Softwr

Testing · head to head

Puppeteer vs Umami

Puppeteer logo

Puppeteer

Testing

Node.js library for controlling Chrome and Firefox

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: Puppeteer chrome and Firefox only, with no Safari or WebKit story; 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: Puppeteer covers DevTools Protocol, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Puppeteer and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Puppeteer and Umami differ
AttributePuppeteerUmami
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by event count
PlatformsLinux, macOS, WindowsWeb, Linux
CategoryTestingMarketing

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 Puppeteer

  • DevTools Protocol
  • Headless by default
  • PDF and screenshots
  • Network interception

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.

Puppeteer

  • Generating PDFs or screenshots of rendered pages on a servernot Umami
  • Scraping sites that require JavaScript executionnot Umami
  • Automating browser tasks where a full test framework is unnecessarynot Umami

Umami

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

Where each one falls short

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

Puppeteer

  • Chrome and Firefox only, with no Safari or WebKit story
  • Not a test framework: assertions, retries and reporting need Jest or similar bolted on
  • Bundles a Chromium download, which makes installs large and awkward in constrained CI images

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

Puppeteer

Free
  • PuppeteerFree
    • Full functionality
    • Unlimited tests
    • 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 Puppeteer if

  • You need devtools protocol.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want headless by default.
Puppeteer 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 Puppeteer or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Puppeteer 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, Puppeteer or Umami?
Puppeteer starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does Puppeteer or Umami run on more platforms?
Puppeteer runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Puppeteer for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Puppeteer best used for?
Puppeteer is most often used for generating pdfs or screenshots of rendered pages on a server, scraping sites that require javascript execution, automating browser tasks where a full test framework is unnecessary. Of those, generating pdfs or screenshots of rendered pages on a server and scraping sites that require javascript execution are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Puppeteer do that Umami cannot?
Puppeteer covers DevTools Protocol, Headless by default, PDF and screenshots, Network interception. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Puppeteer: Is Puppeteer free?

Yes, open source from the Chrome team.

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.

Puppeteer: Puppeteer or Playwright?

Playwright came from the same original team, adds WebKit and Firefox support, automatic waiting and a test runner. Puppeteer stays a focused Chrome automation library, which is simpler if automation rather than testing is the goal.

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.

Puppeteer: Can Puppeteer generate PDFs?

Yes, and it is one of the most common uses — rendering a page and printing it to PDF server-side.

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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