Umami vs. Microsoft Clarity
Session replay and heatmaps without giving your data to Microsoft
Clarity is free because Microsoft keeps the data. Umami gives you replays, heatmaps, and full web analytics — cookie-free, open source, and yours alone.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Umami | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Compliance | ||
| Cookie-free tracking | ||
| No consent banner required | Required in EU/UK | |
| No personal data collection | ||
| Vendor role | You own your data | Microsoft is data controller |
| Open source | MIT license | Tracking script only |
| Self-hosting option | ||
| Analytics Features | ||
| Web analytics (pageviews, referrers, UTM) | Limited | |
| Custom events | ||
| Funnel analysis | Degraded without cookie consent | |
| User journeys | Limited | |
| Session replay | ||
| Heatmaps | ||
| Custom dashboards | ||
| Cohorts & retention | ||
| Revenue tracking | ||
| A/B testing | Via tags | |
| Data Ownership | ||
| Data storage | Your server or Umami Cloud | Microsoft Azure |
| Recording retention | You decide | 30 days |
| Delete individual user data | Entire project only | |
| Raw data export | Limited | |
| API access | Limited | |
| Hosting & Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Free (ad ecosystem subsidized) | |
| Cloud starting price | Free / $20 mo | Free |
| Self-hosting cost | Free | Not available |
| Unlimited websites | Business & self-hosted | |
Last verified August 2026. Spot something out of date? Let us know.
Free has a price
Microsoft Clarity is free with no traffic caps — but Microsoft acts as a data controller for what it collects, uses cookies that tie your visitors into its advertising ecosystem, and feeds behavioral data into its AI and machine learning systems. Umami is free to self-host under the MIT license, collects no personal data, and your analytics never subsidize anyone else's business model.
A full analytics platform, not just replays
Clarity is a behavior tool: session recordings and heatmaps with a thin analytics layer on top. Umami includes session replay and heatmaps too — plus the complete web analytics you would otherwise need another tool for: pageviews, referrers, UTM campaigns, funnels, cohorts, retention, revenue tracking, and custom dashboards, all in real time.
Compliance without the caveats
In the EU, UK, and Switzerland, Clarity requires explicit cookie consent — and without it, sessions fragment and funnels stop working. Umami is cookie-free by design, so it works identically for every visitor, needs no consent banner, and is GDPR and CCPA compliant out of the box. Your recordings are also retained as long as you want, not deleted after 30 days.