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If you're trying to choose between Mixpanel, Amplitude Analytics, Heap, and PostHog for your product analytics needs, you've come to the right place. We used QBack to analyze G2 reviews, dug through Reddit discussions, and compared current pricing across all four platforms to give you a clear picture of which one might work best for you.
This comparison covers everything from pricing and features to what real customers are saying. Whether you're a product manager looking for detailed user insights, a startup needing cost-effective analytics, or an enterprise requiring robust data governance, we break down the strengths, weaknesses, and true costs of each platform so you can make an informed decision.
Which product analytics platform has the best G2 rating?
G2 Performance Metrics
| Platform | G2 Rating | Total Reviews | Key Sentiment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mixpanel | 4.6/5 | 1,247 reviews | Strong ratings; concerns about pricing and data accuracy |
| Amplitude Analytics | 4.5/5 | 2,590 reviews | Large user base; praised for real-time analytics |
| Heap | 4.4/5 | 1,095 reviews | Auto-capture feature highlighted |
| PostHog | 4.5/5 | 951 reviews | Open-source alternative; good for startups |
Source: Mixpanel G2 Reviews, Amplitude Analytics G2 Reviews, Heap G2 Reviews, PostHog G2 Reviews
How much do product analytics platforms really cost?
Mixpanel Pricing
Source: Mixpanel Pricing
Free Tier: Up to 1 million monthly events free
Growth: Usage-based pricing
- 1M monthly events free, then $0.28 per 1K events (volume discounts available)
- Unlimited reports
- 20K monthly session replays free
- Cohorts and advanced analytics features
- Funnel analysis
- Retention reports
Enterprise: Custom pricing (contact sales)
- Custom event volumes
- Annual contracts available
- Dedicated support
- Advanced security features
Reddit Feedback: "Mixpanel pricing model based on monthly tracked users (MTU) can be very expensive" - Mixpanel Reddit Discussion
Reddit Concern: "Pricing model based on monthly tracked users (MTU) can be very expensive" - Toksta Mixpanel Review
Amplitude Analytics Pricing
Source: Amplitude Pricing
Starter (Free): Free plan available
- 50K MTUs (monthly tracked users)
- Up to 10M events
- Out-of-the-box analytics and templates
- Session Replay
- Unlimited feature flags
- Web Experimentation
- AI Feedback
Plus: Starting at $49/month (billed annually)
- Up to 300K MTUs
- Per-MTU pricing (e.g., $0.049 per MTU)
- Unlimited product analytics
- Behavioral cohorts
- Feature tagging
- Segmentation for Web Experimentation
- Custom audiences and syncs
- Online customer support
Growth & Enterprise: Custom pricing (contact sales)
- Custom MTU volume
- Advanced behavioral analysis
- Causal insights and monitoring
- Feature Experimentation
- Real-time streaming and syncs
- Predictive audiences
Reddit Insight: "Amplitude is based on events. If you expect to have a ton of users who do very little then churn (like if you have blog posts that may get read by a user who then disappears, and you want to track those views) then Amplitude may end up cheaper" - Amplitude vs Mixpanel Reddit Discussion
Heap Pricing
Source: Heap Pricing
Free: Available
- Up to 10K monthly sessions
- Core analytics charts
- Unlimited enrichment sources
- Guides integrations
- 6 months data history
- SSO
Growth: Starting at $3,600/year
- All Free features, plus:
- Sense Contentsquare's AI: AI Powered Assistant
- Unlimited users & reports
- Chart customization
- CSV exports
- 12 months data history
- Email support
- Sign up and install the free snippet to get an estimate
Pro & Premier: Custom pricing (contact sales)
- Custom session pricing
- All Growth features, plus:
- Account analytics
- Engagement matrix
- Report alerts
- Session Replay as add-on
- Data warehouse integration (Premier)
- Behavioral targeting (Premier)
- Unlimited projects (Premier)
- Advanced user permissions (Premier)
- Dedicated CSM (Premier)
Reddit Insight: "Heap promises a lot of auto-tracking capabilities... I am not sure why I would go for Mixpanel if Heap can track event data retroactively" - Heap vs Mixpanel Reddit Discussion
PostHog Pricing
Source: PostHog Pricing
Free Tier: Generous free tier available
- First 1 million events/month free
- 5K session recordings/month free
- 1M feature flag requests/month free
- 100K exceptions/month free (Error Tracking)
- 1,500 survey responses/month free
- Open-source option
- Self-hosted available
- 1-year data retention on free plan
Usage-Based Pricing: Pay-as-you-go after free tier
- Product Analytics (anonymous events): From $0.00005/event (after 1M free events/month)
- Identified events: From $0.000248/event (after 1M free events/month)
- Session Replay: From $0.0030/recording (after 5K free/month)
- Feature Flags: From $0.0001/request (after 1M free/month)
- Prices reduce with scale
- No minimums or annual commitments
- Pay nothing if you stay within free tier limits
Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Advanced features
- Dedicated support
- Custom contracts
Reddit Note: "PostHog is an open-source product analytics platform" - PostHog Alternatives Discussion
What are the top pain points for each platform?
