Analytics Tools with Free Plans

What “Free” Actually Means

Free analytics tiers vary dramatically:

• Event limits — 1M to 20M events/month depending on tool
• Data retention — 6 months to unlimited
• Features — Some lock key features behind paid tiers
• Self-hosting — True unlimited free with infrastructure costs

The right “free” depends on your scale and what you’re willing to trade.

Quick Decision

Comparison Snapshot

The Real Free Tier Comparison

Completely Free (No Limits)

Microsoft Clarity (unlimited):

• 100% free heatmaps and session recordings
• No event limits, no data caps
• Rage click detection, dead click analysis
• GA4 integration built-in
• Microsoft-backed (not going away)

Cloud Free Tiers

Mixpanel (20M events):

• Most generous cloud free tier
• Product analytics: funnels, cohorts, retention
• No session recordings
• 1 year data retention

Amplitude (10M events):

• Includes predictive analytics on free
• Behavioral cohorts, retention
• No session recordings
• 1 year data retention

PostHog (1M events):

• Includes session recordings, feature flags
• More features, lower limit
• Unlimited data retention
• Good for smaller traffic with full features

Google Analytics 4 (unlimited):

• Completely free, no limits
• Website analytics, not product analytics
• 14 months retention
• Best for marketing/website traffic

Self-Hosted Free

PostHog:

• Unlimited events, unlimited retention
• Full feature set (analytics, recordings, flags)
• You pay infrastructure (~$50-200/mo)
• Best for teams with DevOps capacity

Umami:

• Unlimited website analytics
• Privacy-focused, lightweight
• You pay infrastructure (~$5-20/mo)
• Website analytics only, not product

Tool Profiles

Mixpanel — Most generous cloud free

Mixpanel’s 20M events/month is the highest cloud free tier for product analytics.

Fits well when:

• You want maximum free events on managed cloud
• Product analytics (funnels, retention) is the goal
• You have engineering capacity for event instrumentation
• 20M events covers your scale

Less suited when:

• You need session recordings (not included)
• You want self-hosting
• You need feature flags bundled

Free tier: 20M events/month, 1 year retention

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Amplitude — Free with predictions

Amplitude’s free tier includes predictive analytics other tools don’t offer free.

Fits well when:

• Predictive analytics would help prioritization
• 10M events/month covers your scale
• You want behavioral forecasting
• Visual interface for product managers

Less suited when:

• You need more than 10M free events
• You need session recordings
• Self-hosting is required

Free tier: 10M events/month, 1 year retention

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PostHog — Self-hosted unlimited

PostHog’s self-hosted option is truly unlimited — events, retention, features.

Fits well when:

• You can self-host (have DevOps capacity)
• You want analytics + recordings + flags bundled
• Unlimited events without paying per event
• Data ownership matters

Less suited when:

• You want managed cloud without infra work
• 1M cloud events isn’t enough
• You prefer simpler, focused analytics

Free tier: 1M events (cloud), unlimited (self-hosted)

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Google Analytics 4 — Unlimited website analytics

GA4 is completely free with no event limits — hard to beat for website traffic.

Fits well when:

• You only need website traffic analytics
• Budget is truly zero
• Google ecosystem integration matters
• Marketing attribution is the focus

Less suited when:

• You need product analytics (user journeys, funnels)
• Privacy is a primary concern
• You want self-hosting

Free tier: Unlimited, 14 months retention

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Umami — Free self-hosted privacy

Umami provides free, privacy-focused website analytics when self-hosted.

Fits well when:

• Privacy-first website analytics
• You can self-host
• Simple metrics suffice (pageviews, referrers)
• GDPR compliance without consent banners

Less suited when:

• You need product analytics
• You don’t want to manage infrastructure
• You need managed hosting

Free tier: Unlimited (self-hosted)

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Microsoft Clarity — Free heatmaps and recordings

Clarity is completely free with no limits — Microsoft’s answer to Hotjar’s paid tiers.

Fits well when:

• You want heatmaps and session recordings for free
• Hotjar’s pricing ($32/mo+) doesn’t fit budget
• You need behavior analytics without paying
• Integration with GA4 is valuable
• Unlimited traffic and recordings matter

Less suited when:

• You need product analytics (funnels, cohorts)
• You need privacy-focused analytics
• You want surveys (Clarity doesn’t have them)
• Self-hosting is required

Free tier: Unlimited traffic, unlimited recordings, forever free

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Scaling Costs

What happens when you outgrow free tiers:

Planning tip: Choose based on where you’ll be in 6-12 months, not just today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which free tier is most generous?

Mixpanel offers 20M events/month free — the highest cloud limit. PostHog self-hosted is unlimited events for free (you pay infrastructure costs).

What happens when I exceed free limits?

Behavior varies. Mixpanel pauses collection. Amplitude requires upgrade. PostHog self-hosted has no limits. Check terms before committing.

Is self-hosted truly free?

Software is free. You pay infrastructure costs ($50-200/month typically) plus maintenance time. Often cheaper than paid cloud at scale.

Which free tier includes session recordings?

PostHog includes session recordings on both cloud free and self-hosted. Mixpanel and Amplitude don’t include recordings.

Can I export data from free tiers?

Most tools allow data export on free tiers. Verify export capabilities before committing to avoid vendor lock-in.

Bottom Line

Related Pages

• Analytics tools for startups
• Analytics tools for early-stage SaaS
• Open-source analytics tools
• Analytics tools category