Learn product analytics
Guides, comparisons, and benchmarks, the evergreen library. Looking for engineering deep-dives? Those live on the blog.
Guides & explainers
Plain-English walkthroughs of how open-source product analytics works.
Open-source product analytics, explained
What it is, how events and identity work, and the core insight types.
ReadProduct analytics vs web analytics
What each measures, and when to reach for which.
ReadEvent tracking with open source
Autocapture and manual events, identity, and a clean tracking plan.
ReadPrivacy-first analytics & GDPR
Data minimisation, cookies, and why self-hosting helps compliance.
ReadCookieless analytics, explained
The three approaches, the line with fingerprinting, and what rotating IDs cost you.
ReadCookieless funnels and retention
Why rotating IDs inflate uniques and zero out retention, and how to split them.
ReadCookieless tracking vs fingerprinting
Both skip the cookie. Only one is designed to stop working, and the law knows.
ReadThe DPDP Act and your analytics
India’s data law for product analytics: consent, deletion, residency.
ReadGDPR compliance for analytics
Lawful basis, consent, DSARs, transfers, the framework, applied.
ReadCCPA compliance for analytics
Opt-out not opt-in: when analytics is a “sale”, and the browser signal you must honour.
ReadFree analytics for startups
Free tiers vs self-hosted, and how to avoid event-cap bills.
ReadProduct analytics for mobile apps
Why the web playbook breaks on mobile: screens, lifecycle, versions, and the events to track first.
ReadHow to filter bot traffic in GA4
What GA4’s always-on filter catches, why the bots that run your tag get past it, and what to do instead.
ReadWhat bot traffic does to funnels and retention
Bots bias metrics in one direction: inflated sessions, deflated conversion, and a retention curve propped up by monitors.
ReadWhat AI crawlers do to your analytics
GPTBot and ClaudeBot never run your tag, so the load lands in your logs. Where AI traffic actually shows up.
ReadWhat an analytics MCP server does
Which tools matter, why schema discovery comes first, and what should never be callable by an agent.
ReadHeap pricing, explained
What Heap costs, its session-based model, and a free open-source alternative.
ReadComparisons & roundups
How the tools stack up, and where Pug fits among them.
Best product analytics tools
Amplitude, Mixpanel, Heap, PostHog, Pug: compared and ranked.
ReadBest open-source analytics tools
Web vs product, self-hosting, and who each one is for.
ReadBest self-hosted analytics
Footprint, cost to run, and who each one fits.
ReadBest PostHog alternatives
Alternatives to PostHog ranked, focus, ownership, simplicity.
ReadBest Mixpanel alternatives
Leave the per-event bill: alternatives by reason for switching.
ReadBest Firebase Analytics alternatives
Six options for app teams past the 500-event ceiling, and what each is best at.
ReadHow analytics tools filter bot traffic
GA4, Plausible, Fathom, Matomo, Umami, PostHog, Pug: which signals each trusts, and whether it drops or tags.
ReadBest cookieless analytics tools
Plausible, Fathom, Umami, Matomo, Pug: by how each derives identity and how fast it rotates.
ReadCompare Pug to the alternatives
Honest, side-by-side comparisons, with where each one wins.
ReadMetric benchmarks
What “good” looks like for the numbers teams obsess over, honestly hedged.
What is a good retention rate?
Benchmarks by business model and how to read your retention curve.
ReadWhat is a good conversion rate?
Why benchmarks vary so much, and how to set your own.
ReadLTV:CAC ratio, explained
The 3:1 rule of thumb, its caveats, and why payback matters.
ReadWhat is a good NPS score?
The heuristic bands, and why NPS points a direction rather than settling a question.
ReadTry it on your own data
Pug is open-source product analytics with unified profiles: autocapture, funnels, retention, and flows. Self-host under AGPL-3.0, or use the free cloud beta.
Questions? Email hello@pug.sh