March 12, 2026
Free Analytics Tools for Side Projects in 2026
A factual overview of analytics tools with meaningful free tiers, organized by use case. All tools listed below can be used without paying, with limits noted.
For Native iOS / Mobile Apps
PostHog (Recommended)
- 1 million events/month free, no credit card
- Product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B tests, surveys — all included
- iOS SDK with autocapture (tracks app opens, screens, taps automatically)
- Open source, self-hostable
- No official mobile app — use PocketHog for iPhone home screen widgets and mobile dashboard
- Setup guide: Adding PostHog to your iOS app
TelemetryDeck
- 100,000 signals/month free
- Privacy-first, aggregate-only (no individual user tracking)
- Swift-native SDK
- Analytics only — no session replay, feature flags, or funnels
Firebase Analytics
- Unlimited events (sampled at high volume)
- Best if already using Firebase for auth/push/Crashlytics
- Reports delayed by hours, UI is complex
- Data model optimized for ad attribution, not product insights
For Web Apps and SaaS
PostHog
- Same free tier as above — works for web, mobile, and backend
- JavaScript SDK with autocapture for web
- Web analytics dashboard built in
Plausible
- No free tier for cloud (paid from $9/month), but free to self-host
- Privacy-focused, lightweight (<1KB script)
- Web only — no iOS SDK
- Simple dashboard, no funnels or cohorts
Umami
- Free to self-host, cloud tier has a free plan (10K pageviews/month)
- Privacy-focused, GDPR compliant without cookie banner
- Web only — no iOS SDK
- Open source
Mixpanel
- 20 million events/month free — highest free volume
- Best funnel and retention analysis
- Analytics only (no feature flags, session replay, or surveys)
- Has an official mobile app
- Closed source
For Both Web and Mobile
Amplitude
- 50,000 monthly tracked users free
- Strong analytics and behavioral cohorts
- Session replay and experiments on paid plans only
- No mobile dashboard app
Quick Decision Guide
| Use Case | Best Free Option |
|---|---|
| Native iOS app, need everything | PostHog |
| iOS app, privacy-only metrics | TelemetryDeck |
| Web app, simple page analytics | Plausible (self-host) or Umami |
| Web or mobile, high event volume | Mixpanel |
| Already using Firebase | Firebase Analytics |
| Want analytics on your iPhone home screen | PostHog + PocketHog |
For a deeper comparison of the two most popular options, see PostHog vs Mixpanel for solo developers.
PocketHog is an independent third-party client and is not affiliated with any of the analytics platforms listed above.