Mixpanel: Top 3 Complaint Categories
1. Data Accuracy Issues ⚠️ Critical Issue
Severity: High - impacts trust in analytics data
- Specific issue: Discrepancies between Mixpanel and other analytics tools (like Firebase)
- Another issue: Mixpanel tracking fewer unique users compared to other platforms
Evidence:
- "I find that there are discrepancies in the data held in firebase and the events tracked by mixpanel... mixpanel will have an event that tracks the first time a unique user opens the app. However, the number of unique users in firebase will be different" - Mixpanel Inaccuracies Reddit Discussion
- "Mixpanel appears to be tracking fewer unique users compared to Firebase" - Statsig Comparison
2. Pricing Concerns
Severity: High - expensive for growing companies
- Specific issue: Event-based pricing can become very expensive at scale
- Another issue: Monthly tracked users (MTU) pricing model penalizes detailed tracking
Evidence:
- "Pricing model based on monthly tracked users (MTU) can be very expensive" - Toksta Mixpanel Review
- "Mixpanel's event-based pricing penalizes detailed tracking - teams often reduce instrumentation to save money, losing valuable insights in the process" - Statsig Comparison
3. Complex Query Limitations
Severity: Medium - limits advanced analysis
- Specific issue: Struggles with complex queries and date-based analysis
- Another issue: Difficult to debug specific user sessions
Evidence:
- "Struggles with complex queries and date-based analysis" - Toksta Mixpanel Review
- "Difficult to debug specific user sessions" - Toksta Mixpanel Review
Amplitude Analytics: Top 3 Complaint Categories
1. Event Setup Complexity
Severity: Medium - time-consuming implementation
- Specific issue: Setting up event tracking can be tedious
- Another issue: Manual event implementation required
Evidence:
- "Setting up event tracking can be tedious" - FullSession Blog
- "I think our Amplitude events are garbage and it's ruining product decisions... inconsistent event names, broken user IDs that don't unify across devices or sessions" - Amplitude Events Reddit Discussion
2. Data Governance Challenges
Severity: High - impacts data quality
- Specific issue: Lack of governance processes leads to inconsistent data
- Another issue: Missing instrumentation for important features
Evidence:
- "We never set up any sort of governance or audit process, so now I'm discovering that some of our most important features don't even have clear instrumentation" - Amplitude Events Reddit Discussion
3. Limited Marketing Attribution
Severity: Medium - not ideal for marketing teams
- Specific issue: Better for product analytics than marketing attribution
- Another issue: Limited traffic source focus
Evidence:
- "Amplitude is great for product analytics but limited for marketing attribution. Most successful Google Ads campaigns rely heavily on GA4" - Amplitude vs Google Analytics Reddit
Heap: Top 3 Complaint Categories
1. Auto-Capture Limitations
Severity: Medium - may not capture all needed events
- Specific issue: Auto-capture may miss some custom events
- Another issue: Still requires some manual setup for complex tracking
Evidence:
- "Heap promises a lot of auto-tracking capabilities" but may have limitations - Heap vs Mixpanel Reddit
2. Pricing Concerns
Severity: Medium - can be expensive at scale
- Specific issue: Volume-based pricing can scale quickly
- Another issue: Enterprise pricing requires custom quotes
PostHog: Top 3 Complaint Categories
1. Learning Curve
Severity: Medium - requires technical knowledge
- Specific issue: Steeper learning curve for non-technical users
- Another issue: Open-source setup requires more technical expertise
Evidence:
- "Learning curve" mentioned as a concern - Heatmap.com Blog
2. Limited Retention on Free Plan
Severity: Low - affects historical data analysis
- Specific issue: Free plan has limited data retention
- Another issue: May need to upgrade for historical analysis
Evidence:
- "Limited retention on free plan" - Heatmap.com Blog
3. UI Complexity
Severity: Low - affects ease of use
- Specific issue: UI can be complex for beginners
- Another issue: Missing some features compared to paid alternatives
Evidence:
- "UI complexity" mentioned as a concern - Heatmap.com Blog
How do these tools position themselves for different buyers?
