---
title: About
description: Learn about who we are and why we started OpenPanel. We're on a mission to make powerful analytics accessible to everyone - open-source, privacy-first, and affordable.
---

## Introduction

Hey there!

My name is [Carl-Gerhard Lindesvärd](https://x.com/CarlLindesvard). I'm the founder of OpenPanel. These days, knowing how your users interact with your product is more important than ever.

I've worked with different analytics tools for over 5 years, and I've seen it all - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I've mostly used Mixpanel along with tools like Google Analytics. Here's why I decided to start OpenPanel.

## The Problem

### Product analytics

Mixpanel is a solid analytics tool - it's easy to create reports and has tons of features. But I was only using a small part of it. I wanted a simple way to see my custom events, build funnels, and understand user retention.

The problem? I was paying $300/month for features I barely used. Their pricing model didn't make sense for startups and smaller teams who just need the essentials done well.

### Web analytics

I also needed a simple dashboard to see how my website was performing - page views, visitors, referrers. Mixpanel doesn't really do this well, so I ended up needing a separate tool. Managing multiple analytics tools is a headache.

### Privacy concerns

Google Analytics has faced GDPR bans across Europe. Mixpanel stores data on US servers by default. As someone based in the EU, I wanted a solution that takes privacy seriously from day one.

## The Solution

That's why I built OpenPanel - an open-source analytics platform that combines the power of Mixpanel with the simplicity of Plausible. It's a tool I actually use myself every day.

### What OpenPanel offers

- **Web + Product analytics** in one place - no need for multiple tools
- **Real-time dashboards** - see what's happening right now
- **Funnels & retention** - understand how users move through your product
- **User profiles & sessions** - see what individual users are doing
- **A/B testing** - built-in variant testing with detailed breakdowns
- **Revenue tracking** - monitor purchases and subscriptions
- **Smart notifications** - get alerts when important events happen
- **Custom dashboards** - build reports that make sense for your needs
- **Mobile-friendly** - check your stats from anywhere

### Privacy-first by design

- **Cookieless tracking** by default - no annoying consent banners needed
- **EU-only hosting** on our cloud, or self-host anywhere you want
- **GDPR and CCPA compliant** out of the box
- **You own your data** - export it anytime, or self-host for full control

### Built for developers

OpenPanel has SDKs for pretty much everything:

- Web (JavaScript, React, Next.js, Vue, Astro, Remix)
- Mobile (Swift, Kotlin, React Native)
- Backend (Python, Ruby, Rust, Express)

Plus a powerful API for custom integrations.

## Where We Are Today

What started as a side project in late 2023 has grown into something I'm really proud of:

- **1,000+ projects** using OpenPanel
- **5 billion+ events** tracked
- **5,000+ GitHub stars**
- **Trusted by companies** like Midday, ScreenZen, Tiptip, and many more

We run on a Kubernetes infrastructure with a Clickhouse cluster, processing millions of events every day.

## Open Source

OpenPanel is fully [open-source on GitHub](https://github.com/Openpanel-dev/openpanel). I believe software thrives when a community builds around it. You can self-host it for free, contribute to the codebase, or just peek under the hood to see how it works.

## A Great Alternative

OpenPanel is a solid alternative to [Mixpanel](/compare/mixpanel-alternative), [Google Analytics](/compare/google-analytics-alternative), [Plausible](/compare/plausible-alternative), and [PostHog](/compare/posthog-alternative). It gives you the features you actually need without the enterprise complexity or pricing.

Got questions? Want to know more? Feel free to [contact me](/contact) or join our [Discord community](https://go.openpanel.dev/discord).

## Company

OpenPanel (OpenPanel AB) is a company based in Stockholm, Sweden.

### Address

```
OpenPanel AB
Sankt Eriksgatan 100
113 31 Stockholm
Sweden
```