Analytics Tools Overview
The analytics tool landscape offers options for every need and philosophy. Some tools capture everything automatically; others require explicit tracking. Some prioritize features; others prioritize privacy. Understanding the trade-offs helps you choose wisely.
Web Analytics Tools
Google Analytics dominates web analytics with comprehensive features and zero cost. It tracks page views, user journeys, traffic sources, and conversions. The downside? Privacy concerns — Google uses this data for advertising, and many users block it. GDPR compliance requires cookie consent banners.
Plausible and Fathom offer privacy-focused alternatives. They don't use cookies, don't track individuals, and comply with privacy regulations without consent banners. The trade-off is less granular data — you see aggregate patterns, not individual user journeys. For many applications, that's enough.
Product Analytics Platforms
Product analytics go deeper than page views, tracking specific user actions and behaviors within your application.
Mixpanel pioneered event-based analytics. You define events (signup_completed, feature_used) and track them explicitly. Mixpanel excels at funnel analysis, retention tracking, and user segmentation. The learning curve is steeper than basic web analytics.
Amplitude offers similar capabilities with a focus on enterprise features. Both tools help answer questions like "What do users do before they upgrade?" or "Where do users drop off in our onboarding flow?"
PostHog stands out as open source and self-hostable. You can run it on your own infrastructure, keeping all data under your control. It combines product analytics with session recording and feature flags.
Heap takes a different approach — it auto-captures everything, then lets you define events retroactively. This prevents "I wish we'd tracked that" moments but generates more data to store and process.
Implementation Example
Here's how Mixpanel tracking looks in practice:
// Initialize with your project token
mixpanel.init('YOUR_TOKEN');
// Identify the user
mixpanel.identify(userId);
mixpanel.people.set({
'$email': email,
'plan': 'premium'
});
// Track an event with properties
mixpanel.track('Purchase Completed', {
'product': 'Premium Plan',
'price': 99.99,
'currency': 'USD'
});
Most product analytics tools follow similar patterns — initialize, identify users, track events with properties.
Choosing Your Tools
Consider these factors:
Privacy requirements — Do you need GDPR compliance? Do your users expect privacy?
Analysis needs — Simple traffic stats or deep behavioral analysis?
Budget — Free tiers exist, but costs grow with usage.
Technical resources — Self-hosted tools require maintenance.
Many teams combine tools — Plausible for privacy-respecting traffic stats, Mixpanel for detailed product analytics. Start simple and add tools as your needs grow.