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Comparison · Analytics
Umami vs Lightdash
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Umami and Lightdash — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Umami vs Lightdash: at a glance
| Feature | Umami | Lightdash |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Analytics | Analytics |
| Velocity score | 3.8 | 5.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | product-analytics, session-replay, custom-dashboards, web-vitals | business-intelligence, dbt, data-visualization, analyst-ux |
| Last editorial update | 1mo ago | 2d ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Umami?
Umami v3.1.0 ships custom dashboards and session replay on top of the v3 rewrite.
v3.1.0 is the headline: Boards (custom dashboards composed on a row/column canvas), Session Replay, Web Vitals performance tracking, a redesigned share page, and a long fix list. Underneath sit a December stretch of CVE patches across both v3 and v2 lines (Next.js security update), and the November v3.0.0 launch that established the new UI and architecture.
What is Lightdash?
Lightdash keeps sanding down the edges of self-serve BI, chart by chart.
Lightdash is a dbt-native BI tool, and its recent releases are a steady stream of charting and modeling refinements rather than big swings. The last six ship date-zoom inside custom SQL, new Sankey layouts, multi-level color palettes, display row and column limits, preview-project cleanup, and audit-logged admin impersonation. The common thread is reducing friction for analysts who already live in the tool.
Umami vs Lightdash: editorial side-by-side
Umami
3.8ANALYTICS
Umami v3.1.0 ships custom dashboards and session replay on top of the v3 rewrite.
◆ Current state
v3.1.0 is the headline: Boards (custom dashboards composed on a row/column canvas), Session Replay, Web Vitals performance tracking, a redesigned share page, and a long fix list. Underneath sit a December stretch of CVE patches across both v3 and v2 lines (Next.js security update), and the November v3.0.0 launch that established the new UI and architecture.
◆ Where it's heading
Umami is moving past privacy-friendly pageview counting toward full product analytics — Boards turns it into a build-your-own dashboard tool, Session Replay adds qualitative behavior data, and Web Vitals brings performance into the same surface. The v3 rewrite was the foundation; v3.1 is where the surface area starts widening.
◆ Prediction
Expect deeper Session Replay tooling next — privacy filters, search/filter across replays, integration with Boards. Funnels and cohort analysis are the natural follow-ons given the dashboard composition primitive. The maintained v2 line will likely shrink to security-only patches.
Lightdash
5.0ANALYTICS
Lightdash keeps sanding down the edges of self-serve BI, chart by chart.
◆ Current state
Lightdash is a dbt-native BI tool, and its recent releases are a steady stream of charting and modeling refinements rather than big swings. The last six ship date-zoom inside custom SQL, new Sankey layouts, multi-level color palettes, display row and column limits, preview-project cleanup, and audit-logged admin impersonation. The common thread is reducing friction for analysts who already live in the tool.
◆ Where it's heading
The arc is incremental polish across the analyst workflow — more control over how charts render, how parameters flow into SQL, and how governance works for admins. Nothing here redraws the product, but together they close gaps that push Lightdash from capable toward complete against established BI suites. The cadence of small, shippable improvements looks set to continue.
◆ Prediction
The next moves likely keep extending parameters and table calculations deeper into custom SQL, and broaden admin and governance controls beyond impersonation.
Alternatives to Umami and Lightdash
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Umami or Lightdash.
Fulcrum
Fulcrum is in steady maintenance mode, polishing its field-mapping and mobile data-capture core.
Apify
Apify is rebuilding the Actor platform as MCP-first agent infrastructure.
Apache Superset
Duplicate Apache Superset row — same Helm-chart packaging feed, no distinct product signal
Apache Superset
Superset's public feed is all Helm-chart packaging — the 6.x product work sits behind release votes
Tinybird
Tinybird funnels customers from Classic to Forward while widening connectors and SDK coverage.
See all Umami alternatives → · See all Lightdash alternatives →
Recent activity from Umami and Lightdash
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 3d agoLightdash🔍 Date zoom, now in SQL
- 16d agoLightdash🔀 Reshape your Sankey chart with new layouts
- 1mo agoLightdash🎭 User Impersonation
- 1mo agoLightdash🧹 Preview projects now clean themselves up
- 1mo agoLightdash🎨 Paint your charts your way: color palettes at every level
- 1mo agoLightdash✂️ Trim your charts with row and column limits
- 2mo agoUmamiv3.1.0 ⚡
- 2mo agoUmamiGitHub error page captured
- 6mo agoUmamiv3.0.3 — Next.js CVE patch
- 6mo agoUmamiv2.20.2 — Next.js CVE patch (v2 line)
- 6mo agoUmamiv2.20.1 — Next.js CVE follow-up + Docker fix
- 6mo agoUmamiv2.20.0 — Next.js CVE patch
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Umami and Lightdash?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Lightdash is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 3.8), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Umami better than Lightdash?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Lightdash is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 3.8), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Umami?
Top Umami alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Umami alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/umami for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Lightdash?
Top Lightdash alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Lightdash alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/lightdash for the full list with editorial commentary on each.