Medama vs OpenPanel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Medama
Privacy-focused website analytics with no cookies
VS
OpenPanel
Open-source web and product analytics in one tool
| Feature | Medama | OpenPanel |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 645 | ★ 7,042 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Mixpanel, Google Analytics |
What are Medama and OpenPanel?
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
OpenPanel
OpenPanel is an open-source analytics platform that combines web analytics with product analytics, positioned as a mix of Mixpanel and Plausible. It tracks events, funnels, and user retention.
- Web and product analytics
- Funnels and retention
- Real-time event tracking
- Privacy-friendly design
Medama vs OpenPanel: key differences
Medama is written in Go, while OpenPanel is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Medama versus AGPL-3.0 for OpenPanel. Medama is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for OpenPanel. OpenPanel has the considerably larger community, at 7,042 GitHub stars versus 645.
Why pick each one
Choose Medama if…
- Easy single-binary deploy
- Very lightweight
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Smaller feature set
Choose OpenPanel if…
- Mixpanel-style features open-source
- Modern dashboard
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Multi-service deployment
Frequently asked questions
Is Medama or OpenPanel better?
Neither is universally better. OpenPanel has the larger community, while Medama is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Medama and OpenPanel free and open-source?
Yes. Medama is licensed under MIT and OpenPanel under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Medama and OpenPanel with Docker?
Medama: yes. OpenPanel: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Medama or OpenPanel?
Medama has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for OpenPanel. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.