# Mixpanel Alternatives for Indie Makers (Free Tiers Compared)

> Mixpanel alternatives for indie makers: PostHog, Amplitude, OpenPanel, Aptabase and 8 more, with free tier limits and paid prices checked on 8 Nov 2026.

- Canonical: https://zeroraised.com/blog/mixpanel-alternatives-for-indie-makers
- Published: 2026-11-08T17:30:00Z
- Author: ZeroRaised Team (https://zeroraised.com/blog/authors/zeroraised)
- Publisher: ZeroRaised (https://zeroraised.com/)
- Section: Growth
- Tags: analytics, comparison, developer-tools, saas

**Short answer:** If you want one free tool that does more than Mixpanel, switch to PostHog: its free plan includes 1M analytics events plus session replay, feature flags and surveys every month. If you want a Mixpanel-style tool with a bigger free allowance, use Amplitude (2M events a month free). If your product is small and you want something simple and cheap, look at OpenPanel, Vemetric, Aptabase or TelemetryDeck.

Every price and limit below comes from the vendor's own page, checked on 8 Nov 2026. The recommendations are ours and are marked as such.

## TL;DR

- **Mixpanel itself is generous now.** Free covers up to 1M events a month, 10K session replays and unlimited seats, no card needed ([Mixpanel pricing](https://mixpanel.com/pricing)). Check whether you really need to move.
- **PostHog** is the best all-in-one free swap: 1M events, 5K recordings and 1M feature flag requests each month, and it stops at the limits ([PostHog pricing](https://posthog.com/pricing)).
- **Amplitude** gives 2M events a month free, "not a trial", plus a free startup year on Growth if you have fewer than 20 employees and under $10M raised ([Amplitude pricing](https://amplitude.com/pricing)).
- **Small and cheap:** OpenPanel from $2.50/mo, Vemetric free to 2,500 events, Aptabase free to 20,000 events, TelemetryDeck free to 50,000 events for new accounts.
- **Avoid for a solo budget:** Userpilot (from $299/mo) and Countly Flex (from $175/mo) are priced for teams, not indie makers.

**Disclosure:** ZeroRaised publishes this guide and is a launch site for bootstrapped products. We have no commercial relationship with Mixpanel or any tool listed here and earn nothing if you sign up. Facts come from the linked sources as checked on 8 Nov 2026.

## What Mixpanel costs today

Before switching, know what you are leaving. Mixpanel's [pricing page](https://mixpanel.com/pricing) lists three plans:

| Mixpanel plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, "No credit card required" | Up to 1M events/month, 10K session replays/month, up to 10 active feature flags, funnels and retention, unlimited seats, 5 saved reports per seat |
| Growth | "Starts at $0", first 1M events free | Monthly billing: $140/mo at 1.5M events, $259 at 2M, $613 at 5M, $1,176 at 10M. Yearly billing is cheaper: $100/mo at 1.5M |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing, contact sales | Up to "1T events / month", custom retention, dedicated support |

The pricing page says data retention defaults to 2 years on Free, Growth and Enterprise. Free does not include the Query API, alerts, custom properties or multi-touch attribution.

Mixpanel also runs a startup program. Its pricing page says: "Early-stage companies that were founded less than 5 years ago, with up to $8M in total funding, and haven't redeemed any other offers receive their first year free on the Startup Plan." That plan includes "1 billion events, 1 million Session Replays, unlimited experiments, and the entire product suite" ([Mixpanel pricing](https://mixpanel.com/pricing)). The [startups page](https://mixpanel.com/startups) adds: "When the year is up, we'll help you find the right plan."

### Why indie makers still switch

Our read, from the numbers above rather than from surveys:

1. **Event pricing jumps fast past 1M.** Illustrative example: a SaaS with 1,000 active users who each fire 30 events per day sends about 900,000 events a month (1,000 x 30 x 30). That fits the free plan. Double the users and you reach about 1.8M events, which lands in the 2M tier at $259/mo on monthly billing.
2. **You want more than charts.** Mixpanel Free caps feature flags at 10 and saved reports at 5 per seat. PostHog bundles flags, replay, surveys and error tracking under one free allowance.
3. **Complexity.** A solo founder with three questions may be happier with a simpler dashboard.
4. **Self-hosting.** Several alternatives below can run on your own server.

If none of those apply, staying on Mixpanel Free is a perfectly good decision.

