What Each Does
GA4: general web analytics.
Mixpanel: product analytics.
PostHog: open-source product analytics + features.
Different tools, different jobs.
Google Analytics 4
Free.
Web + app tracking.
Event-based (new model).
Best for: marketing funnels, page analytics.
Weakness: not designed for product insights.
From our workA system with users, roles and billingFitIL runs trainers, trainees and gyms in one place. We built it and it is live today.Build your system →Mixpanel
Product analytics leader.
Great for: user cohorts, funnels, retention.
Free up to 20M events/month.
Paid: $28+/month.
Weakness: not as good for marketing.
PostHog
Open source (self-hosted or cloud).
Product analytics + feature flags + session replay.
Free tier: 1M events/month.
Growing fast.
Cost effective at scale.
Amplitude
Enterprise product analytics.
Sophisticated: user paths, retention, cohorts.
Free up to 10M events.
Higher price at scale.
Strong for large product teams.
Segment / CDP
Data pipeline, not analytics tool.
Send data to many tools at once.
Twilio Segment: reliable, expensive.
RudderStack: open source alternative.
What Marketing Wants
Traffic sources: where users come from.
Landing pages: which convert.
Attribution: what drove signups.
Ad ROI: which channels work.
GA4 sufficient usually.
What Product Wants
User behavior: what they do in product.
Funnel: where users drop off.
Retention: are users coming back.
Cohorts: how usage varies by user type.
Mixpanel/Amplitude/PostHog better.
Event Design
Consistent naming convention.
Track: user actions, not clicks.
Rich properties: context matters.
Not tracking everything – important events only.
User Identification
Distinct ID persistent across sessions.
Anonymous → identified when signup.
Alias handling in tools.
Cross-device tracking.
Privacy Considerations
GDPR: consent required.
Cookie banners.
Anonymize IPs.
Data retention limits.
Right to deletion.
Session Replay
Watch actual user sessions.
Debug UX issues.
Understand user paths.
PostHog, LogRocket, FullStory.
Privacy: mask sensitive fields.
Common Setup
GA4 for marketing.
Mixpanel or PostHog for product.
Both fed from same event pipeline.
Segment or similar as CDP.
Cost at Scale
Free tiers deceptive – hit limits fast.
Mixpanel/Amplitude expensive over 20M events.
PostHog self-hosted: cheaper.
Consider volume growth.
Implementation Effort
1-2 days to basic tracking.
1-2 weeks to comprehensive.
Ongoing: adding events for new features.
Don’t underestimate.
Our Recommendation
MVP: GA4 + Mixpanel free.
Growth: PostHog for cost + features.
Enterprise: Amplitude for depth.
Combine: GA4 (marketing) + product analytics.
Based on Real Projects
This guide is based on our work with:
Further Reading
If this guide helped you, you might also want to read our comprehensive guide on Custom SaaS Development.
Want to talk about your project?
A free consultation call, no commitment.
רוצים לדבר על הפרויקט שלכם?
אנחנו מתמחים בפיתוח SaaS, פתרונות AI, עיצוב UX/UI ובניית אתרים. ספרו לנו מה אתם צריכים.
דברו איתנו ←