Compare · Amplitude
Best Amplitude alternatives.
Pieowl is a simpler alternative to Amplitude. Funnels, retention, cohorts, session replay and an MCP server for your own AI assistant. No cookies, and cloud in the EU.
- No cookies
- Imports Amplitude data
- EU cloud
- Every feature on every plan
Pieowl vs Amplitude: which is right for you?
Pieowl if…
- 1Teams that want funnels, retention and replay without a long setup
- 2Products that want analytics with no cookies and no stored IPs
- 3Teams that want an EU cloud with prices on the page
Amplitude if…
- 1Teams that need experiments, feature flags, and guides and surveys in one tool
- 2Companies that need ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II or a HIPAA BAA
- 3Teams with up to 2M events a month who want a free plan
Both help product teams understand what users do. They differ on breadth, privacy defaults, pricing and hosting.
Why consider Pieowl over Amplitude?
Amplitude is a big, capable product analytics platform. Its free plan covers 2M events a month, every plan has unlimited seats, and it adds AI agents, session replay, experiments, feature flags, and guides and surveys. For large product teams with analysts, that breadth is a real strength.
Pieowl is smaller on purpose. You get event tracking, funnels, retention, cohorts, user profiles, session replay and revenue tracking, plus web analytics like sources, pages and countries. Every feature is on every plan, so you never hit a feature wall. You only pay for events.
Privacy is a big difference. Amplitude's browser SDK stores identity in a cookie by default and collects IP addresses unless you turn that off. Pieowl sets no cookies and does not store IP addresses. Pieowl's tracking script is also about 3 KB gzipped.
Both tools run in the cloud. Amplitude has US and EU data centers; Pieowl's cloud is in the EU. If you're moving over, Pieowl can import your Amplitude history through Amplitude's Export API.
Key differences at a glance
How Pieowl and Amplitude compare on the things that matter most. Checked October 2026.
| Feature | Pieowl | Amplitude |
|---|---|---|
| Key differences | ||
| Price | 14-day free trial, then from $9/mo (10K), $19/mo (100K) or $69/mo (1M) | Free up to 2M events; Plus from $49/mo; Growth and Enterprise by quote |
| Cookies | None | Identity cookie by default (browser SDK) |
| IP addresses | Not stored | Collected by default, can be turned off |
| Hosting | Cloud only (EU) | Cloud only (US or EU data center) |
| Features by plan | Every feature on every plan | Some features need paid plans (heatmaps, SSO, more experiments) |
| Web analytics | ||
| Page views and visitors | Yes | Yes |
| Traffic sources and UTM campaigns | Yes | Yes |
| Countries and cities | Yes | Yes |
| Device and browser stats | Yes | Yes |
| Product analytics | ||
| Event tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Funnels | Yes | Yes |
| Retention | Yes | Yes |
| User profiles | Yes | Yes |
| CohortsAmplitude: behavioral cohorts start on Plus (20 per org) | Yes | Paid plans |
| Revenue tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced features | ||
| Session replayAmplitude: 10K replays a month on Free | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server for AI assistantsAmplitude MCP works on every plan, including Free | Yes | Yes |
| Experiments (A/B tests)Amplitude: 1 active experiment on Free and Plus, more on Growth and Enterprise | No | Yes |
| Feature flagsAmplitude includes unlimited feature flags | No | Yes |
| Heatmaps | No | Plus and up |
| Guides and surveys | No | Yes |
| Privacy and security | ||
| No cookiesAmplitude's browser SDK stores identity in a cookie by default | Yes | No |
| IP addresses not storedAmplitude collects IPs by default; you can turn it off | Yes | Optional |
| EU data hostingAmplitude has an EU data center in Frankfurt | Yes | Yes |
| SSO | No | Growth and Enterprise |
| ISO 27001 / SOC 2 Type II | No | Yes |
| Data and integrations | ||
| HTTP API | Yes | Yes |
| Raw data export | API, S3 or Google Cloud Storage | Export API |
| Import Amplitude historyPieowl pulls your events from Amplitude's Export API | Yes | n/a |
Technical comparison
For developers, here is how the SDKs and setup compare.
| Feature | Pieowl | Amplitude |
|---|---|---|
| Script size (JS)Measured October 2026. Pieowl's replay add-on loads only if you turn replay on. | About 3 KB gzipped | About 67 KB gzipped (amplitude-min.js, browser SDK 2.47.2) |
| Supported platformsAmplitude has more native SDKs, including mobile and game engines. Pieowl has no native iOS or Android SDK. |
|
|
| Database | ClickHouse + PostgreSQL + Redis | Managed by Amplitude |
Pricing comparison
Amplitude has a large free plan; Pieowl has a 14-day free trial. Pieowl's paid plans are simple and include every feature. Amplitude prices checked October 2026.
Pieowl
Pay per event. Every feature on every plan.- 14-day free trial, no card needed.
- Starter: from $9/month for 10K events, $19 for 100K and $69 for 1M.
- Growth: twice the Starter price, for up to 30 sites and 30 team members.
- Over 10M events a month: talk to us.
- Pay yearly and get 2 months free.
- Paid plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Amplitude
Event-based, with a large free plan- Free: 2M events a month, no card needed.
- Plus: starts at $0 with the first 2M events free and a card required; Amplitude's plan table lists it from $49/month.
- Growth and Enterprise: custom prices through sales.
- Every plan includes unlimited seats.
Moving from Amplitude to Pieowl
Pieowl can import your Amplitude history, and most tracking calls map one to one. Run both tools side by side for a week, check the numbers, then remove the Amplitude SDK.
- 01Install the Pieowl SDK
Add the Pieowl script tag to any website, or the package for your stack: @pieowl/web, @pieowl/react-native, or @pieowl/sdk for Node.js.