## Mixpanel alternatives compared

| Tool | Free tier (per month) | Paid from | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [PostHog](https://posthog.com/pricing) | 1M events, 5K recordings, 1M flag requests | Pay-as-you-go above free tier | Yes, MIT, unsupported | All-in-one product analytics for SaaS |
| [Amplitude](https://amplitude.com/pricing) | 2M events, 10,000 replay sessions | Plus "Starts at $0", card required | No | Mixpanel-style analysis with more free events |
| [Heap](https://www.heap.io/pricing) | Up to 10k sessions, 6 months history | Growth: estimate after install | No | Autocapture, no tracking plan up front |
| [OpenPanel](https://openpanel.dev/pricing) | 30-day trial (self-host free) | $2.50/mo for 5K events | Yes, no event limits | Cheapest paid cloud, open source |
| [Vemetric](https://vemetric.com/pricing) | 2,500 events, 2 projects | $5/mo for 10,000 events | Not stated | Very small products |
| [Aptabase](https://aptabase.com/pricing) | 20,000 events | $10/mo for 200,000 events | Not stated | Mobile and desktop apps |
| [TelemetryDeck](https://telemetrydeck.com/blog/pricing-update-2026/) | 50,000 events (new accounts) | Not verified | No | Apple and mobile apps |
| [Umami](https://umami.is/pricing) | 100K events, 1 website | $20/mo for 1M events | Yes, free | Web stats plus simple custom events |
| [Matomo](https://matomo.org/pricing/) | Free trial on Cloud | See pricing page | Yes, free Community tier | Teams that want full data ownership |
| [Pendo](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/) | Up to 500 MAUs | Request pricing | No | Analytics plus in-app guides, small user base |
| [Userpilot](https://userpilot.com/pricing/) | 14-day trial | $299/mo, up to 2,000 MAUs | No | Funded teams doing onboarding flows |
| [Countly](https://countly.com/pricing) | 14-day Flex trial | $175/mo | Enterprise self-host, custom price | Larger apps with compliance needs |

## The alternatives in detail

### PostHog: the all-in-one swap

PostHog's pricing page says "97% of companies use PostHog for free". The free plan includes 1M product analytics events, 5K session recordings and 1M feature flag requests each month, with unlimited team members, 1 project and 1-year data retention. No card is needed, and the free plan "stops at the free tier limits, so you can't be charged by surprise" ([PostHog pricing](https://posthog.com/pricing)).

You can also self-host. PostHog offers "a free Docker Compose deployment under an MIT license", but says self-hosted deployments are "officially unsupported", all paid features are Cloud-only, and recommends something like a VM with "4 vCPU, 16GB RAM, and more than 30GB storage" ([PostHog self-host docs](https://posthog.com/docs/self-host)).

Our read: for a SaaS with a login, this is the default pick. We compare it with a web analytics tool in [PostHog vs Plausible](https://zeroraised.com/blog/posthog-vs-plausible-for-indie-makers), and its session replay also makes it a strong entry in our [Hotjar alternatives guide](https://zeroraised.com/blog/hotjar-alternatives-for-indie-makers).

### Amplitude: more free events, startup year

Amplitude's free plan is "2M Events/month forever", needs no card, and includes unlimited team members, 1 year of data access, 10,000 monthly replay sessions and unlimited feature flags. Its FAQ says: "It's not a trial. There's no time limit." The catch for a solo founder: support is "Not included" on Free, and Plus requires a card ([Amplitude pricing](https://amplitude.com/pricing)).

The startup offer is strong if you qualify. Amplitude's [startups page](https://amplitude.com/startups) says "Your first year of Amplitude is 100% free", up to 100M events a month, for companies with fewer than 20 employees and under $10M raised, with 40% off in year two. It also says you can "drop to the free 2M-events/month plan anytime and keep your data and dashboards".

Note that June, once a popular simple analytics tool for B2B SaaS, now says on its homepage that "June is joining Amplitude", in a post dated 8 Aug 2025 ([June](https://june.so)). Do not start a new project on it.

### Heap: autocapture first

Heap, now part of Contentsquare, has a Free plan for "Up to 10k monthly sessions" with 6 months of data history and 1 project. Paid plans show no dollar prices: Growth gives an estimate after you install the snippet, and Pro and Premier are custom ([Heap pricing](https://www.heap.io/pricing)). Our read: useful if you hate writing a tracking plan, but session-based pricing with no public numbers is hard to budget.

### OpenPanel: open source and cheap

OpenPanel calls itself "Open-source web, product and AI analytics". Cloud starts at $2.50 a month for 5K events after a 30-day trial with no card, and the self-hosted version is "Free forever" with "No event limits" via Docker Compose ([OpenPanel pricing](https://openpanel.dev/pricing)). Our read: the cheapest way to pay for hosted product analytics if your volume is tiny.

### Vemetric: free for very small products

Vemetric's Free plan gives 2,500 events a month, 2 projects, 2 seats and 1 month of retention. Professional starts at $5 a month for 10,000 events, with unlimited projects and 5 years of retention ([Vemetric pricing](https://vemetric.com/pricing)). One month of free retention is short, so plan to upgrade once you care about trends.

### Aptabase and TelemetryDeck: for apps

If you ship a mobile or desktop app rather than a web SaaS, these two are built for you.

