Free Analytics or an MMP? A Comparison for App Teams
Compare free analytics and MMP limits for paid campaigns, then see when Airbridge Core fits supported channels, subscription reporting and event-based pricing.
Quick answer for a small subscription app buying ads
- Use product analytics when you need to understand what people do inside the app and your reports do not need to credit paid campaigns.
- For paid acquisition, choose a free MMP tier only when its attribution scope, setup, and usage limits fit your actual campaign volume.
- AppsFlyer Zero is designed for owned media and is marked unsuitable for apps with paid activity; Kochava and Tenjin publish free paid-media measurement with monthly limits.
- Airbridge Core suits teams connecting supported paid channels to subscription revenue, with a 30-day free trial, then $40+/mo and 500,000 monthly data points included.
When you are paying for ads and also building the product, it is easy to mistake an install report for a subscriber report. The right tool depends on what you need to decide each week: which product step loses people, which paid channel brings installs, or which campaign brings paying subscribers and revenue.
Here, “MMP” means mobile measurement partner, a service that attributes app installs and other conversions to marketing sources. Free analytics, a free MMP tier, and a paid MMP answer different questions. You can choose among them by writing down the decision, the event or conversion behind it, the channel source, and the monthly volume you expect to measure.
Start with the question behind the report
Product analytics answers what people do after they open your app. For example, it can help a small team compare the share of people who view a paywall, begin a trial, and reach a paid subscription, provided those events are sent to the analytics system. That view helps you find a weak step in onboarding or checkout, even before you know which campaign brought each person.
Paid-campaign attribution answers which marketing source receives credit for an attributed install or another conversion. The important decision is whether you want to compare campaigns on installs alone, or follow a later outcome such as a trial start, a paid subscription, or revenue. A dashboard that reports app events can show that 300 people started a trial; a campaign report needs a reliable source attached to those events to show which campaigns contributed those trials.
For example, suppose Campaign A spends $500 and produces 10 attributed trial starts, while Campaign B spends $500 and produces four. The cost per attributed trial is $50 for A and $125 for B, using those assumed spend and event counts. This gives the team a campaign-level trial comparison; paid subscriptions and subscription revenue answer the later question of which trial cohort becomes valuable.
A subscription team usually needs both views to make a budget decision. Product analytics helps answer, “Where does the paywall funnel lose people?” Campaign attribution helps answer, “Which campaign brings people who start a trial or pay?” Revenue reporting adds the value needed to compare acquisition cost with subscription income.
On iOS, campaign reporting has privacy-shaped limits. Apple’s AdAttributionKit documentation says its signed postback contains no user- or device-specific data, and that Apple’s data tier controls the detail the postback can include to support crowd anonymity.
Before comparing plans, define three outputs:
- Product behavior: Which app steps need event counts, funnels, retention, or cohorts?
- Acquisition source: Which paid channels must receive credit for attributed installs and later conversions?
- Subscription value: Do you need trial starts, paid subscriptions, subscription revenue, or a return-on-ad-spend view by channel?
If the first output is enough, begin with product analytics. Paid-spend decisions need a plan whose supported channels match the app’s campaign mix and whose attribution covers the post-install event that informs the next budget choice.
When free app analytics covers the job
A free analytics setup can cover the job when the question stays inside the app: how many people completed onboarding, which screen they left, whether a paywall view led to a trial, or how retention changed after a product release. The events must be collected consistently, and the team needs to define the same event in the app each time it happens. In this setup, the team is improving product behavior rather than comparing paid acquisition sources.
A funnel becomes useful when each step has a clear event name and order. For example, a team might define paywall_viewed, trial_started, and subscription_started, then compare how many app sessions reach each step.
Google’s Firebase Analytics documentation says developers can log custom events that fit their app, such as purchases or achievements. Firebase’s iOS event guide recommends relevant event names and prescribed parameters for fuller reports, and says custom parameters need registration as dimensions or metrics before they appear in reports. Agree on event names and the reporting question before asking an engineer to instrument a funnel, so the event data answers a real product decision.
Event names also need consistent spelling. Google’s Firebase Android event guide says names are case-sensitive, so renewal_confirmed and Renewal_Confirmed count as separate event types. For a subscription app, write down whether a renewal event fires when billing confirms a renewal or when a person opens a subscription screen; the first definition answers a revenue question, while the second records product behavior. A shared event map can name the trigger, owner, and report where the event should appear. Revisit that map when the paywall or billing flow changes, and test the updated path before using a new report to compare campaigns.
Free product analytics can still support campaign decisions when the team has an additional, reliable way to join acquisition source with the desired app outcome. The key test is practical: can you read one report that breaks paid campaign performance out by the event or subscription value you use to allocate budget? If you can only see total trial starts and total ad spend in separate tools, you have two useful totals, but no campaign-to-trial answer.
Keep the systems subscription-platform-agnostic. A billing or subscription service can remain the source for purchase and renewal events, while analytics helps inspect product behavior and an MMP connects the campaign source to those conversions. Before you add another tool, decide which system owns each event, how it is passed onward, and whether the report uses the same date range and conversion definition across systems.
