Fathom Lite vs Open Web Analytics
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Fathom Lite | Open Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 57 · Fair | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,019 | ★ 2,690 |
| First released | 2018 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Fathom Lite and Open Web Analytics?
Fathom Lite
Fathom Lite is the open-source edition of Fathom Analytics, providing simple, privacy-focused website analytics. It targets users who want a lightweight self-hosted analytics tool. It is deployed as a single binary or via Docker.
- Simple privacy-focused analytics
- Single-binary deployment
- No cookies
- Lightweight dashboard
Open Web Analytics
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a long-standing self-hosted web analytics framework that tracks visitors, click streams, and heatmaps. It can be embedded in WordPress and MediaWiki.
- Click stream tracking
- Heatmaps
- WordPress integration
- Visitor profiles
Fathom Lite vs Open Web Analytics: key differences
Fathom Lite is written in Go, while Open Web Analytics is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Fathom Lite versus GPL-2.0 for Open Web Analytics. Fathom Lite is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Open Web Analytics. Open Web Analytics is the more established project (first released 2008), while Fathom Lite arrived in 2018. Fathom Lite has the considerably larger community, at 8,019 GitHub stars versus 2,690.
Why pick each one
Choose Fathom Lite if…
- Very easy to run
- Privacy-friendly
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Lite edition no longer actively developed
- Basic feature set
Choose Open Web Analytics if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Fathom Lite or Open Web Analytics better?
Fathom Lite is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Open Web Analytics if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Fathom Lite and Open Web Analytics free and open-source?
Yes. Fathom Lite is licensed under MIT and Open Web Analytics under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fathom Lite and Open Web Analytics with Docker?
Fathom Lite: yes. Open Web Analytics: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Fathom Lite or Open Web Analytics?
Fathom Lite has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Open Web Analytics. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.