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Business Intelligence · head to head

Glassbox vs Umami

Glassbox logo

Glassbox

Business Intelligence

Digital experience intelligence

From
On request
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

  • Only Umami has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Glassbox no fixed pricing tiers published; custom quotes required based on package, data retention, and session volume; 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: Glassbox covers Session Replay, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Glassbox and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Glassbox and Umami differ
AttributeGlassboxUmami
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by event count
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, HybridWeb, Linux
CategoryBusiness IntelligenceMarketing
Founded2010Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Glassbox

  • Session Replay
  • Struggle Detection
  • Journey Mapping
  • AI Insights
  • Voice of Customer
  • Adobe Analytics
  • Google Analytics
  • Salesforce

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.

Glassbox

  • User experience analysisnot Umami
  • Bug reproductionnot Umami
  • Conversion optimizationnot Umami
  • Customer journey mappingnot Umami
  • Usability testingnot Umami

Umami

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

Where each one falls short

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

Glassbox

  • No fixed pricing tiers published; custom quotes required based on package, data retention, and session volume

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

Glassbox

On request
  • CustomFree
    • Full Platform
    • Mobile Analytics
    • Enterprise Support

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 Glassbox if

  • You need session replay.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Hybrid.
  • You also want struggle detection.
Glassbox 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 Glassbox or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Glassbox starts at On request and Umami at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Glassbox or Umami?
Umami has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Glassbox and Free for Umami.
Does Glassbox or Umami run on more platforms?
Glassbox runs on Web, Mobile, Hybrid. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Umami for free?
Yes. Umami has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Glassbox starts at On request.
What is Glassbox best used for?
Glassbox is most often used for user experience analysis, bug reproduction, conversion optimization, customer journey mapping. Of those, user experience analysis and bug reproduction are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Glassbox do that Umami cannot?
Glassbox covers Session Replay, Struggle Detection, Journey Mapping, AI Insights. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Glassbox: How much does Glassbox cost?

Glassbox uses custom pricing based on three factors: the selected package (Production Operation, Marketing/Business, or Product), data retention period, and session volume. The vendor encourages contacting sales to build customized packages.

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.

Glassbox: Does Glassbox offer add-ons for specific industries?

Yes, Glassbox offers specialized add-on solutions including fraud prevention, accessibility features, and call center solutions tailored for financial organizations.

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.

Umami: Can it replace Google Analytics?

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

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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