Mixpanel
Plausible Analytics
| Feature | Mixpanel | Plausible Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $28/mo | From $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | product-teams, startups, growth-teams, mobile-apps | privacy-conscious-businesses, bloggers, developers, eu-businesses |
| Founded | 2009 | 2019 |
| Event Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Funnels | ✓ | ✗ |
| Retention | ✓ | ✗ |
| Flows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cohorts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Experiments | ✓ | ✗ |
| Alerts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pageviews | ✗ | ✓ |
| Referrers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Goals | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom Events | ✗ | ✓ |
| Utm Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Mixpanel Pros
- Powerful event-based analytics
- Excellent funnel and retention analysis
- Self-serve — no SQL needed
- Free tier generous (20M events/month)
✗ Mixpanel Cons
- Learning curve for event modeling
- Can get expensive at scale
- Less useful for content sites (GA better)
✓ Plausible Analytics Pros
- No cookies — GDPR compliant without consent banner
- Script is under 1KB (vs GA's 45KB)
- Open-source and transparent
- Simple dashboard — no overwhelming data
✗ Plausible Analytics Cons
- Less detailed than Google Analytics
- No free tier (but affordable)
- Limited segmentation and custom reports
The Verdict
Mixpanel is built for product teams and startups, with a focus on event-tracking and funnels. Plausible Analytics targets privacy conscious businesses and bloggers and leads with pageviews and referrers.
On pricing, Plausible Analytics is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $9/mo compared to $28/mo for Mixpanel. That $19/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Mixpanel has a free plan, which gives it a meaningful edge for individuals and small teams exploring their options. Plausible Analytics requires a paid subscription from day one.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.