- **Aptabase** is "Free up to 20,000 events a month, then from $10/month", with $10 buying 200,000 events and a choice of EU or US data residency ([Aptabase pricing](https://aptabase.com/pricing)).
- **TelemetryDeck** cut its free tier in July 2026: "We can no longer maintain this threshold, so we've decided to lower it to 50,000." Accounts created before 1 Jul 2026 keep 100,000 free events a month ([TelemetryDeck pricing update](https://telemetrydeck.com/blog/pricing-update-2026/)). We could not read its current paid prices today, so check the plans page yourself.

### Umami: if you only need web stats plus a few events

Umami's Hobby plan is free for up to 100K events a month on 1 website with 6 months of retention, and Pro is $20/mo with 1 million events included and "$0.00003 per additional event". Its FAQ says "Umami is open-source and can be self-hosted for free" ([Umami pricing](https://umami.is/pricing)). Umami is web analytics first, so treat it as a lighter option, not a full Mixpanel replacement.

### Matomo, Pendo, Userpilot, Countly: the heavier options

- **Matomo** On-Premise has a free Community tier with "Unlimited users and hits", and Matomo Cloud has a free trial with no card ([Matomo pricing](https://matomo.org/pricing/)). Good if data ownership matters more than a slick product analytics UI.
- **Pendo Free** "supports unlimited web and mobile app keys for up to 500 monthly active users (MAUs)" and includes product analytics and in-app guides. Go over the limit and you "won't be able to create new guides, NPS surveys, or segments until you upgrade". Paid plans are "Request pricing" ([Pendo pricing](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/)).
- **Userpilot** Starter is $299/mo for up to 2,000 MAUs, with a 14-day trial ([Userpilot pricing](https://userpilot.com/pricing/)).
- **Countly** Flex is "From $175 per month", usage-based, with a 14-day trial ([Countly pricing](https://countly.com/pricing)).

Our read: none of these four is a natural fit for a pre-revenue solo founder. Pendo Free is the exception if you want in-app guides and have fewer than 500 active users.

## Which one should you pick?

This is our editorial advice, based on the prices above.

| Your situation | Our pick |
|---|---|
| Web SaaS with a login, $0 budget | PostHog free |
| You like Mixpanel's reports and want more free room | Amplitude free (2M events) |
| Under 20 people, under $10M raised, high volume | Amplitude or Mixpanel startup programs |
| You want to self-host on one server | OpenPanel self-hosted, or Umami for simpler needs |
| iOS, Android or desktop app | Aptabase or TelemetryDeck |
| Side project with a few hundred users | Vemetric free or OpenPanel at $2.50/mo |
| You need replay and flags too | PostHog |
| You mostly need traffic sources, not funnels | Umami or Plausible, not a product analytics tool |
| Under 1M events and happy with Mixpanel | Stay on Mixpanel Free |

## How to migrate off Mixpanel

1. **Export your raw events.** Mixpanel's [Raw Event Export API](https://docs.mixpanel.com/reference/raw-event-export) returns events as JSONL ("one event per line where each line is a valid JSON object") from `https://data.mixpanel.com/api/2.0/export`, using `from_date` and `to_date` in yyyy-mm-dd format. Mixpanel's [export methods page](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/export-methods) recommends it for high volume exports, and the pricing page lists export API access as available on Free.
2. **Mind the rate limit.** The docs say: "The raw export API has a rate limit of 60 queries per hour, 3 queries per second, and a maximum of 100 concurrent queries." Pull one day or one week per request and send `Accept-Encoding: gzip`.
3. **Run both tools in parallel for two to four weeks** (our suggestion). Send the same events to the old and new tool and compare counts for signups and key actions before you switch dashboards.
4. **Rename events while you move.** Migration is the cheapest moment to fix messy names.
5. **Archive, do not import, old history.** Keep the JSONL export in storage rather than importing years of data you will never query.

## A tracking plan for a solo founder

Our suggestion: start with 10 events, not 100. These cover activation, retention and revenue for most small SaaS products:

1. `signed_up`
2. `onboarding_completed`
3. `core_action_done` (the one thing your product exists for)
4. `second_core_action` (a sign of real use)
5. `invited_teammate` or `shared_item`
6. `integration_connected`
7. `upgrade_viewed`
8. `subscription_started`
9. `subscription_cancelled`
10. `feedback_submitted`

Add properties like `plan` and `signup_source` to each event, and identify users at signup. With these you can answer the questions in our guide to [SaaS metrics for bootstrapped founders](https://zeroraised.com/blog/saas-metrics-for-bootstrapped-founders): activation rate, retention by cohort and trial-to-paid conversion. At illustrative volumes of 10 events per user per day, 1,000 active users produce about 300,000 events a month, well inside the free tiers of Mixpanel, PostHog and Amplitude.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mixpanel free for indie makers?

