Cabin wants a subscription.
These cost $0.
3 free alternatives to Cabin, checked for license, recent activity and real adoption. Each one tells you the catch, so you can switch with your eyes open.
Cabin vs Free Alternatives Matrix
Quick side-by-side comparison · $0/mo vs paid
| Alternative | Type | License | Where It Runs | Stars | Head-to-Head |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Umami | open source | MIT | Local or hosted | ★ 38k | Cabin vs Umami → |
| Plausible Community Edition | open source | AGPL-3.0+ | Self-host | ★ 28k | Cabin vs Plausible Community Edition → |
| GoatCounter | open source | — | Local or hosted | ★ 5.8k | Cabin vs GoatCounter → |
The picks
3 open source · ranked by fit
- 01
Umami
open sourceMITLocal or hosted38kaug 2026A clean cookieless dashboard, minus Cabin's hosting bill.
The catch vs CabinIt is broader and more configurable than Cabin, but that also brings a busier dashboard and more maintenance on the free path.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Create an Umami Cloud account or deploy the Node application with Docker Compose and PostgreSQL
- setup
- None for hosted signup; self-hosting requires Docker or Node hosting and a PostgreSQL database
- your data
- A self-hosted deployment stores analytics and account data in PostgreSQL; Umami Cloud stores it in Umami's managed service
- checked
- 2026-08-10
- 02
Plausible Community Edition
open sourceAGPL-3.0+Self-host28kaug 2026Privacy-friendly traffic analytics in one Compose stack; the cloud-only extras stay elsewhere.
The catch vs CabinIt needs a larger Compose stack and ongoing operations, sacrificing Cabin's tiny zero-administration hosted experience.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Deploy the Community Edition with the official Docker Compose installer
- setup
- Docker Compose, roughly 2 GB of RAM, a domain with DNS and TLS, and backups for PostgreSQL and ClickHouse
- your data
- Account and configuration records live in PostgreSQL and analytics events live in ClickHouse on the user's server
- checked
- 2026-08-10
- 03
GoatCounter
open sourceLocal or hosted5.8kaug 2026Tiny traffic analytics that tells you what happened and declines to become a growth platform.
The catch vs CabinIt is intentionally more spartan, with fewer polished event, goal, team and reporting features and no commercial managed support.
Install, platforms & data +
- platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- install
- Create a hosted account or run the single static binary or Docker image
- setup
- None for hosted use; self-hosting needs a reachable binary or container plus a public URL and TLS
- your data
- A self-hosted instance uses SQLite by default or PostgreSQL; the hosted service stores analytics on GoatCounter's infrastructure and supports JSON and CSV exports
- checked
- 2026-08-10
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers · Cabin open-source replacements
What is the best free alternative to Cabin?+
The top free alternative to Cabin is Umami (open source, MIT). A clean cookieless dashboard, minus Cabin's hosting bill. Other popular Cabin replacements include Plausible Community Edition, GoatCounter.
Can I self-host a free replacement for Cabin?+
Yes. Of the 3 free alternatives to Cabin, 3 can be self-hosted on your own server or local machine: Umami (MIT), Plausible Community Edition (AGPL-3.0+), GoatCounter (free).
Should I vibe-code or build my own Cabin clone from scratch?+
Our build verdict for Cabin is KINDA (the core, yes. the polish, no). The visible privacy web analytics loop is buildable, but a credible replacement needs more than the first screen. Cabin earns its keep through ingestion, storage, reliability, so expect a weekend or multi-day build and a narrower personal scope.
What is the catch when switching from Cabin to Umami?+
It is broader and more configurable than Cabin, but that also brings a busier dashboard and more maintenance on the free path.
