Open Web Analytics vs Rybbit
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rybbit
Open-source, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative
| Feature | Open Web Analytics | Rybbit |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,690 | ★ 13,061 |
| First released | 2008 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics, Mixpanel |
What are Open Web Analytics and Rybbit?
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
Rybbit
Rybbit is an open-source and privacy-friendly web and product analytics platform. It is cookieless, GDPR compliant, and offers an intuitive dashboard for tracking traffic and user behavior.
- Cookieless and GDPR compliant
- Real-time dashboard
- Funnels and user journeys
- Web and product analytics
Open Web Analytics vs Rybbit: key differences
Open Web Analytics is written in PHP, while Rybbit is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Open Web Analytics versus AGPL-3.0 for Rybbit. Open Web Analytics is the more established project (first released 2008), while Rybbit arrived in 2024. Rybbit has the considerably larger community, at 13,061 GitHub stars versus 2,690.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Rybbit if…
- Modern intuitive UI
- Combines web and product analytics
Watch out for
- Newer project
- Requires ClickHouse
Frequently asked questions
Is Open Web Analytics or Rybbit better?
Neither is universally better. Rybbit has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Open Web Analytics and Rybbit free and open-source?
Yes. Open Web Analytics is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Rybbit under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Open Web Analytics and Rybbit with Docker?
Open Web Analytics: yes. Rybbit: yes.