Dawarich vs OwnTracks
Both are free, open source and self-hosted, and they are not really rivals. OwnTracks is the phone app and recorder that captures where you are. Dawarich is the map, timeline and statistics layer you point that data at, including years of Google Takeout history. Most people who ask this question end up running both.
Dawarich vs OwnTracks: The Verdict
If you want a phone reporting its position to a server you control, and a simple map of recent points, OwnTracks alone is enough and it is cheaper to run: the Recorder is a compiled C program with no external database that will happily sit on a $3/mo pod. If you want to answer questions like how many countries did I visit in 2024, where was I on this day five years ago, or how far did I actually travel last month, OwnTracks does not do that and Dawarich does. Dawarich reads OwnTracks data directly, so the sane setup is to keep the OwnTracks app on your phone as the recorder and use Dawarich as the place you look. The trade is resources. Dawarich is a Rails application with a background worker, PostgreSQL with PostGIS and Redis behind it, which is why it starts on the $15/mo Grow plan while OwnTracks would run on the $3 one.
Last updated: 2026-08-06Quick Comparison
| Feature | OwnTracks | Dawarich |
|---|---|---|
| Price of the software | Free, open source | Free, open source (AGPL-3.0) |
| Cost to run | Runs on a $3/mo Launch pod, installed by hand | $15/mo Grow plan, one-click and pre-configured |
| In the InstaPods catalog | No. You install it yourself on a pod | Yes, one-click app |
| What it is | Phone apps plus a recorder daemon | A web app for viewing and analysing location history |
| Transport | MQTT or HTTP from the phone app | Accepts OwnTracks, Overland and its own API |
| Setup | You supply an MQTT broker for the MQTT mode | Nothing external. Postgres, PostGIS and Redis are in the image |
| Map and history UI | Basic web interface on the Recorder | Full map, timeline, heatmap and trip views |
| Import Google Takeout | No | Yes, this is the main reason people install it |
| Import GPX and Google Semantic History | No | Yes |
| Statistics | No | Countries and cities visited, distance travelled, per-year breakdowns |
| Reverse geocoding | Not built in | Yes, via Photon |
| Photo integration | No | Immich and Photoprism |
| Footprint | Very small. A compiled binary, no external database | Rails, Sidekiq, PostgreSQL 17 with PostGIS, Redis |
Where OwnTracks Stops
Trade-offs to weigh before committing.
It Records, It Does Not Analyse
The Recorder stores points and shows them on a basic web interface. There are no trip summaries, no per-year statistics, no heatmap and no notion of places you visited. That is by design, and it is why people bolt something else on top.
No Path In for Your Existing History
If you have a decade of Google Location History sitting in a Takeout archive, OwnTracks has nothing to import it with. Your history starts on the day you install it.
You Assemble the Stack Yourself
The MQTT mode needs a broker such as Mosquitto, configured and secured by you, plus the Recorder, plus a reverse proxy with TLS. Nothing here is hard, but it is an afternoon rather than a click.
The Map Is Utilitarian
The bundled interface is fine for checking recent positions. It is not somewhere you will browse ten years of your own movement for fun, which for most people is the entire point of keeping the data.
What Dawarich Adds
What you get when you pick this stack.
It Reads OwnTracks Data
Dawarich accepts points from the OwnTracks phone apps directly, so you are not replacing your recorder, you are giving it somewhere better to report to. Keep the app you already trust and change the endpoint.
Google Takeout Import
Upload the Location History from your Google Takeout archive and Dawarich backfills years of movement into your own database. Google Timeline is the thing most people are actually leaving, and this is the migration path off it.
The Whole Stack Is in the Image
The InstaPods image ships Dawarich 1.7.11 on Ruby 3.4.6 with Puma, a Sidekiq worker, PostgreSQL 17 with PostGIS 3 and Redis, all installed, tuned for the pod and running. Reverse geocoding through Photon is configured out of the box.
Statistics You Cannot Get Anywhere Else Privately
Countries and cities visited, distance travelled per month and year, heatmaps of where you actually spend time, and a day-by-day timeline going back as far as your imported data. All of it computed on your own server.
Real Cost Comparison
One person keeping their own location history for a year, phone reporting continuously.
- OwnTracks apps and Recorder: free, open source
- A pod to run it on: $3/mo Launch plan
- An MQTT broker you install and secure yourself
- Setup: manual, no one-click app
- Dawarich: free and open source (AGPL-3.0)
- InstaPods Grow plan: $15/mo
- PostgreSQL 17, PostGIS, Redis and Sidekiq bundled
- Google Takeout, OwnTracks, Overland and GPX import included
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dawarich a replacement for OwnTracks, or do I run both?
Run both. OwnTracks makes the phone apps that record your position, and Dawarich accepts data from those apps directly. Point the OwnTracks app at your Dawarich endpoint and you get a recorder you already trust feeding a map and statistics layer that OwnTracks does not have. Dawarich only replaces the OwnTracks Recorder component, not the phone app.
Which one is cheaper to run?
OwnTracks, honestly. The Recorder is a compiled program that does not need an external database and will run on a $3/mo Launch pod, though you install and secure it yourself and you also need an MQTT broker for the MQTT mode. Dawarich is a Rails app with a Sidekiq worker, PostgreSQL with PostGIS and Redis, so its floor is the $15/mo Grow plan. You are paying for analysis, imports and a one-click install, not for the recording.
Can I import my Google Timeline history?
Yes, and it is the main reason to choose Dawarich. Request your Location History through Google Takeout, upload the archive, and a background job backfills the points into your own PostGIS database. Records, GPX files, Google Semantic History and OwnTracks exports are all supported import formats. Large archives take a while, which is what the Sidekiq worker is for.
What does Dawarich need to run?
PostgreSQL with the PostGIS extension, Redis and a background worker alongside the Rails app. On InstaPods that is all bundled in the image on the $15/mo Grow plan: 2 vCPU, 4 GB of RAM and 50 GB of storage, with PostgreSQL 17, PostGIS 3, Redis capped at 128 MB and Sidekiq already wired up. Nothing external to provision.
Does my location data leave my server?
Your points stay in your own database. The one outbound call is reverse geocoding, which turns coordinates into place names through the Photon service so the app can tell you which city you were in. If you would rather nothing leaves at all, Dawarich lets you point that at your own Photon or Nominatim instance instead.
How much storage does years of location history need?
Less than people expect. A point is a handful of numbers, so even a decade of continuous tracking is measured in hundreds of megabytes, not gigabytes. The 50 GB on the Grow plan is sized for the database, its indexes and the PostGIS working set with a lot of room to spare.
Put your location history on your own server
Instant launch with PostgreSQL 17, PostGIS, Redis and Sidekiq already configured. Import Google Takeout and OwnTracks on day one.
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