The Countly Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Countly in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Countly
The Insider’s Guide
Self-hosted product analytics for web, mobile and desktop apps
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among website and product analytics tools, read from Countly’s own pages.
Made by Countly Ltd. · checked Nov 12, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Countly’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Countly’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 18 of the 58 other website and product analytics tools we grade
Countly is a product analytics and engagement platform for mobile, web and desktop apps. It can run on your own servers, as the free open-source Lite edition or the paid Enterprise edition, or in a dedicated private cloud called Flex that Countly operates and bills monthly by usage.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Countly, taken from its own pages and our grades.
Flex is billed by monthly active users and adds paid extras.
- 1
Best for product analytics for web and mobile apps
But Lite leaves out parts such as Cee, Drill and Journeys.
- 2
Paid plans start at $175 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $175 per month and up.
- 3
There is a free plan
Countly Lite: the open-source core, self-hosted on your own server, with community support only and no SLA.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Mobile, web and desktop analytics
SDKs for iOS, Android, JavaScript, macOS, Windows and Linux apps feed one data layer with real-time events, sessions and user profiles.
- 6
Engagement tools
The Adaptivity capability covers push notifications, in-app messages, journeys, A/B tests, surveys and hooks, acting on the same data.
- 7
Funnels, retention and flows
The Intelligence capability adds funnels, retention, flows, formulas, crash reporting and the Drill query tool.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 18 of 58
That is against the other website and product analytics tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
The plain part of Countly you could make: surveys. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
Countly at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $175 per month and up
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial of Flex
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Countly Ltd., since 2013
- Category
- Website & Product Analytics
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for product analytics for web and mobile apps
Countly tracks web, mobile and desktop apps, with a free open-source Lite you host yourself and a hosted Flex from $175 a month. But Lite leaves out parts such as Cee, Drill and Journeys. Flex is billed by monthly active users and adds paid extras.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Flex from $175 a month, above the category's dearer-quarter start of $159. Lite is free if you host it, which is a C by our rule. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Lite is free with 20+ plugins and community support, and Flex has a 14-day trial. Lite needs your own server. |
| Features | C | Analytics, engagement, funnels and retention. Lite lacks Cee, Drill and Journeys, which are in the full platform. |
| Ease of use | C | No rating on record. Flex is hosted for you, but Lite means running a server. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | A web dashboard. The listing names no integrations. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Countly is for
- Fits if you track mobile apps and want your data on your own server
- Works for teams that want the choice of self-hosted or hosted
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you want the full platform: Flex starts at $175 a month
- Skip it if you don't want to run a server, as Lite is self-hosted
- Watch out: Adaptivity, Intelligence and the uptime SLA are paid add-ons on Flex
- Watch out: Enterprise has no published price and bills yearly
Good to know
Good for
- Teams that must keep product data on their own infrastructure
- Mobile and desktop app makers who want analytics and push in one tool
- Developers who want a free open-source analytics server
Worth knowing
- Flex is billed by monthly active users rather than seats; the page gives only a $175 starting price and an estimator.
- On Flex, Adaptivity and Intelligence are paid add-ons, and the uptime SLA is an add-on.
- Enterprise has no published price and is billed annually per deployment.
- Lite is self-hosted with community support only and does not include the full platform, such as Cee, Drill and Journeys.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$175
A month to start. There is a free plan too
Countly has a free plan. Paid plans start at $175 per month and up.
Lite is free if you host it, which is a C by our rule.
Countly Lite
$0
Open-source core you host yourself, with 20+ plugins including dashboards, profiles, crashes, funnels and retention.
Countly Flex
$175
per month and up
Dedicated private-cloud instance billed monthly by usage (MAU). Includes Advanced Analytics; Adaptivity and Intelligence are add-ons.
Countly Enterprise
Custom
Self-hosted or in your own cloud, priced per deployment and billed annually, with every capability and dedicated support.
The free plan
Countly Lite: the open-source core, self-hosted on your own server, with community support only and no SLA.
Trying it first
14-day free trial of Flex
Read from countly.com on Nov 12, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Self-hosted product analytics for web, mobile and desktop apps. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, AI features, surveys, web analytics, a/B testing.
Analytics, engagement, funnels and retention.
- Mobile, web and desktop analytics
- SDKs for iOS, Android, JavaScript, macOS, Windows and Linux apps feed one data layer with real-time events, sessions and user profiles.
