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Cybersecurity · head to head

ProtonVPN vs Umami

ProtonVPN logo

ProtonVPN

Cybersecurity

High-speed Swiss VPN that safeguards your privacy

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: ProtonVPN free plan limited to one device at a time; 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: ProtonVPN covers No-logs policy, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ProtonVPN and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where ProtonVPN and Umami differ
AttributeProtonVPNUmami
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by event count
PlatformsWindows, macOS, Linux, iOS, AndroidWeb, Linux
CategoryCybersecurityMarketing
Founded2014Unknown

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 ProtonVPN

  • No-logs policy
  • Secure Core
  • Kill Switch
  • DNS leak protection
  • Tor over VPN
  • Split tunneling
  • NetShield ad-blocker
  • VPN Accelerator

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.

ProtonVPN

  • Privacy-focused browsing without subscription costnot Umami
  • Multi-device protection with Plus plan supporting 10 devicesnot Umami
  • Integrated access to Proton email and cloud services via Unlimited plannot Umami

Umami

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

Where each one falls short

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

ProtonVPN

  • Free plan limited to one device at a time
  • Free plan restricted to 10 countries with random selection
  • Pricing amounts not clearly published; shown as variable

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

ProtonVPN

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the ProtonVPN review.

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 ProtonVPN if

  • You need no-logs policy.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android.
  • You also want secure core.
ProtonVPN 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 ProtonVPN or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. ProtonVPN 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, ProtonVPN or Umami?
ProtonVPN starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does ProtonVPN or Umami run on more platforms?
ProtonVPN runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use ProtonVPN for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is ProtonVPN best used for?
ProtonVPN is most often used for privacy-focused browsing without subscription cost, multi-device protection with plus plan supporting 10 devices, integrated access to proton email and cloud services via unlimited plan. Of those, privacy-focused browsing without subscription cost and multi-device protection with plus plan supporting 10 devices are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can ProtonVPN do that Umami cannot?
ProtonVPN covers No-logs policy, Secure Core, Kill Switch, DNS leak protection. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

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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