Quick answer
Apstal - Apstal wins for most builders because its free tier is more usable, more generous on core analytics, and explicitly no-card, while Amplitude is better only if you specifically need its broader product-analytics suite and can live with a tighter starter cap.
How the free tiers compare
These products both cover analytics, but they aim at different builders. Amplitude’s free tier is a classic entry point into a larger product analytics platform: it gives you the basics, session replay, experimentation, and integrations, but the cap is relatively tight at 10K MTUs and up to 2M events. It is the better doorway if you expect to grow into a deeper product analytics stack with feature flags, experimentation, and governance. Apstal is narrower in brand but more generous in immediate utility. Its free plan includes 100K events, replays, funnels, retention, path analysis, Core Web Vitals, error monitoring, and an AI analyst interface, and it does so without requiring a credit card. For a solo builder or small team validating traffic and reading behavior data, Apstal gives more usable headroom before you pay. Amplitude wins when you care more about suite breadth and established product analytics workflows than raw free-tier generosity.
Amplitude vs Apstal free tier, side by side
| AmplitudeFTV 33 | ApstalFTV 65 | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly tracked users / eventsAmplitude is capped by MTUs and events; Apstal publishes an events cap only. | 10K MTUs, up to 2M events | 100K events per month |
| Session replayAmplitude says session replay is included on free; Apstal specifies retention length. | Included | 24-hour retention |
| Websites / sourcesThese are not identical units, but they show Amplitude's broader integration posture and Apstal's single-site limit. | Unlimited sources and destinations | 1 website included |
| Analytics helpersAmplitude's free tier is lighter on explicit helper features; Apstal is more opinionated out of the box. | Out-of-the-box analytics and templates | AI agent, funnels, retention, path analysis |
| Feature flags / experimentationAmplitude includes more experimentation-adjacent features in free. | Unlimited feature flags, web experimentation included | Not listed on free |
| Card requiredOnly stated where the input explicitly says so. | Yes | No |
After you outgrow the free tier
Amplitude uses flat paid pricing for the first step up, then moves to custom contact-sales tiers. Apstal also starts with a flat paid plan, but its paid ladder is smaller and its public Enterprise plan is only a bit above Premium. For small-team usage, Apstal is cheaper at the first paid step if you need more than the free limit, while Amplitude is the pricier but more established path into broader product analytics. As usage grows, Amplitude's costs diverge more because it quickly moves into custom pricing for larger MTU or event volumes.
Cost at real usage
| Usage | Amplitude | Apstal |
|---|---|---|
| At the free-tier capApstal also includes one website and 24-hour replay retention on free. | Free (10K MTUs, up to 2M events) | Free (100K events/mo) |
| At 50K events/monthAmplitude's free plan is capped by MTUs and events, so the event count alone is not enough to know if free still fits. | Free if MTUs stay within 10K; otherwise Plus starts at $49/mo | Free |
| At 300K events/monthBoth published first paid tiers cover this level, but Amplitude's Plus also allows up to 25M events and 300K MTUs. | Plus - $49/mo | Premium - $48/mo |
| At 5 websites with heavier AI usageApstal publishes website and AI compute quotas on paid plans; Amplitude's comparable higher tiers are custom. | Growth or Enterprise: custom pricing | Premium - $48/mo or Enterprise - $90/mo |
Estimates, not quotes. Usage-based rates change - verify with the vendor's pricing page before committing.
When to pick each one
Pick Amplitude when…
- You want product analytics plus session replay and feature flags in one place, and you expect to stay under 10K MTUs for a while.
- You need integrations and analytics templates from the start, not just event dashboards.
- You are planning to grow into experimentation, behavioral cohorts, and other product analytics workflows inside a single vendor.
- You care more about Amplitude's broader suite and future upgrade path than about free-tier headroom.
Pick Apstal when…
- You want the most usable free tier for a live site or app and need 100K events per month before paying.
- You want built-in funnels, retention, path analysis, Core Web Vitals monitoring, and JavaScript error monitoring in the free plan.
- You want an AI analyst interface for plain-English questions without giving a credit card.
- You are running a small website portfolio and need one included site plus session replay on the free plan.
Bottom line
For the most common builder, Apstal is the better free-tier pick because it gives you more room to learn from real traffic, it includes more day-one analytics functionality, and you do not need a credit card. Amplitude is the better choice if your main priority is a broader product analytics platform and you expect to upgrade into its experimentation and governance stack later. If you are choosing strictly on the free tier, Apstal is easier to live with; if you are choosing on long-term analytics depth, Amplitude has the stronger ladder.
Read the full listings: Amplitude and Apstal. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.