- Engagement tools
- The Adaptivity capability covers push notifications, in-app messages, journeys, A/B tests, surveys and hooks, acting on the same data.
- Funnels, retention and flows
- The Intelligence capability adds funnels, retention, flows, formulas, crash reporting and the Drill query tool.
- Data control
- Data can be masked, transformed and validated as it is collected, and the vendor says it has no default access to Flex or Enterprise data.
- Cee AI agent and MCP
- Cee is Countly's AI agent, part of the Intelligence add-on on Flex. Your own AI can also connect to Countly through MCP.
- Choice of hosting
- Run it on your own infrastructure, including air-gapped networks, or on Flex in the Google Cloud region you choose.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
Its own pages name no integrations.
Countly is made by Countly Ltd., and has been around since 2013.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
18/58
Other website and product analytics tools it is graded above
Countly's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 18 of the 58 other website and product analytics tools we grade, and level with 13.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 40 of 58) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $175 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 27 of the 32 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 26 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 59 website and product analytics tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Countly’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 5 of 58
- BFree plan and trialAbove 40 of 58
- CFeaturesAbove 1 of 58
- CEase of useAbove 3 of 58
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 58
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 38 website and product analytics tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Countly is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of Countly you could make: surveys. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 27 of the 58 other website and product analytics tools grade higher. It costs $2,100 a year. Countly is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Surveys: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A tracking script and a database that counts every visit.
- Splitting visitors between versions and telling you which won.
- An API that other software can build on.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
What this rests on. Countly’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Matomo, PostHog, Mixpanel, Amplitude and Piwik PRO
The 5 tools Countly is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
Matomo
Free plan · from $26/mo
Open-source web analytics you can host yourself or in Matomo's cloud.
- Countly also covers surveys.
- Matomo also covers session replay.
- 3.2GPA
PostHog
Free plan · from $0.00005
Open-source product analytics with replays, flags and surveys.
- PostHog also covers session replay.
- 3.0GPA
Mixpanel
Free plan · from $100/mo
Event-based product analytics with replays, flags and experiments.
- Countly is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Countly also covers surveys.
- Mixpanel also covers session replay.
- 3.0GPA
Amplitude
Free plan · from $900/yr
Product analytics with session replay, experiments and in-app guides.
- Countly is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Amplitude also covers session replay.
- 2.2GPA
Piwik PRO
Free trial · from €36/mo
Privacy-focused analytics suite with tag and consent management.
- Countly has a free plan. Piwik PRO does not, though it has a free trial.
- Countly is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Countly also covers surveys and a/B testing.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Countly free?
Countly has a free plan. Countly Lite: the open-source core, self-hosted on your own server, with community support only and no SLA.
How much does Countly cost?
Countly lists 3 plans. Countly Lite: $0.
What platforms does Countly work on?
Countly is available on Web.
Does Countly have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Countly is listed for Web.
Does Countly have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 12, 2026. Countly is listed for Web.
Is Countly open source?
Yes. Countly is open source, according to its own site.
Does Countly have an API?
Yes. Countly offers a public API, according to its own site.
Does Countly have a free trial?
Yes. 14-day free trial of Flex.
Who makes Countly?
Countly is made by Countly Ltd. It dates from 2013.
What are the alternatives to Countly?
The closest alternatives to Countly in our directory are Matomo, PostHog, Mixpanel, Amplitude and Piwik PRO.
How does Countly compare with other website and product analytics tools?
Countly's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 18 of the 58 other website and product analytics tools we grade, and level with 13.
Is Countly good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Countly C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $175 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 27 of the 32 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Countly?
The plain part of Countly you could make: surveys. What surrounds it you could not.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Countly’s own pages on Nov 12, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 12, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Countly's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Countly Ltd. Prices change, so check countly.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
5,038
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
5,038
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Countly, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/countly
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Countly: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 12, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/countly
Know someone choosing between website and product analytics tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/countly/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded website and product analytics tools after Countly, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Website & Product Analytics Insider's GuideEvery one of the 59 website and product analytics tools we grade, compared
- Google Analytics Insider's GuideGoogle's free website and app analytics, with a paid 360 tier3.4 GPA
- Microsoft Clarity Insider's GuideFree session recordings and heatmaps from Microsoft, no traffic cap3.2 GPA
- PostHog Insider's GuideOpen-source product analytics with replays, flags and surveys3.2 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Countly’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Countly is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Countly Ltd. Prices and plans change: check countly.com before you buy.