Happy Valley

Counter vs Mixpanel

Counter and Mixpanel are both analytics tools. Counter is aimed at freelancers and developers, while Mixpanel is aimed at developers and small businesses. Both have a free plan.

Counter

Free, minimal, privacy-respecting analytics

Mixpanel

Event-based product analytics with replays, experiments and AI agents

PricingFreeFreemium
Starting priceNot publishedNot published
Free planYesYes
Free trial——
Built forFreelancers, DevelopersDevelopers, Small businesses, Enterprise
Platformswebweb
CountryDE · 2020US · 2009
Rating——

Choose Counter if

Hobby sites.

  • Free
  • Private
  • Lightweight

Look elsewhere if: Business analytics.

Choose Mixpanel if

Product-led SaaS and mobile teams that want self-serve funnels, retention and experiments on event data.

  • Generous free plan with unlimited seats and 1M events
  • Fast, self-serve reports that non-analysts can build
  • Replays, experiments and flags reduce tool sprawl

Look elsewhere if: Marketing teams that only need traffic and acquisition reports, or developers wanting open-source self-hosting (Google Analytics, PostHog).

Counter vs Mixpanel pricing

Counter

  • Free$0Donation-funded; pay when ready, AGPL-3.0 source

Mixpanel

  • Free$01M events/mo, 10K session replays, unlimited seats
  • Growth$0/moFirst 1M events free; 1.5M events $140/mo ($100 annual)
  • Growth 10M$1,176/mo10M events; $840/mo billed annually
  • EnterpriseCustomAnomaly detection, HIPAA, data governance, 24/7 support

Counter · Key features

  • Minimal script
  • No cookies
  • Referrers and devices
  • Open source
  • Free
  • Simple dashboard

Cons

  • Very basic
  • No events
  • Limited support

Mixpanel · Key features

  • Insights, Funnels, Retention and Flows reports without SQL
  • Session Replay and heatmaps linked to analytics events
  • Experiments and Feature Flags in the same platform
  • Metric Trees for mapping KPIs to their drivers
  • Warehouse connectors for Snowflake, BigQuery and Databricks
  • Mixpanel Agent in Slack and an MCP server for AI assistants

Cons

  • Event-based pricing climbs quickly past a few million events
  • Requires a disciplined tracking plan to stay useful
  • Advanced governance and anomaly detection are Enterprise only

Counter vs Mixpanel: FAQ

Do Counter and Mixpanel have a free plan?

Yes, both Counter and Mixpanel have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.

Which is better for small businesses, Counter or Mixpanel?

Mixpanel lists small businesses as a core audience, while Counter is aimed more at freelancers and developers.

Not sure yet?