GhostStat vs Mixpanel: event analytics or cookieless insight?

Mixpanel is one of the best-known event analytics tools: product teams use it to answer questions such as which features people use, which users come back and where a sign-up flow loses them. GhostStat answers a different first question: what is happening on my website, and why, without cookies. This comparison of GhostStat vs Mixpanel shows where each one fits, with every claim about Mixpanel linked to Mixpanel’s own pages.

Last checked: 11 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.

Mixpanel vs GhostStat at a glance

What Mixpanel is built for

Mixpanel analyses events: actions that you define and send from your app or website, tied to users you identify. Its pricing documentation describes a Free plan limited to 1 million events a month and 5 saved reports per user, and event-based Growth pricing, with the first million events free on Growth plans bought after February 2025. An MTU-based Enterprise plan starts at $20,000 a year. The pricing page also lists US or EU data residency.

For a product team that wants deep cohort, retention and funnel analysis on user actions, that is a strong, mature tool.

Cookies and IP addresses

Mixpanel’s JavaScript SDK documentation explains that super properties are stored in a cookie that lasts 365 days by default, with localStorage as an option. It also says the SDK uses the request IP address to generate geolocation properties, which you can switch off with ip: false. Under EU and UK cookie rules, an analytics cookie like that usually needs the visitor’s consent first.

GhostStat stores nothing on the visitor’s device: no cookies, no localStorage, no sessionStorage and no fingerprinting. The IP address is used in memory to look up an approximate location, then dropped; it is never written to disk. Visitors are counted with an identifier that is salted per site and rotates daily, and the data is stored in Dronten, the Netherlands. Our privacy policy lists exactly what is collected. That is why GhostStat’s analytics need no consent banner and every visitor is counted.

Session replay and heatmaps

Mixpanel added session replay with heatmaps. Its session replay documentation lists 10,000 free replays a month on the Free plan and 20,000 on Growth and Enterprise, kept for 30 days by default. Replay is off until you enable it in the SDK, and all text and inputs are masked by default, according to the web replay guide.

In GhostStat, every plugin is available on every plan, Free included:

• Heatmaps for clicks, scrolling and movement, per device.
• Session recordings with every form input masked by default.
• Funnels, goals, form analytics and A/B tests.
• Ecommerce, cohorts and retention.
• Visitor intelligence: intent, friction and attention per visit.
• Public stats pages and counters to share your numbers.

On the Free plan each plugin has a monthly view allowance; paid plans remove it. The live numbers are on the pricing page.

Events you define, or a website that explains itself

Mixpanel gives the best results when someone plans an event schema, adds tracking calls to the code and identifies users. That is powerful for an app, and real work to maintain.

GhostStat starts with one snippet. Page views, sources, campaigns, devices and countries arrive immediately; heatmaps, recordings, form analytics and scroll depth work without extra code; and you can still send your own events from code or through the built-in Tag Manager plugin when you need them. Visitor intelligence then scores intent, friction and attention per visit, so you see why people leave, not only that they did.

Questions to ask before you choose

• Who are we measuring? Logged-in users of an app point to Mixpanel; anonymous visitors to a website point to GhostStat.
• Who will maintain the tracking? Mixpanel works best with a planned event schema and developers to keep it current. GhostStat works from one snippet, with optional custom events.
• Do we want a consent banner for analytics? Mixpanel’s cookie usually means consent in Europe; GhostStat stores nothing on the device.
• Where must the data live? Both can keep data in the EU: Mixpanel through its EU data residency, GhostStat in the Netherlands.

Trying GhostStat next to Mixpanel

You do not have to switch in one go. Add the GhostStat snippet next to your Mixpanel code, leave both running for a few weeks and compare. Numbers will differ, because each tool counts visitors in its own way, so watch the trends rather than exact totals. Switch on one or two plugins, such as heatmaps on your most important page, to see what they add. If you decide to stay with Mixpanel, remove the GhostStat snippet and nothing else changes on your site. Setup help is here.

Mixpanel or GhostStat: how to choose

Choose Mixpanel if you run a software product with logged-in users and want mature event, cohort and retention analysis, and you already handle consent.

Choose GhostStat if you run a website and want traffic analytics, heatmaps, recordings and funnels without cookies, consent banners or an event schema, with data stored in the Netherlands. Start free.

Also see GhostStat vs PostHog, GhostStat vs Google Analytics 4 and the best Google Analytics alternatives.

Sources

• Mixpanel: Pricing documentation and pricing page
• Mixpanel: JavaScript SDK
• Mixpanel: Session Replay and web replay guide