Installation Overview
The fastest way to get started is Betterlytics Cloud: create an account, add one script tag, and see your first data within minutes. No servers to run, no updates to manage, and always the latest features. On a WordPress site? The WordPress Plugin sets everything up without touching code.
Get started in under a minute →
Prefer to run everything on your own infrastructure? Betterlytics is open source and can be self-hosted with Docker.
Cloud vs Self-Hosted
Both options provide the same privacy-first, cookieless analytics experience. Cloud is fully managed and always up to date, while self-hosting gives you full control over your data and infrastructure.
| Feature | Cloud | Self-Hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | Minutes | ~1 hour |
| Updates | Automatic | Manual |
| Data location | EU cloud infrastructure | Your servers |
| Data retention | 1-5+ years by plan | Unlimited |
| Privacy & Compliance | ||
| Cookieless tracking | ||
| GDPR/CCPA/PECR ready | ||
| No cookie banner needed | ||
| Analytics | ||
| Core analytics | ||
| Real-time data | ||
| Custom events | ||
| Funnels | ||
| User journeys | ||
| Geographic insights | ||
| Campaign tracking (UTM) | ||
| Outbound link tracking | ||
| Chart annotations | ||
| Observability | ||
| Core Web Vitals | ||
| Error tracking | ||
| Session replays | ||
| Uptime monitoring | Configurable | |
| SSL certificate monitoring | Configurable | |
| Alert integrations (Slack, Discord, Teams, webhooks) | Configurable | |
| Email reports | Configurable | |
| Access & Security | ||
| Role-based access control | ||
| Two-factor authentication | ||
| OAuth (Google, GitHub) | ||
Privacy & Compliance
Analytics
Observability
Access & Security
How to read the table:
- Configurable - Included in the self-hosted image, but requires configuration on your side (for example SMTP credentials for email features).
- A cross in the self-hosted column does not mean never. Most features are planned for self-hosting and arrive with later image updates, while some depend on additional infrastructure first (for example, session replays require S3-compatible object storage).
New features launch on Betterlytics Cloud first and reach the self-hosted image with periodic updates. See feature availability for self-hosting for how this works.
Next Steps
- Cloud Quick Start - Create an account and install the tracking script
- Self-Hosting Setup - Deploy with Docker on your own server
- Integration Overview - Enable custom events, error tracking, session replay, and more
Need help deciding? Join our Discord community .