Yes, up to a point. Mixpanel's Free plan includes up to 1M events a month, 10K session replays, funnels and retention, and unlimited seats, with no credit card. Paid Growth starts once you pass 1M events; on monthly billing the 1.5M event tier is $140/mo. Early-stage companies under 5 years old with up to $8M raised can also apply for a free first year on its Startup Plan.

### What is the best free Mixpanel alternative?

For most indie SaaS makers, PostHog. Its free plan renews every month with 1M analytics events, 5K session recordings and 1M feature flag requests, needs no card, and stops at the limits so you cannot be billed by surprise. Amplitude is the pick if you want 2M free events and a Mixpanel-like interface.

### Can I self-host a Mixpanel alternative?

Yes. PostHog offers a free Docker Compose deployment under an MIT license, though it says self-hosted deployments are officially unsupported and suggests a machine with 4 vCPU and 16GB RAM. OpenPanel's self-hosted version is free with no event limits, Umami can be self-hosted for free, and Matomo On-Premise has a free Community tier.

### How do I export my data from Mixpanel?

Use Mixpanel's Raw Event Export API. It returns events as JSONL, one JSON object per line, for a date range you set with from_date and to_date. It is rate limited to 60 queries per hour, 3 queries per second and 100 concurrent queries, so export in day or week chunks. Mixpanel's pricing page lists export API access as available on the Free plan.

### What happened to June analytics?

June's homepage now carries a post dated 8 Aug 2025 saying June is joining Amplitude. It says the team is saying goodbye to the June product and continuing its work at Amplitude, so it is not a standalone option for a new project.

## Launch what you measure

ZeroRaised is a launch directory for products built without institutional VC. Once your events are tracking, [submit your product](https://zeroraised.com/submit) for free and watch launch day in your new dashboard. For more tool comparisons for bootstrapped makers, [join the ZeroRaised newsletter](https://zeroraised.com/newsletter).

## Sources

All last checked 8 Nov 2026.

- [Mixpanel pricing](https://mixpanel.com/pricing)
- [Mixpanel for startups](https://mixpanel.com/startups)
- [Mixpanel export methods](https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/export-methods)
- [Mixpanel Raw Event Export API](https://docs.mixpanel.com/reference/raw-event-export)
- [PostHog pricing](https://posthog.com/pricing)
- [PostHog self-host docs](https://posthog.com/docs/self-host)
- [Amplitude pricing](https://amplitude.com/pricing)
- [Amplitude for startups](https://amplitude.com/startups)
- [Heap pricing](https://www.heap.io/pricing)
- [June homepage](https://june.so)
- [OpenPanel pricing](https://openpanel.dev/pricing)
- [Vemetric pricing](https://vemetric.com/pricing)
- [Aptabase pricing](https://aptabase.com/pricing)
- [TelemetryDeck pricing update, July 2026](https://telemetrydeck.com/blog/pricing-update-2026/)
- [Umami pricing](https://umami.is/pricing)
- [Matomo pricing](https://matomo.org/pricing/)
- [Pendo pricing](https://www.pendo.io/pricing/)
- [Userpilot pricing](https://userpilot.com/pricing/)
- [Countly pricing](https://countly.com/pricing)

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mixpanel free for indie makers?

Yes, up to a point. Mixpanel's Free plan includes up to 1M events a month, 10K session replays, funnels and retention, and unlimited seats, with no credit card. Paid Growth starts once you pass 1M events; on monthly billing the 1.5M event tier is $140/mo. Early-stage companies under 5 years old with up to $8M raised can also apply for a free first year on its Startup Plan.

### What is the best free Mixpanel alternative?

For most indie SaaS makers, PostHog. Its free plan renews every month with 1M analytics events, 5K session recordings and 1M feature flag requests, needs no card, and stops at the limits so you cannot be billed by surprise. Amplitude is the pick if you want 2M free events and a Mixpanel-like interface.

### Can I self-host a Mixpanel alternative?

Yes. PostHog offers a free Docker Compose deployment under an MIT license, though it says self-hosted deployments are officially unsupported and suggests a machine with 4 vCPU and 16GB RAM. OpenPanel's self-hosted version is free with no event limits, Umami can be self-hosted for free, and Matomo On-Premise has a free Community tier.

### How do I export my data from Mixpanel?

Use Mixpanel's Raw Event Export API. It returns events as JSONL, one JSON object per line, for a date range you set with from_date and to_date. It is rate limited to 60 queries per hour, 3 queries per second and 100 concurrent queries, so export in day or week chunks. Mixpanel's pricing page lists export API access as available on the Free plan.

### What happened to June analytics?

June's homepage now carries a post dated 8 Aug 2025 saying June is joining Amplitude. It says the team is saying goodbye to the June product and continuing its work at Amplitude, so it is not a standalone option for a new project.