Ackee vs Medama
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ackee
Self-hosted, privacy-focused analytics tool
VS
Medama
Privacy-focused website analytics with no cookies
| Feature | Ackee | Medama |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 74 · Good |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,709 | ★ 645 |
| First released | 2018 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Ackee and Medama?
Ackee
Ackee is a self-hosted, Node-based analytics tool that tracks website visitors while respecting privacy and avoiding cookies. It targets developers wanting minimal, ethical analytics. It is deployed via Docker.
- Privacy-focused tracking
- GraphQL API
- Clean minimal dashboard
- No cookies used
Medama
Medama is a lightweight, privacy-focused website analytics tool that operates without cookies and complies with privacy regulations. It is designed to be fast and simple to self-host.
- Cookieless tracking
- SQLite storage
- Lightweight script
- Privacy compliant
Ackee vs Medama: key differences
Ackee is written in JavaScript, while Medama is built with Go. Medama is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Ackee. Ackee is the more established project (first released 2018), while Medama arrived in 2024. Ackee has the considerably larger community, at 4,709 GitHub stars versus 645.
Why pick each one
Choose Ackee if…
- Lightweight and private
- Easy to deploy
- Nice minimal UI
Watch out for
- Limited reporting depth
- Needs MongoDB
Choose Medama if…
- Easy single-binary deploy
- Very lightweight
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Smaller feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Ackee or Medama better?
Neither is universally better. Ackee has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ackee and Medama free and open-source?
Yes. Ackee is licensed under MIT and Medama under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ackee and Medama with Docker?
Ackee: yes. Medama: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ackee or Medama?
Medama has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Ackee. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.