Free analytics is a strong first step for product questions, especially when the app is early and the team is still validating onboarding, paywall placement, or trial flow. It is enough as the full measurement setup when paid campaign comparisons do not affect the next decision. Once a founder needs to move budget between campaigns based on paid subscriptions or revenue, campaign attribution becomes a distinct requirement.
When AppsFlyer Zero fits
AppsFlyer separates its free Zero entry from its paid Growth offer. AppsFlyer’s current pricing page describes Zero as intended for apps seeking a simple tool for owned-media activity and labels it unsuitable for apps with paid activity. For a subscription app buying ads, that stated boundary rules Zero out as the main campaign-attribution plan, even if its free allowance looks large on paper.
The Zero page lists a Welcome Package with 12,000 free conversions for the first year, core marketing analytics, and 30 days of access to selected premium add-ons.
AppsFlyer’s Growth pricing details list a 12,000-conversion Welcome Package for the first year and $0.07 per conversion above 12,000; the page also labels Growth pricing as custom. A small team comparing Growth should therefore model the usage-based amount separately from the custom plan price. For example, if its first-year usage were 15,000 conversions, 3,000 above the allowance at the listed rate would add $210 in conversion charges before the custom plan price.
The Zero offer fits better when owned links and discovery-to-install activity are the job, and paid campaign attribution is not in the plan. An app that starts buying paid acquisition should compare an MMP offer whose terms explicitly cover paid activity.
When Kochava Free App Analytics fits
Kochava’s free tier is a real MMP option for teams with paid campaigns. Kochava’s Free App Analytics page says teams can measure and attribute conversions across paid and owned media after account approval, adding an app profile, integrating the software development kit (SDK), and updating the app in the relevant store. That gives a small app a no-cost path to campaign measurement with specific implementation steps.
Kochava publishes monthly free allowances of 10,000 attributed conversions and 500,000 app events. The allowance fits a team whose expected monthly activity remains within both numbers. An app with 1,500 paid campaign conversions and 200,000 app events has room under the published thresholds; an app with 11,000 conversions or 520,000 events is above at least one of them.
Kochava says its support team contacts the account holder about upgrade options when either free allowance is exceeded. Its pricing page describes several paid measurement and attribution tiers with monthly or annual prepayment options. A founder who values a no-cost start can use the free tier to validate an implementation, then discuss a paid tier when one of the monthly limits becomes a regular constraint.
Plan for an implementation and app-store release cycle before relying on Kochava campaign-to-trial results.
Kochava fits a team that needs paid and owned media attribution at a no-cost entry point, with monthly conversion and event volume within its published allowances. For subscription reporting, select a trial-start or paid-subscription event that directly represents the business decision.
When Tenjin fits a low-volume app
Tenjin’s pricing page lists an All-Inclusive Free plan at $0 per month, with 2,000 free conversions each month and $0.04 for each additional conversion. It describes the free plan as available for the customer’s lifetime with Tenjin, includes monthly post-payment, and states there is no annual contract. Its page defines a paid-campaign conversion as a mobile app install attributed by Tenjin to a paid user-acquisition campaign.
Tenjin defines a paid-campaign conversion as an app install it attributes to a paid user-acquisition campaign; Airbridge Core bills by app events, and Kochava publishes monthly limits for both attributed conversions and app events. Estimate attributed installs and app events separately because they count different activity.
Tenjin says its starter plan gives access to all Tenjin features, naming cost aggregation and ad revenue LTV, and includes up to 2,000 free monthly attributions. Its page’s feature comparison lists click- and impression-based attribution, a SKAdNetwork suite, cohort and retention reports, and ad-spend reporting across 1,000+ ad networks. Those tools can suit a small game publisher comparing paid user acquisition with ad-monetization value, where both campaign cost and ad revenue matter.
If a team expects 4,000 attributed installs in a month, the first 2,000 fall within the free allowance and the remaining 2,000 at the listed $0.04 rate produce an $80 conversion charge for that month.
Choose Tenjin when the free 2,000-conversion allowance matches the team’s monthly attributed installs and its published feature set matches the app’s monetization model. If paid campaigns grow past that allowance, the per-conversion charge gives a starting cost for overflow. If the business question depends on paid subscriptions rather than installs or ad revenue, make subscription outcomes the test event in the product review.
What Airbridge Core adds for subscription campaigns
Airbridge Core is a paid option for a team that needs campaign attribution alongside subscription revenue reporting. The Airbridge pricing page lists Core ad-network attribution for Google, Meta, Apple Ads, and TikTok, plus Revenue, Funnel, Retention, and Cohort reports and subscription-revenue aggregation. Core supports two third-party integrations, with RevenueCat, Adapty, and Superwall among the documented examples.
That combination gives a small subscription team a clear test: do the app’s paid channels fit the four supported sources, and can the team connect the subscription platform it already uses within the two-integration allowance? When both conditions fit, the team can review campaign cost and subscription events in a measurement workflow that speaks to revenue, rather than judging acquisition by attributed installs alone.
