus mean year-on-year comparison needs the $45 Scale plan, which is a large jump for a small site that only wanted longer history
  • Because it does not use cookies or cross-site identifiers, returning-visitor and multi-session attribution are approximations, which matters if anyone in the business is trying to reconcile it with an ad platform's numbers

Swagger UI

  • Only as good as the specification: a thin OpenAPI file produces thin documentation
  • Default presentation is dated compared with modern documentation tools
  • Large specifications render slowly and become hard to navigate
  • Try it out against production needs care with authentication and CORS, and is often disabled as a result

Pricing, plan by plan

Cabin

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 domain
    • 10,000 pageviews per month
    • 30-day data retention
  • Plus$14/mo
    • Up to 10 domains
    • 100,000 pageviews per month
    • 12-month retention
  • Scale$45/mo
    • Unlimited domains
    • 5,000,000 pageviews per month
    • Unlimited retention

Swagger UI

Free
  • Swagger UIFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cabin if

  • You need cookieless tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want carbon reporting.
Cabin review

Choose Swagger UI if

  • You need openapi rendering.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want try it out.
Swagger UI review

Questions people ask

Is Cabin or Swagger UI better?
Neither clearly leads. Cabin starts at Free and Swagger UI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cabin or Swagger UI?
Cabin starts at Free and Swagger UI at Free.
Does Cabin or Swagger UI run on more platforms?
Cabin runs on Web. Swagger UI runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Cabin for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cabin best used for?
Cabin is most often used for replacing google analytics on a site where a cookie consent banner is hurting conversion and you do not need behavioural advertising data, an organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissions, an agency managing many client sites that wants unlimited domains and branded client dashboards for a flat $45 a month, a developer who wants to query site analytics conversationally through an mcp-connected assistant rather than reading a dashboard. Of those, replacing google analytics on a site where a cookie consent banner is hurting conversion and you do not need behavioural advertising data and an organisation with a published sustainability commitment that needs a reportable figure for its website emissions are not what Swagger UI is typically brought in for.
What can Cabin do that Swagger UI cannot?
Cabin covers Cookieless tracking, Carbon reporting, 1.2kb script, Custom events. Swagger UI covers OpenAPI rendering, Try it out, Schema display, Self-hostable.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cabin: Do I need a cookie consent banner with Cabin?

No. It sets no cookies and collects no cross-site identifiers, and data is stored in the EU, which is the specific reason most buyers switch to it.

Swagger UI: Is Swagger UI free?

Yes, open source under the Apache 2.0 licence. SmartBear sells commercial SwaggerHub separately.

Cabin: How accurate is the carbon measurement?

It is an estimate derived from data transfer using the CO2.js model. It is reliable for tracking change over time on your own site and unsuitable as an audited emissions figure.

Swagger UI: What is the difference between Swagger and OpenAPI?

OpenAPI is the specification format; Swagger is the toolset around it, including Swagger UI. The specification was renamed from Swagger to OpenAPI in 2016.

Cabin: Who makes Cabin?

It was built at Normally, a research and design studio in London, out of work on data, privacy and the carbon footprint of digital products.

Swagger UI: Can Swagger UI make real API calls?

Yes, through its try-it-out control, though authentication and CORS configuration often mean it is disabled for production APIs.

Cabin: Can it replace Google Analytics entirely?

For traffic, referrer and event reporting, yes. For advertising attribution, audience building and funnel analysis, no.

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