Layer 5 · self-hosting reality check
What it actually takes to self-host Umami
The docs say 256 MB. In practice you want 1 GB with PostgreSQL alongside. Here is the honest version — real requirements, real monthly cost, what you will be maintaining, and the one thing that catches people out.
Usually reached from Google Analytics alternatives, where Umami is one of the picks.
Wondering whether you need to at all? Is Google Analytics free? — what the free tier actually allows, and where the wall is.
| RAM — documented minimum | 256 MB |
|---|---|
| RAM — what it really needs | 1 GB with PostgreSQL alongside |
| CPU | 1 vCPU |
| Disk | 20 GB for a normal site |
| Monthly cost | $10–18/mo, and it runs on a free-tier serverless host comfortably |
| Setup time | 30 minutes |
| How you install it | docker compose with PostgreSQL, or deploy the Next.js app to any Node host |
| Ongoing maintenance | Low. One container and a database, with no archiving job to schedule. |
| Where it stops scaling | Millions of events a month on a modest database. |
The thing that catches people out
Umami is deliberately lightweight and that is a design decision with consequences, not just a feature list: there are no funnels beyond the basics, no session recordings, and the data model is aggregate-first. People arrive from Google Analytics expecting a privacy-friendly clone and find something much simpler. That simplicity is why it is fast and cheap; know you are choosing it.
When not to self-host Umami
You need funnels, cohorts or attribution modelling. That is Matomo's or PostHog's territory.
Every guide here carries this section. A site that only ever tells you to self-host is selling something — the useful answer is sometimes no.
Other Layer 5 self-hosting guides
- Self-hosting LibreOffice2 GB with a large spreadsheet open
- Self-hosting ONLYOFFICE6 GB for the Document Server with a handful of concurrent editors
- Self-hosting Collabora Online4 GB, and roughly 1 GB per 20 concurrent documents
- Self-hosting CryptPad2 GB for a small instance
- Self-hosting Mattermost4 GB for a team of 50 with PostgreSQL on the same box
- Self-hosting Rocket.Chat6 GB with MongoDB on the same machine
Common questions
- How much RAM does Umami actually need?
- 1 GB with PostgreSQL alongside in practice. The documented minimum is 256 MB, which is the figure at which the process starts rather than the figure at which it works under real use. 1 vCPU alongside it.
- What does self-hosting Umami cost per month?
- $10–18/mo, and it runs on a free-tier serverless host comfortably This is commodity VPS pricing and excludes your time, which is the larger cost for most people — budget for low. One container and a database, with no archiving job to schedule.
- How long does it take to set up Umami?
- 30 minutes, via docker compose with PostgreSQL, or deploy the Next.js app to any Node host.
- When should I NOT self-host Umami?
- You need funnels, cohorts or attribution modelling. That is Matomo's or PostHog's territory.
- What is the most common mistake when self-hosting Umami?
- Umami is deliberately lightweight and that is a design decision with consequences, not just a feature list: there are no funnels beyond the basics, no session recordings, and the data model is aggregate-first. People arrive from Google Analytics expecting a privacy-friendly clone and find something much simpler. That simplicity is why it is fast and cheap; know you are choosing it.