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Cybersecurity · head to head

Ory Kratos vs Umami

Ory Kratos logo

Ory Kratos

Cybersecurity

Headless identity and user management API

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: Ory Kratos headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page; 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: Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ory Kratos and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Ory Kratos and Umami differ
AttributeOry KratosUmami
Pricing modelOpen-source self-hosted, with a paid managed networkPer month by event count
PlatformsLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hostedWeb, Linux
CategoryCybersecurityMarketing

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 Ory Kratos

  • Headless API
  • Self-service flows
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Pluggable identity schemas

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.

Ory Kratos

  • Products needing complete control over the look and flow of authenticationnot Umami
  • Applications that must not hand user identity data to a third partynot Umami
  • Teams building identity as infrastructure across several servicesnot Umami

Umami

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

Where each one falls short

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

Ory Kratos

  • Headless means you build every screen, which is significant work compared with a hosted login page
  • More moving parts than a monolithic IAM: Kratos handles identity, and OAuth2 needs Ory Hydra alongside
  • Documentation assumes real familiarity with identity concepts and is not a gentle introduction
  • Self-hosting identity carries the security and availability burden that hosted providers absorb

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

Ory Kratos

Free
  • Self-hostedFree
    • Full identity server
    • All flows
    • Community 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 Ory Kratos if

  • You need headless api.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want self-service flows.
Ory Kratos 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 Ory Kratos or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Ory Kratos 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, Ory Kratos or Umami?
Ory Kratos starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does Ory Kratos or Umami run on more platforms?
Ory Kratos runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Ory Kratos for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Ory Kratos best used for?
Ory Kratos is most often used for products needing complete control over the look and flow of authentication, applications that must not hand user identity data to a third party, teams building identity as infrastructure across several services. Of those, products needing complete control over the look and flow of authentication and applications that must not hand user identity data to a third party are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Ory Kratos do that Umami cannot?
Ory Kratos covers Headless API, Self-service flows, Multi-factor authentication, Pluggable identity schemas. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ory Kratos: Is Ory Kratos free?

Yes, open source and free to self-host. Ory Network is a paid managed service.

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.

Ory Kratos: What does headless mean here?

Kratos provides identity flows as APIs and no user interface. You build the login, registration and recovery screens yourself.

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.

Ory Kratos: Does Kratos do OAuth2?

No. Kratos handles user identity; OAuth2 and OpenID Connect provider functionality is Ory Hydra, a separate component.

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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