#1★ TOP PICK
PostHog
Product analytics, session replay, flags and experiments in one self-hostable product.
85
OPEN SOURCEMIT core, with an `ee/` enterprise directory carve-outSELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
PostHog is the most complete answer here because it collapses several line items into one: product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, surveys and a data warehouse, all in a product you can run on your own infrastructure. For teams currently paying Amplitude for analytics and LaunchDarkly for flags, that consolidation is often the real saving rather than any single rate. Around 37.4k stars and pushed to daily. The licence needs stating precisely: the core is MIT, but the `ee/` directory is licensed separately as enterprise — so it is MIT-with-a-carve-out rather than plain MIT, which is how it is usually described.
Strengths
- +Replaces analytics, session replay, flags and experiments with one tool
- +Self-hostable, so behavioural data never leaves your infrastructure
- +Autocapture means useful data before anyone writes a tracking plan
- +Very generous free tier if you would rather use the hosted version
Trade-offs
- −Self-hosting at volume means operating ClickHouse — a real commitment
- −The `ee/` directory is not MIT despite the project's reputation
- −Heavier and more complex than a focused analytics tool
- −Analysis depth still trails Amplitude for sophisticated cohort work
Generous free tier on cloud; self-hostable at no licence cost for the MIT core. #2
Umami
One clean dashboard, no cookies, five minutes to deploy.
95
OPEN SOURCEMITSELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST★ 38k·updated 23 days ago
Umami is deliberately small: page views, referrers, countries, devices and events on a single readable dashboard, with no cookies, no personal data and a script around two kilobytes. It runs on Node with Postgres or MySQL and deploys in minutes. MIT, about 38k stars. It is the honest recommendation for a large number of teams who believe they need product analytics and actually need to know which pages people read and where they came from — and the tracking script being 2 KB rather than 45 KB is a real difference on a phone.
Strengths
- +Genuinely simple — one dashboard, no training required
- +No cookies and no personal data, so no consent banner
- +Roughly 2 KB script, a meaningful page-speed win on mobile
- +MIT with no enterprise carve-out
Trade-offs
- −No funnels, cohorts or retention analysis worth the name
- −Not a product-analytics tool — do not expect it to be
- −No session replay or heatmaps
- −Small feature surface by design; you will outgrow it if you need depth
Free and open source to self-host. Umami Cloud has a free tier and paid plans. #3
Matomo
GPL analytics you host yourself — the compliance answer.
92
OPEN SOURCEGPL-3.0 (core; some plugins are paid)SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST★ 22k·updated 22 days ago
Matomo is the veteran of privacy-respecting analytics: GPL-3.0, self-hosted, with 100% data ownership, no sampling, and configurations that let it run without cookie consent in many jurisdictions. Around 21.7k stars and well over a decade of continuous development. It leans web analytics rather than product analytics — sessions, sources, campaigns, goals — with product-style funnels and cohorts available as paid plugins. If the reason you are on this page is a legal or procurement requirement rather than a product question, Matomo is usually the shortest route to a yes.
Strengths
- +Full data ownership with a mature, well-trodden self-host path
- +Can be configured to run without cookie consent in many jurisdictions
- +No sampling — the numbers are the numbers
- +Over a decade of development and a large plugin ecosystem
Trade-offs
- −Web analytics first; product analytics needs paid plugins
- −Interface feels dated next to PostHog and Amplitude
- −PHP and MySQL need tuning at high traffic
- −Several of the features people expect are premium add-ons
Self-hosted core free. Cloud hosting and premium plugins are paid. #4
OpenPanel
Mixpanel-style product analytics with a web-analytics front door.
90
OPEN SOURCEAGPL-3.0SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
OpenPanel sets out to be the middle ground this category is missing: simple web analytics for the questions you ask daily, plus event-based product analytics with funnels and retention for the ones you ask monthly, in a single self-hostable product. It is the youngest project in this comparison by a wide margin, which is the caveat to weigh honestly — the design is good and the track record is short. Worth a look if PostHog feels like more machinery than the problem deserves and Umami is not quite enough.
Strengths
- +Sits deliberately between simple web analytics and full product analytics
- +Self-hostable with a straightforward Docker deployment
- +AGPL-3.0 with no enterprise directory carve-out
- +Lighter to run than PostHog for a fraction of the complexity
Trade-offs
- −Youngest and least proven project on this page
- −Small community, so few answers when something breaks
- −No session replay or feature flags
- −AGPL-3.0 copyleft needs reading if you intend to modify it
Free and open source to self-host. Hosted plans available. #5
Countly
Mobile-first analytics you can run on-premise — but check the licence.
66
SOURCE-AVAILABLECountly Lite License (custom, source-available — not OSI open source)SELF-HOSTLOCAL-FIRST
Countly is built around mobile and IoT rather than the web, with crash reporting, push notifications and user profiles alongside analytics, and a long history of on-premise deployment in regulated and government settings. Around 5.9k stars. One correction to how it is usually listed: Countly is very often described as open source, but the community edition ships under a custom "Countly Lite License" rather than an OSI-approved licence — it is source-available, with restrictions, and the terms are worth reading before you build a product on it. Included here because the mobile and on-premise combination is genuinely rare, and because the licence deserves to be stated accurately.
Strengths
- +Mobile and IoT first, where most of this category is web first
- +Crash reporting and push notifications alongside analytics
- +Long track record of on-premise deployment in regulated environments
- +Rich user-profile and cohort features in the enterprise tier
Trade-offs
- −Not open source despite being widely listed as such — read the Lite License
- −Much of the useful functionality sits in the paid enterprise edition
- −Smaller community than every other option here
- −Heavier to deploy than Umami or OpenPanel
Community edition free to self-host under its own licence terms; enterprise is commercial.