Free Tier Comparison
| Tool | Free Tier | Session Replay | Feature Flags | Self-Hostable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | 1M events/mo | 5K replays/mo (free) | 1M requests/mo (free) | Yes (Docker) |
| Mixpanel | 1M events/mo | Add-on | No | No |
| Amplitude | 10M events/mo | Included (Starter) | Included (Starter) | No |
#1: PostHog (Free for Most SaaS Startups)
PostHog free tier includes 1M analytics events, 5K session replays, 1M feature flag requests, and unlimited team members per month. For most early-stage SaaS products, this covers you entirely at $0. The all-in-one platform (analytics + session replay + feature flags + A/B testing + surveys) eliminates the need for 3-4 separate tools. Open source and self-hostable for full data control.
Pay-as-you-go pricing kicks in after the free tier at approximately $0.00005 per event. Enterprise starts at $2,000/month for SOC 2, HIPAA, and dedicated support.
#2: Mixpanel (Best Pure Analytics)
Mixpanel free tier includes 1M events per month with core analytics, unlimited saved reports, funnels, retention analysis, and cohort segmentation. The query engine is the most powerful for complex behavioral analysis. Growth tier is usage-based at $0.00028/event after 1M free events. No session replay or feature flags; you need PostHog or separate tools for those.
#3: Amplitude Starter (Most Generous Events)
Amplitude Starter provides 10M events or 10K MTUs per month free. That is 10x the free event volume of PostHog and Mixpanel. Includes session replay, feature flags, and web experimentation on the free tier. Plus at $49/month adds behavioral cohorts and custom audiences. Best for SaaS products with very high event volume that want analytics, flags, and experiments in one platform.
Why Not the Others
Hotjar Free (20K sessions)
Heatmaps and session recordings only. No event analytics, funnels, or retention. Complementary to product analytics, not a replacement.
Plausible ($9/mo)
Privacy-focused web analytics. No event-level product analytics, no funnels, no cohorts. Built for marketing sites, not SaaS products.
The Verdict
For SaaS products, PostHog is the best starting point. The free tier covers analytics, session replay, feature flags, and A/B testing in one tool at $0/month. Mixpanel is the best pure analytics engine if you only need behavioral data. Amplitude has the most generous free tier at 10M events but becomes opaque on pricing at scale.
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