Best Cabin Analytics Alternative

Love Cabin's carbon-conscious approach and privacy focus? OpenPanel adds deeper product analytics—self-hosting, mobile SDKs, user identification, funnels, and retention analysis—while staying open source and lightweight.

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Open-source
Self-hostable
Mobile SDKs
Product analytics

This is our web analytics dashboard, its an out-of-the-box experience so you can start understanding your traffic and engagement right away.

Why consider OpenPanel over Cabin Analytics?

Cabin Analytics stands out with its unique carbon-conscious approach to web analytics — measuring not just your traffic, but the environmental impact of your website. Combined with privacy-first tracking and an ultra-lightweight script, it's an appealing choice for environmentally conscious teams. But Cabin is a web-only, cloud-only platform with no self-hosting option, no user identification, and no product analytics capabilities.

OpenPanel provides the same lightweight, privacy-first foundation while adding the depth that growing products need. User identification lets you connect anonymous visits to real accounts, funnels help you optimize conversion flows, and retention analysis shows whether your product keeps users coming back. These features transform analytics from simple traffic counting into actionable product insights.

Self-hosting is a major differentiator. Cabin Analytics is cloud-only, which means your data lives on their servers with no alternative. OpenPanel gives you the choice — use the managed cloud with a free tier, or deploy on your own infrastructure via Docker for complete data ownership. And with native SDKs for iOS, Android, and React Native, OpenPanel works for mobile apps too, not just websites.

If you love Cabin's lightweight and privacy-first approach but need analytics that go deeper than pageviews — especially for SaaS products, mobile apps, or any product where understanding user behavior matters — OpenPanel provides that depth without compromising on simplicity.

OpenPanel vs Cabin: Which is right for you?

Both platforms prioritize privacy and lightweight tracking. The key differences are depth of analytics, self-hosting capabilities, and platform support.

Choose OpenPanel if...

Teams requiring self-hosting for data ownership and compliance

SaaS products needing user-level analytics and retention tracking

Mobile app analytics with native iOS and Android SDKs

Choose Cabin Analytics if...

Teams prioritizing carbon footprint tracking and environmental responsibility

Simple web analytics without user identification requirements

Ultra-lightweight tracking (1KB script) for performance

Comprehensive analytics dashboard with real-time insights and customizable views.

Key differences at a glance

Here's how OpenPanel and Cabin compare on the factors that matter most.

Feature	OpenPanel	Cabin Analytics
Self-hosting	Yes, completely free	No (cloud only)
Product analytics	Funnels, retention, cohorts	Web analytics only
User identification	Yes, track individual users	No (anonymous only)
Mobile SDKs	iOS, Android, React Native	Web only
Open source	Yes (MIT)	Partial (client only)
Page views & visitors
Traffic sources
Geographic data		OpenPanel offers country, region, city. Cabin country only
Device & browser stats
UTM tracking
Real-time data		Cabin doesn't offer real-time monitoring
Bounce rate
Page load time
Event tracking		Cabin custom events require Pro plan
Funnels
Retention analysis
User profiles		Cabin is anonymous only
Cohorts
User identification		Cabin is strictly anonymous by design
User path analysis
A/B testing
Carbon footprint tracking		Unique Cabin feature
Renewable energy hosting		Cabin runs on 100% renewable energy
Custom properties
Public dashboards
Email reports
Self-hosting
Cookie-free tracking
GDPR compliant
CCPA compliant
No IP tracking
No consent banner required
REST API		Cabin API requires Pro plan
Data export
Mobile SDKs		Cabin is web-only

Feature comparison

OpenPanel covers product analytics and web analytics, while Cabin focuses on simple web metrics with unique carbon tracking.

Page views & visitors

Traffic sources

Geographic data

Device & browser stats

UTM tracking

Real-time data

Bounce rate

Page load time

Track events in real-time as they happen with instant updates and live monitoring.

Technical comparison

For developers evaluating analytics tools, here's how the implementations compare.

Feature	OpenPanel	Cabin Analytics
SDK size (JS)	~2.3 KB gzipped	~1 KB gzippedCabin has the lighter script
Supported platforms	JavaScript React Next.js Vue Nuxt React Native iOS Android Node.js Python PHP Go	JavaScript React Next.js Vue Nuxt SvelteKit Astro Hugo Ghost
Open source	Yes (MIT)	Partial (client only)
Self-hosted deployment	Docker, simple setup	Not available
Database	ClickHouse + PostgreSQL	Proprietary
Data retention	Unlimited (self-hosted)	30 days free, unlimited Pro

Pricing comparison

Both offer generous free tiers with different pricing models—event-based vs flat monthly.

OpenPanel

Event-based, transparent

Start at $2.50/month for 5,000 events.

Self-host for free with unlimited events.

No limits on users, dashboards, or features at any tier.

Free tier:Self-hosting (unlimited events)

Free trial:30 days

Cabin Analytics

Flat monthly pricing

Free tier: 1 website, 30-day retention, unlimited pageviews.

Pro: $19/month for unlimited sites, unlimited retention, custom events, API access.

Free tier:Yes (1 site, 30-day retention)

View pricing

Migrating from Cabin to OpenPanel

Switching from Cabin to OpenPanel is straightforward for basic tracking, with added capabilities for product analytics.

Difficulty:easy

Estimated time:30 minutes to 1 hour

Install OpenPanel SDK

Add the OpenPanel SDK to your application. The script is slightly larger (~2.3KB) but still lightweight.

Map custom events

If you use Cabin custom events (Pro), translate them to OpenPanel format. cabin.event('signup') becomes op.track('signup', {properties}).

Add user identification

Unlike Cabin which is anonymous, OpenPanel supports user identification. Add op.identify() calls to unlock user profiles and retention analysis.

Set up funnels and retention

Create funnels and retention reports in OpenPanel—features not available in Cabin.

Remove Cabin script

Once verified, remove the Cabin tracking script. Both are cookie-free so no consent flow changes needed.

SDK Compatibility

Both use similar event tracking patterns. OpenPanel adds user identification capabilities not available in Cabin.

Historical Data Import

Cabin doesn't provide data export on the free plan. Historical data migration requires Pro plan export.

Where OpenPanel is a better fit than Cabin

OpenPanel shines when you need deeper product analytics and platform flexibility beyond simple web tracking.

Teams requiring self-hosting

Cabin is cloud-only. If you need data on your own infrastructure for compliance or security, OpenPanel provides full self-hosting with Docker.

SaaS products needing user-level analytics

Cabin anonymizes all visitors. If you need to track logged-in users, analyze retention, or build cohorts, OpenPanel provides these capabilities.

Mobile app analytics

Cabin is web-only. OpenPanel provides native iOS, Android, and React Native SDKs with full product analytics capabilities.

Teams needing funnel analysis

Track user flows through signup, onboarding, or purchase processes with OpenPanel's funnel analysis.

Products requiring A/B testing

OpenPanel includes built-in experimentation capabilities. Cabin is analytics-only.

Generate detailed reports and insights with customizable metrics and visualizations.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about switching from Cabin to OpenPanel.

Related resources

Explore more comparisons and guides to help you choose the right analytics tool.

Ready to make the switch?

Test OpenPanel free for 30 days, you'll not be charged anything unless you upgrade to a paid plan.

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