The Core Plan includes a 30-day free trial, then starts at $40+/mo, with 500,000 data points per month included and no annual contract. Each additional data point costs $0.0001. Airbridge defines one data point as one event the app sends, so the billable volume depends on the events the team sends, not only on its attributed installs.
Use a monthly event estimate before choosing the plan. Suppose an app sends 650,000 events in a month, and each sent event counts as one data point. The first 500,000 are included; the 150,000 extra data points at $0.0001 each add $15, making the example $55 at the $40 starting price for that month. Actual use depends on the events implemented and sent, so include the events needed for onboarding, paywall, trial, subscription, and retention reporting in the estimate.
A team allocating spend on another network should match that channel requirement to a plan that supports it before shifting its reporting into Core.
Its monthly billing terms also suit a small team that wants to start with the free trial and avoid an annual contract. The useful comparison is the expected event charge against the cost of decisions currently made from disconnected campaign and billing reports.
Choose by limits, channel scope, and the decision you need
A practical selection begins with a one-month measurement forecast. Write down paid campaign installs or conversions, total app events, the channels you buy, the subscription events you need, and the integrations required to connect those events. This prevents a free allowance expressed in installs from looking larger than an event allowance that measures a different activity.
| Option | Published entry terms | Campaign and outcome fit | Best fit for a small subscription team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product analytics | Depends on the analytics stack already in use | App events and funnels when events are instrumented; a campaign source must be connected for campaign-level conversion decisions | Improving onboarding, paywall flow, and retention when channel-level budget decisions are not required |
| AppsFlyer Zero | Welcome Package includes 12,000 conversions for the first year; Zero is marked unsuitable for apps with paid activity | Intended for owned-media activity; AppsFlyer lists Growth for paid campaign attribution | Owned-media measurement where the app is not buying paid campaigns |
| Kochava Free App Analytics | 10,000 attributed conversions and 500,000 app events per month | Kochava says it measures paid and owned media conversions; account approval, SDK integration, and store update are part of setup | A paid-ad app under both free usage limits that can implement the SDK and store release |
| Tenjin All-Inclusive Free | $0/mo, 2,000 conversions each month, then $0.04 per additional conversion | Paid-install attribution; pricing page lists cost aggregation, ad revenue LTV, cohort and retention reporting, and SKAdNetwork tools | Low-volume acquisition, especially when campaign cost and ad-monetization value are central |
| Airbridge Core | 30-day free trial, then $40+/mo; 500,000 data points per month, then $0.0001 per extra data point | Paid attribution for Google, Meta, Apple Ads, and TikTok, plus subscription-revenue aggregation and reports | Subscription campaigns on supported channels when event-based billing and two integrations fit |
Use these steps to make the selection:
- Adjust for planned changes. Model a launch, paywall revision, or ad-spend increase as a separate scenario from steady-state activity. Choose one reporting period that includes the change you expect to measure.
- Name the success event. Write down the exact trial or subscription event that will inform your next budget decision. Give one person ownership of confirming its definition in the app and report.
- Select a campaign to test. Choose a live campaign with spend and attributed installs visible in the reports your team can access. Record its reporting label and the date range used for the comparison.
- Budget the implementation. Include engineering time for event setup and any app release the measurement plan requires. Set a target date for the first complete reporting period after implementation. Keep subscription-event mapping in the same implementation plan. This gives the team a clear date for its first budget review.
- Validate before reallocating. Compare the campaign’s attributed installs with its trial or paid-subscription events over matching dates. Use the same event definition in the app and the campaign report.
- Resolve differences. Check event timing and campaign labels when the totals differ across reports. Investigate those differences before shifting spend.
Choose a report that connects a paid campaign to the trial, subscription, or revenue outcome that changes your next budget decision. Start with free product analytics for product questions, use a no-cost MMP plan when its paid attribution and limits fit, and compare Airbridge Core when subscription revenue and event-based monthly billing fit the operating model.
FAQ
Can free app analytics show which ad campaign produced a subscriber?
It can when campaign source is connected to the subscription event in the reporting workflow. App event counts by themselves show what happened in the product; campaign-level subscription attribution requires the source and subscription outcome to be joined in the report.
Is AppsFlyer Zero a fit for an app that runs paid ads?
No. AppsFlyer marks Zero as unsuitable for apps with paid activities, so a paid-ad app should compare a plan that explicitly covers paid campaign attribution.
What is the difference between Kochava’s and Tenjin’s free limits?
Kochava publishes 10,000 attributed conversions and 500,000 app events per month. Tenjin publishes 2,000 monthly conversions and $0.04 for each additional conversion, so the two plans meter different volumes and should be compared against the app’s own expected activity.
How can I estimate Airbridge Core usage?
Count the app events sent in a typical month. Core includes 500,000 monthly data points, defines one data point as one app event sent, and charges $0.0001 per additional data point after the included amount.
Can an MMP give iOS teams person-level campaign attribution?
Apple’s AdAttributionKit postbacks omit user- and device-specific data. The system reports campaign and conversion signals within privacy thresholds, so teams should use those results as aggregate attribution signals rather than individual user trails.
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