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Comparison · Marketing

Umbraco CMS vs Open Web Analytics

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Umbraco CMS and Open Web Analytics — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Umbraco CMS vs Open Web Analytics: at a glance

FeatureUmbraco CMSOpen Web Analytics
SectorMarketingMarketing
Velocity score5.06.3
Sparks · 30d01
Top themescms, dotnet, release-candidate, dependenciesweb-analytics, self-hosted, php-modernization, security-hardening
Last editorial update10h ago4h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Umbraco CMS?

Three release branches moving in lockstep, carrying dependency bumps and fixes only.

The feed is release-candidate traffic across three maintained lines at once — 18.1, 17.6 and 13.16. Content is almost entirely dependency updates (@umbraco-ui/uui, NuGet, MailKit) plus targeted fixes: a content-migration correction, an auth fix so a boot-time token refresh is not treated as a failure, and removal of openapi-ts from the login project.

Read the full Umbraco CMS trajectory →

What is Open Web Analytics?

Open Web Analytics went from one release a year to six in a fortnight.

OWA published more releases in the last two weeks than in the previous two years. The sequence runs security hardening (1.8.2, 1.8.3), then a modernization release that raises the floor to PHP 8.2 and rebuilds the JavaScript toolchain (1.9.0), an emergency patch for a 403 that blocked every fresh install (1.9.1), a structural release completing the PSR-4 migration and repairing the updater (1.10.0), and a cleanup pass that tightens REST responses (1.10.1).

Read the full Open Web Analytics trajectory →

Umbraco CMS vs Open Web Analytics: editorial side-by-side

U
Umbraco CMS
MARKETING
5.0

Three release branches moving in lockstep, carrying dependency bumps and fixes only.

◆ Current state

The feed is release-candidate traffic across three maintained lines at once — 18.1, 17.6 and 13.16. Content is almost entirely dependency updates (@umbraco-ui/uui, NuGet, MailKit) plus targeted fixes: a content-migration correction, an auth fix so a boot-time token refresh is not treated as a failure, and removal of openapi-ts from the login project.

◆ Where it's heading

This is stabilisation work, not direction. The rc2 notes restate what changed since rc, so the same items appear repeatedly across the feed. Maintaining an LTS line (13.x) alongside two current branches is the notable commitment — support breadth is what is being invested in.

◆ Prediction

The rc lines should reach final release with the same content; nothing in these entries points to a feature direction beyond keeping three branches current.

O6.3

Open Web Analytics went from one release a year to six in a fortnight.

◆ Current state

OWA published more releases in the last two weeks than in the previous two years. The sequence runs security hardening (1.8.2, 1.8.3), then a modernization release that raises the floor to PHP 8.2 and rebuilds the JavaScript toolchain (1.9.0), an emergency patch for a 403 that blocked every fresh install (1.9.1), a structural release completing the PSR-4 migration and repairing the updater (1.10.0), and a cleanup pass that tightens REST responses (1.10.1).

◆ Where it's heading

This is a self-hosted analytics project being brought back from stagnation in a compressed burst, and the order of the work says how bad the starting position was: patch the security holes, then make it run on a supported PHP, then fix the fact that installing and updating were themselves broken, then start on structure. Backwards-compatibility shims for modules, templates and themes indicate the maintainers are trying to modernize without stranding the existing installed base. The REST API is where that promise is thinnest — 1.10.1 narrows responses to documented properties, which is correct but will break clients that were reading internals.

◆ Prediction

With the runtime, installer and updater repaired and PSR-4 finished, the next work is most likely to continue on the API and the reporting layer, where 1.10.0 already flagged a cluster of e-commerce bugs.

Alternatives to Umbraco CMS and Open Web Analytics

Other Marketing 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 Umbraco CMS or Open Web Analytics.

See all Umbraco CMS alternatives → · See all Open Web Analytics alternatives →

Recent activity from Umbraco CMS and Open Web Analytics

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoOpen Web AnalyticsRelease 1.10.1
  2. 1d agoUmbraco CMS18.1.0-rc2
  3. 1d agoUmbraco CMS17.6.0-rc2
  4. 3d agoOpen Web AnalyticsRelease 1.10.0
  5. 6d agoOpen Web AnalyticsRelease 1.9.1
  6. 8d agoOpen Web AnalyticsRelease 1.9.0
  7. 12d agoOpen Web AnalyticsRelease 1.8.3
  8. 13d agoUmbraco CMS18.1.0-rc
  9. 13d agoUmbraco CMS17.6.0-rc
  10. 14d agoOpen Web AnalyticsRelease 1.8.2
  11. 27d agoUmbraco CMS13.16.0-rc

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Umbraco CMS and Open Web Analytics?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Open Web Analytics is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 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 Umbraco CMS better than Open Web Analytics?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Open Web Analytics is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Marketing products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Umbraco CMS?

Top Umbraco CMS alternatives in Marketing are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Umbraco CMS alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/umbraco for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Open Web Analytics?

Top Open Web Analytics alternatives in Marketing are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Open Web Analytics alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/open-web-analytics for the full list with editorial commentary on each.