Skip the setup.
Start tracking now.
Countly is a full-featured, self-hosted analytics platform. Happenstance gives you the same insights without the infrastructure — zero-config, fully managed.
Happenstance
Zero-config
- 1 Add one script tag to your site
- 2 Done. Events are tracked automatically.
Countly
Traditional setup
- 1 Deploy Countly server (self-hosted or cloud)
- 2 Configure MongoDB and Node.js
- 3 Create app in Countly dashboard
- 4 Install Countly SDK
- 5 Add Countly.add_event() calls for custom events
- 6 Set up user profiles and segments
- 7 Maintain server and apply updates
Countly is an open-source product analytics platform that supports web, mobile, and desktop apps. It's feature-rich with push notifications, crash reporting, and user profiles. But like Matomo, self-hosting means managing infrastructure, and every custom event still requires manual SDK calls. Happenstance takes a different approach — fully managed, zero-config analytics that discover events automatically.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Happenstance | Countly |
|---|---|---|
| Zero-config setup | ||
| Automatic event discovery | ||
| No hosting required | ||
| Event tracking | ||
| Click tracking | Automatic | Manual |
| Error tracking | ||
| Push notifications | ||
| User profiles | ||
| Mobile app analytics | ||
| Privacy-friendly | ||
| Open source | ||
| Self-hosted option | ||
| Free tier | 10k events/mo | Self-host free |
Why teams switch
Teams explore alternatives to Countly when the infrastructure burden becomes too much. Managing MongoDB, Node.js, and keeping Countly updated takes real engineering time. And the SDK still requires manual event instrumentation. Happenstance eliminates both — no servers to manage, no tracking code to write.
How to migrate from Countly
- 1 Add the Happenstance script tag for automatic web analytics.
- 2 Compare event discovery with your Countly custom events.
- 3 Map event names to match your existing Countly taxonomy.
- 4 Remove the Countly SDK and decommission the server if self-hosted.
- 5 Focus on your product instead of analytics infrastructure.
Who should use what
Choose Happenstance if...
You need web analytics without infrastructure management. Automatic event tracking that adapts as your UI evolves.
Choose Countly if...
You need mobile app analytics, push notifications, or require a self-hosted open-source solution for compliance reasons.
Integration Code
Happenstance (complete setup)
<script src="https://happenstance.click/v1/track.js"></script>Countly (just initialization)
// Countly SDK
Countly.init({
app_key: 'YOUR_APP_KEY',
url: 'https://your-countly.com'
});
// Custom events require code:
Countly.add_event({
key: 'button_click',
count: 1,
segmentation: {name: 'cart'}
});Countly is ideal for teams who need mobile app analytics with self-hosting and push notifications. Happenstance is for web teams who want automatic event tracking without managing infrastructure.
Start tracking in 30 seconds
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