Why This Decision Matters
Your analytics tool shapes how you think about your product. Choose one that fits your mental model, not just your budget.
For Early Stage (0–1k users)
PostHog — open source, generous free tier, ships with session recording, feature flags, and product analytics in one. You can self-host if you want zero cost. For most early-stage products, PostHog is the answer.
For Growth Stage (1k–100k users)
Mixpanel — the event-based model clicks when you have enough data to actually see funnel drop-offs and cohort retention. The free tier covers most growth-stage companies. The UI is excellent.
For Scale (100k+ users)
Amplitude — built for data teams. Behavioral cohort analysis, predictive analytics, and governance features that Mixpanel doesn't have. More expensive, but worth it at scale.
Heap — autocaptures everything without instrumentation. Great if you're retrofitting analytics onto an existing product. The retroactive analysis is genuinely powerful.
The One to Avoid
Don't use Google Analytics 4 as your product analytics tool. It's a web analytics tool masquerading as a product analytics tool. The event model is confusing, the UI is painful, and the data model doesn't fit how product teams think.
Our Pick by Stage
- Pre-launch: PostHog (free)
- Early growth: Mixpanel (free tier)
- Scaling: Amplitude or Heap
- Enterprise: Amplitude