Mixpanel: Product Analytics for Product Teams
Core Positioning: "User analytics solution" focused on event tracking and funnel analysis
Target Audience: Product managers and product teams needing detailed user behavior insights
Key Differentiators:
- Event-based tracking for granular insights
- Funnel analysis to identify drop-off points
- Cohort analysis for segmented user behavior
- Detailed retention reports
Weaknesses:
- Expensive pricing model
- Data accuracy concerns
- Limited advanced statistical capabilities
Reddit Sentiment: "Easier and more pleasant to use compared to Google Analytics (initial impression)" but "Struggles with complex queries and date-based analysis" - Toksta Mixpanel Review
Amplitude Analytics: Real-Time Product Intelligence
Core Positioning: "Product analytics platform for tracking user behaviors" with real-time analytics
Target Audience: Product teams, data analysts, and marketers needing real-time insights
Key Differentiators:
- Real-time analytics capabilities
- Flexible dashboard customization
- Powerful segmentation tools
- Automated insights and anomaly detection
Weaknesses:
- Event setup can be tedious
- Data governance challenges
- Limited marketing attribution
Reddit Insight: "Amplitude is a bit more sophisticated but Mixpanel is easier to use" - Amplitude vs Mixpanel Reddit
Heap: Auto-Capture Analytics Platform
Core Positioning: "Automatic event tracking" - capture everything, analyze later
Target Audience: Teams wanting to avoid manual event tracking setup
Key Differentiators:
- Automatic event capture
- Retroactive event tracking
- No need to define events upfront
- Historical data analysis
Weaknesses:
- May miss some custom events
- Pricing can scale quickly
- Less control over what gets tracked
Reddit Insight: "Heap just collects every interaction and then you can go back and define metrics for clicks etc, even using historical data from before you defined it" - Heap vs Mixpanel Reddit
PostHog: Open-Source Product Analytics
Core Positioning: "Open-source product analytics platform" with self-hosted option
Target Audience: Startups and companies wanting open-source, self-hosted analytics
Key Differentiators:
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Transparent pricing
- Product analytics, session replay, experiments, feature flags
- Good for startups on a budget
Weaknesses:
- Learning curve
- Limited retention on free plan
- UI complexity
Reddit Note: "What's an open-source alternative to Mixpanel for SaaS product analytics?" - PostHog is commonly recommended - PostHog Alternatives Reddit
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Mixpanel | Amplitude | Heap | PostHog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event Tracking | ✅ Manual | ✅ Manual | ✅ Auto-capture | ✅ Manual |
| Funnel Analysis | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Cohort Analysis | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Retention Reports | ✅ Advanced | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Real-Time Analytics | ✅ | ✅ Strong | ✅ | ✅ |
| Session Replay | Limited | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| A/B Testing | ✅ Basic | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Feature Flags | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Open Source | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Self-Hosted | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Free Tier | ✅ (1M events) | ✅ Limited | ✅ Limited | ✅ |
Strengths and Weaknesses Summary
Mixpanel
Strengths:
- Easy to use interface
- Good for simple product analytics requests
- Strong funnel and retention analysis
- Recognized as dedicated product analytics tool
Weaknesses:
- Expensive pricing model (MTU-based)
- Data accuracy concerns
- Struggles with complex queries
- Limited advanced statistical capabilities
Proof Point: "Easier and more pleasant to use compared to Google Analytics" but "Pricing model based on monthly tracked users (MTU) can be very expensive" - Toksta Mixpanel Review
Amplitude Analytics
Strengths:
- Real-time analytics capabilities
- Flexible dashboard customization
- Strong segmentation tools
- Automated insights and anomaly detection
Weaknesses:
- Event setup can be tedious
- Data governance challenges
- Limited marketing attribution
- Can be expensive at scale
Proof Point: "Amplitude is a bit more sophisticated but Mixpanel is easier to use" - Amplitude vs Mixpanel Reddit
Heap
Strengths:
- Automatic event capture
- Retroactive event tracking
- No need to define events upfront
- Historical data analysis
Weaknesses:
- May miss some custom events
- Pricing can scale quickly
- Less control over tracking
- Enterprise pricing requires custom quotes
Proof Point: "Heap just collects every interaction and then you can go back and define metrics" - Heap vs Mixpanel Reddit
PostHog
Strengths:
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Transparent pricing
- Includes session replay, experiments, feature flags
- Good for startups on a budget
Weaknesses:
- Learning curve
- Limited retention on free plan
- UI complexity
- Missing some features compared to paid alternatives
Proof Point: "Open-source alternative to Mixpanel for SaaS product analytics" - PostHog Alternatives Reddit
Sources & Links
Competitor Pricing Pages
Mixpanel:
Amplitude Analytics:
Heap:
PostHog:
G2 Reviews
Reddit Discussions
- Mixpanel Inaccuracies Discussion
- Amplitude vs Mixpanel Pricing Discussion
- Heap vs Mixpanel Discussion
- Amplitude Events Quality Discussion
- PostHog Open-Source Alternative Discussion