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Business Intelligence · head to head

Geckoboard vs Umami

Geckoboard logo

Geckoboard

Business Intelligence

Real-time KPI dashboards

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Umami logo

Umami

Marketing

Open source, cookie-free web analytics you can self-host for the cost of a database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Geckoboard annual billing required; monthly billing not offered; Umami there is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • They diverge on capability: Geckoboard covers Real-time Updates, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Geckoboard and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Geckoboard and Umami differ
AttributeGeckoboardUmami
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by event count
PlatformsWeb, Tv, MobileWeb, Linux
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceMarketing
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Geckoboard

  • Real-time Updates
  • TV Mode
  • Custom Widgets
  • Data Blending
  • Sharing
  • Salesforce
  • Zendesk
  • Google Analytics

Only in Umami

  • Cookie-free tracking
  • Self-hosting
  • Small tracking script
  • Custom events
  • Funnels and goals
  • Multi-site and teams
  • Public dashboards
  • API access

What people use each for

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

Geckoboard

  • TV wall dashboards for office and operations displaysnot Umami
  • Live KPI monitoring for sales and support teamsnot Umami
  • Sharing read-only metrics widely, since viewers are unlimited on every tiernot Umami
  • Alerting when a metric crosses a thresholdnot Umami

Umami

  • A developer who wants traffic numbers on a personal or client site without adding a consent bannernot Geckoboard
  • An organisation whose legal or procurement team has ruled out sending visitor data to a US advertising companynot Geckoboard
  • A high-traffic site where hosted analytics priced by pageview band has become expensive and self-hosting removes the ceiling entirelynot Geckoboard
  • A team that wants analytics data in a database they already control so they can query and join it themselvesnot Geckoboard

Where each one falls short

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

Geckoboard

  • Annual billing required; monthly billing not offered
  • Add-on dashboards cost $24 each
  • Additional editors cost $20 each
  • Additional screens cost $20 each

Umami

  • There is no cohort analysis, retention curve, session replay or multi-touch attribution, so a marketing team that needs to justify channel spend will still buy a second tool and Umami becomes a supplementary dashboard.
  • Self-hosting is only free in licence terms; you own the database, the upgrades, the backups and the query performance at scale, and a busy site's events table grows quickly enough to need real attention.
  • Because it stores no persistent identifier, it cannot follow a user across devices or sessions in any meaningful way, which makes returning-visitor and lifetime-value questions unanswerable by design rather than by omission.
  • Cloud overage is billed per event beyond the plan allowance, so a traffic spike or a badly instrumented custom event can produce a bill materially above the $20 or $200 headline before anyone notices.
  • It is maintained by a small team, so the pace of new capability is modest and enterprise expectations such as SSO, granular role permissions and formal support agreements are limited compared with commercial analytics vendors.

Pricing, plan by plan

Geckoboard

Free
  • Essentials$79/month
    • 2 dashboards
    • 1 editor
    • 1 screen
  • Performance$319/month
    • 20 dashboards
    • 3 editors
    • 5 screens
  • Enterprise$null/mo
    • Unlimited dashboards, editors, and screens
    • All Performance features
    • Dedicated support manager

Umami

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • MIT licensed, no licence fee
    • No event limit imposed by the software
    • Unlimited websites and users
  • Cloud HobbyFree
    • Up to 100,000 events per month
    • 3 websites
    • 6 months data retention
  • Cloud Pro$20/month
    • Up to 1,000,000 events per month
    • Unlimited websites
    • Unlimited team members
  • Cloud Business$200/month
    • Up to 10,000,000 events per month
    • All Pro features
    • Higher volume overage rate

Which should you pick?

Choose Geckoboard if

  • You need real-time updates.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Tv, Mobile.
  • You also want tv mode.
Geckoboard review

Choose Umami if

  • You need cookie-free tracking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want self-hosting.
Umami review

Questions people ask

Is Geckoboard or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Geckoboard starts at Free and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Geckoboard or Umami?
Geckoboard starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does Geckoboard or Umami run on more platforms?
Geckoboard runs on Web, Tv, Mobile. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Geckoboard for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Geckoboard best used for?
Geckoboard is most often used for tv wall dashboards for office and operations displays, live kpi monitoring for sales and support teams, sharing read-only metrics widely, since viewers are unlimited on every tier, alerting when a metric crosses a threshold. Of those, tv wall dashboards for office and operations displays and live kpi monitoring for sales and support teams are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Geckoboard do that Umami cannot?
Geckoboard covers Real-time Updates, TV Mode, Custom Widgets, Data Blending. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Geckoboard: How much does Geckoboard cost?

Geckoboard offers Essentials at $79 per month, Performance at $319 per month, and custom-priced Enterprise plans. All plans are billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.

Source
Umami: Is Umami really free?

Self-hosted, yes; it is MIT licensed with no event cap. You pay for the server and database. Umami Cloud has a free tier at 100,000 events a month and paid tiers from $20.

Geckoboard: Is there an annual billing discount for Geckoboard?

Yes, annual billing provides 20% savings compared to monthly pricing. Pricing is shown for annual billing with VAT not included.

Source
Umami: Do I need a cookie consent banner?

For Umami analytics specifically, generally no, because it sets no cookies and stores no personal data. Other tags on your site may still require one.

Geckoboard: What are the add-on costs for additional Geckoboard resources?

Additional dashboards cost $24 each, extra editors cost $20 each, and additional screens cost $20 each. All add-ons are billed with the annual subscription.

Source
Umami: Can it replace Google Analytics?

For traffic, referrers and event counts, yes. For attribution modelling, audiences and advertising integration, no.

Geckoboard: Does Geckoboard offer discounts for nonprofits?

Yes, Geckoboard offers 20% off any plan for nonprofit organizations.

Source
Umami: What does it need to run?

A container and a PostgreSQL or MySQL database. Most people deploy it on infrastructure they already pay for.

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