- 02Map your tracking calls
amplitude.track('Signup', { plan: 'pro' }) becomes pieowl.track('Signup', { plan: 'pro' }). amplitude.identify(...) becomes pieowl.identify({ profileId: userId, ...traits }). Revenue becomes pieowl.purchase({ id, amount, currency }). Groups map to pieowl.setGroup(groupId). Keep your event names.
- 03Import your Amplitude history
Use Pieowl's Amplitude importer. It pulls your events through Amplitude's Export API, so your funnels and retention have history from day one.
- 04Rebuild your key reports
Recreate your main funnels, retention charts, cohorts and dashboards. Or ask your AI assistant to run them for you over MCP.
- 05Run both, then switch
Keep both SDKs sending events for 5 to 7 days. Compare totals for signups, purchases and your key events. When they match, remove the Amplitude SDK.
Effort: Easy
Estimated time: 2-4 hoursSDK compatibility
Both are event-based. track maps to track, identify maps to identify with a profileId, revenue maps to revenue, and groups map to setGroup.Historical data
Pieowl has a built-in Amplitude importer that reads from Amplitude's Export API. Pieowl also has a bulk import API if you want to script your own import.
Where Pieowl is a better fit than Amplitude
Pieowl suits teams that want the core of product analytics without the extra weight.
Startups and small product teams
Funnels, retention, cohorts and replay on every plan. Try it free for 14 days, then pay from $9/month for 10K events, $19/month for 100K or $69/month for 1M.
Privacy-first products
No cookies and no stored IP addresses. Because there are no cookies, in many cases you don't need a consent banner for analytics.
Fast websites
Pieowl's tracking script is about 3 KB gzipped. Session replay loads only on sites where you turn it on.
Teams without an analyst
Ask Claude or Cursor 'where do people drop off in checkout?' and it reads your Pieowl funnel over MCP. No report builder needed.
The analytics you use, without the extras you don't
Amplitude does a lot. If your team mostly uses funnels, retention and replay, Pieowl gives you those with simple prices and no cookies.
- Event tracking, funnels, retention, cohorts and session replay on every plan
- No cookies and no stored IP addresses, so often no cookie banner for analytics
- About 3 KB tracking script
- Cloud in the EU
- Clear prices: from $9/month for 10K events, $19/month for 100K, $69/month for 1M
- Import your Amplitude history through Amplitude's Export API
- An MCP server, so your own AI assistant can answer questions about your data
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Amplitude alternatives and switching to Pieowl. Competitor details checked October 2026.
What are the best Amplitude alternatives in 2026?
It depends on what you need. Pieowl: funnels, retention, replay and AI answers with no cookies. PostHog: a wide developer toolkit with a free tier of 1M events and 5K recordings a month. Mixpanel: mature event analytics with a free plan of 1M events. Heap: automatic capture, billed by sessions, free up to 10K sessions a month. Plausible: simple web analytics with no cookies, but no product analytics like retention or cohorts.
How does Amplitude compare to PostHog?
Both are broad platforms with session replay, experiments and feature flags. PostHog prices each product by usage, with a free tier of 1M events a month, and you can self-host it. Amplitude's free plan covers 2M events a month with unlimited seats, but it is cloud only.
How does Amplitude compare to Mixpanel?
Both bill by events. Mixpanel's free plan has 1M events a month and 10K replays. Amplitude's free plan has 2M events and 10K replays. Amplitude publishes its own chart that says it costs less than Mixpanel and PostHog at 10M events a month.
Is Amplitude free?
Yes, up to 2M events a month with no card. Some features, like heatmaps and behavioral cohorts, need the Plus plan or higher. SSO needs Growth or Enterprise.
Is there a free Amplitude alternative?
Pieowl has no free plan, but you can try it free for 14 days with no card. After that, Starter is $9/month for 10K events and $19/month for 100K.
Why switch from Amplitude?
Common reasons: you want analytics with no cookies, you want every feature on every plan, or Amplitude feels like more tool than your team needs.
Do I need a cookie banner with Pieowl?
Often not for analytics. Pieowl sets no cookies and stores nothing on your visitors' devices, so in many cases you don't need a consent banner for it. It depends on your country and the features you use: session replay needs consent, and some countries, like Germany, Poland and Ireland, have no exemption for analytics. Our docs page "Do you need a cookie banner?" has the details. Amplitude's browser SDK stores identity in a cookie by default, so you may need consent for it.
Does Amplitude offer EU data hosting?
Yes. Amplitude has an EU data center in Frankfurt. Pieowl's cloud runs only in the EU.
What Amplitude features will I lose?
Pieowl has no experiments tool, feature flags, heatmaps, guides and surveys, or SSO. It also has no ISO or SOC 2 certification. If you rely on those, Amplitude may still be the better fit.
Can I import my Amplitude data?
Yes. Pieowl has a built-in Amplitude importer that pulls your events through Amplitude's Export API.
How do I migrate amplitude.track() calls to Pieowl?
Most calls map one to one. amplitude.track('Signup', { plan: 'pro' }) becomes pieowl.track('Signup', { plan: 'pro' }). Identify becomes pieowl.identify({ profileId: userId, ...traits }). Revenue becomes pieowl.purchase({ id, amount, currency }). Groups become pieowl.setGroup(groupId). Keep your event names.
What does Amplitude cost compared to Pieowl?
Under 2M events a month, Amplitude's free plan costs less than Pieowl's paid plans. Above that, Amplitude Plus is listed from $49/month and Growth and Enterprise are quoted by sales. Pieowl Starter is $19/month for 100K events and $69/month for 1M, with every feature included.
Ready to make the switch?
14-day free trial, no card needed. Then from $9 a month for 10K events.