Let’s face it—tracking your mobile app’s performance is crucial. Crash reports, user session data, metrics for retention—it all matters. But for a lot of indie app developers and small teams, vendor lock-in from platforms like Google Analytics or Countly can be a headache. What if you want freedom, privacy, and control?
TLDR – Too Long, Didn’t Read
Looking for self-hosted analytics platforms like Countly but without the vendor lock-in? You’re in the right place. This guide showcases 6 excellent alternatives that indie mobile teams love. Each platform covers key metrics like sessions, crashes, and retention.
Why Go Self-Hosted Anyway?
When you host your analytics platform, you own your data. No dealing with unexpected pricing changes or sending your user data back to third-party clouds. Self-hosted tools offer:
- Data ownership
- No vendor lock-in
- Greater customization
- No surprise costs
Now that we’ve made the case for self-hosted solutions, let’s dive into our top 6 picks!
1. PostHog – Open-Source & Powerful
PostHog is a self-hosted analytics platform that gives you full control over user data and tracking. Built with indie devs in mind, it’s free to get started and scales well.
Why indie teams love it:
- Super clean UI
- Session replays and feature flags included
- Segment your users easily
- Great documentation
Plus, they support mobile SDKs and offer native crash tracking. It’s like Countly, but with more transparency and fewer limitations.
2. Matomo – Privacy-First Analytics
Matomo has been around for a while, and it’s famous for privacy. It collects user data while giving you full control over storage and analytics logic. Best part? It’s super flexible and works great with mobile apps.
What makes it shine:
- Fully GDPR-compliant
- Highly customizable through plugins
- Works with mobile via plugins and APIs
- You can track goals, funnels, and retention
Matomo might need a bit more setup than PostHog, but developers love its extreme flexibility.
3. AppFlowy + Custom Event Tracking
AppFlowy is not an analytics platform per se. But indie teams are getting creative using custom backend tools like AppFlowy for mobile telemetry.
When paired with self-hosted event tracking tools (like ClickHouse or Firebase in offline mode), it becomes a mini tracking powerhouse.
What’s creative about this option?
- Freedom to structure tracking the way you want
- Use any database you love (PostgreSQL, MongoDB… you name it)
- Lightweight and easy to control
Of course, it’s not an out-of-the-box solution. But if you’re tech-savvy and want full freedom, this combo can work wonders.
4. Plausible Analytics + Mobile SDKs
Plausible is simple, privacy-focused, and lightweight. While it was designed mostly for web analytics, some indie teams customize it to capture mobile usage data via SDK wrappers.
Why some mobile devs choose Plausible:
- Super clean dashboard
- 100% open-source and easy to self-host
- Minimal overhead and easy setup
It doesn’t come with out-of-the-box crash reporting, but for session and retention metrics? It nails it.
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5. Sentry – For Deep Crash Reporting
Sentry is all about crash reporting. While its main use is error monitoring, it blends nicely with other tools to give you a broader picture. Indie teams often use it alongside tools like Plausible or PostHog.
Why it rocks for mobile devs:
- Detailed stack traces
- Breadcrumb logging
- iOS and Android SDKs are first-class
- Self-hosting option available
It doesn’t do retention, but let’s be real—crash insight is gold when you’re debugging your next launch feature.
6. Tinybird – Real-Time Event Pipelines Your Way
Tinybird isn’t a plug-and-play analytics tool, but it gives you real-time analytics over your own data streams. Indie developers with a MEAN or MERN stack love it for designing their own dashboards.
Best reasons to check it out:
- Ultimate flexibility
- Runs on ClickHouse (blazingly fast data queries)
- Build APIs fast with SQL
If you want to create a custom mobile metrics pipeline to track sessions and retention, Tinybird offers a unique DIY path.
Choosing the Best Option For You
Every mobile team is different. What works for one indie dev might not suit a team of three developers juggling two apps. Here’s a simplified comparison table to help decide:
| Tool | Crash Tracking | Session Tracking | Retention Metrics | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | All-in-one solution |
| Matomo | Via plugins | ✔ | ✔ | Privacy-first devs |
| AppFlowy + custom tools | Depends | ✔ | ✔ | DIY masters |
| Plausible | No | ✔ | ✔ | Quick & clean projects |
| Sentry | ✔ | No | No | Crash-first focus |
| Tinybird | Via custom events | ✔ | ✔ | Real-time pipelines |
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to settle for Countly or surrender your data. Indie developers today have more self-hosted analytics options than ever. Whether you want an easy setup, full control, or a highly granular data approach, there’s something on this list for you.
Start small, test what works best for your project, and always keep your users’ data privacy at the core. Happy tracking!
