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Testing · head to head

Selenium vs Umami

Selenium logo

Selenium

Testing

Browser automation framework and the W3C WebDriver standard

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: Selenium flaky tests are the standing complaint: explicit waits and synchronisation are the tester’s job, where newer tools handle it automatically; 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: Selenium covers W3C WebDriver, Umami covers Cookie-free tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Selenium and Umami actually diverge.

Attributes where Selenium and Umami differ
AttributeSeleniumUmami
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feePer month by event count
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, WebWeb, 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 Selenium

  • W3C WebDriver
  • Many language bindings
  • Selenium Grid
  • Broad browser support

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.

Selenium

  • Cross-browser testing where Safari and legacy browsers must be coverednot Umami
  • Teams whose test suites are written in Java or C# rather than JavaScriptnot Umami
  • Distributing a large suite across a grid of machinesnot Umami

Umami

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

Where each one falls short

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

Selenium

  • Flaky tests are the standing complaint: explicit waits and synchronisation are the tester’s job, where newer tools handle it automatically
  • Setup involves drivers, versions and grid infrastructure that Playwright and Cypress bundle away
  • Slower to run than tools that talk to browsers over a debugging protocol rather than WebDriver

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

Selenium

Free
  • SeleniumFree
    • 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 Selenium if

  • You need w3c webdriver.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web.
  • You also want many language bindings.
Selenium 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 Selenium or Umami better?
Neither clearly leads. Selenium 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, Selenium or Umami?
Selenium starts at Free and Umami at Free.
Does Selenium or Umami run on more platforms?
Selenium runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Web. Umami runs on Web, Linux.
Can I use Selenium for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Selenium best used for?
Selenium is most often used for cross-browser testing where safari and legacy browsers must be covered, teams whose test suites are written in java or c# rather than javascript, distributing a large suite across a grid of machines. Of those, cross-browser testing where safari and legacy browsers must be covered and teams whose test suites are written in java or c# rather than javascript are not what Umami is typically brought in for.
What can Selenium do that Umami cannot?
Selenium covers W3C WebDriver, Many language bindings, Selenium Grid, Broad browser support. Umami covers Cookie-free tracking, Self-hosting, Small tracking script, Custom events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Selenium: Is Selenium free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee. Paid costs come from grid infrastructure or services like BrowserStack.

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.

Selenium: Selenium or Playwright?

Playwright handles waiting automatically and is faster to set up, which removes most flakiness complaints. Selenium wins on language breadth, browser coverage including Safari, and existing suites you already have.

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.

Selenium: Is Selenium still relevant?

Yes. Its WebDriver protocol is a W3C standard implemented by every major browser, and very large existing suites are not rewritten cheaply.

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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