EmitKit vs Operational

Overview

Both EmitKit and Operational help early-stage founders track key product events without drowning in analytics dashboards. Instead of checking graphs, you get notifications when users sign up, cancel, or hit critical moments.

EmitKit is an open-source (AGPL-3.0), self-hostable event streaming platform built with SvelteKit and ClickHouse. It’s designed for developers who want analytics-scale event storage, multi-tenant architecture, and deep customization. You can run it for free on your own servers or use the upcoming managed cloud.

Operational is an open-source (AGPL-3.0), self-hostable platform built with Vue and MySQL. It focuses on operational visibility for early-stage SaaS with a polished interface, action buttons for triggering webhooks directly from events, and event chaining/contexts. Self-hosting requires minimal dependencies (just Node.js and MySQL).

Both products are open source under the same license (AGPL-3.0) and can be self-hosted for free. The key differences are in the technical stack (ClickHouse vs MySQL), feature priorities (analytics vs operations), and infrastructure complexity (EmitKit requires PostgreSQL + ClickHouse; Operational requires just MySQL).

Feature Comparison

Pricing Comparison

EmitKit Pricing

Free Tier (Cloud)

• $0/month
• 5,000 events/month (recurring)
• 3 team members
• 30-day history
• All integrations

Pro Tier (Cloud)

• $19/month base
• 50,000 events included
• Unlimited team members
• 1-year history
• Priority support
• $0.0003 per extra event (flat overage rate)

Example Costs:

• 50,000 events = $19/month
• 100,000 events = $19 + (50k × $0.0003) = $34/month
• 500,000 events = $19 + (450k × $0.0003) = $154/month
• 1,000,000 events = $19 + (950k × $0.0003) = $304/month

Self-Hosted

• Free forever (AGPL-3.0 License)
• Unlimited events
• Unlimited team members
• Complete data ownership
• You pay only for server costs (PostgreSQL + ClickHouse via Tinybird)

Operational Pricing

Free Tier (Cloud)

• First 10,000 events free (one-time, not recurring)
• No credit card required

Usage-Based Pricing (Cloud)

• Pay monthly for events sent
• Billing on the 1st of each month
• Specific per-event pricing not publicly disclosed on pricing page
• (Previous pricing suggested volume tiers, but may have changed)

Self-Hosted

• Free forever (AGPL-3.0 License)
• Unlimited events
• Complete data ownership
• You pay only for server costs (MySQL)
• Simpler infrastructure than EmitKit

Key Pricing Insights

1. Self-Hosting Makes Both Free

Since both products are open source (AGPL-3.0), you can self-host either for free with unlimited events:

EmitKit Self-Hosted Costs:

• PostgreSQL database (e.g., $7/month on Railway)
• ClickHouse via Tinybird (free tier available, or self-host)
• Hosting (e.g., $5-20/month)
• Total: ~$12-50/month for unlimited events

Operational Self-Hosted Costs:

• MySQL 8.x database (e.g., $7/month on PlanetScale, or self-host)
• Node.js hosting (e.g., $5-20/month)
• Total: ~$12-30/month for unlimited events
• Advantage: Simpler infrastructure (just MySQL vs PostgreSQL + ClickHouse)

2. EmitKit Has Better Recurring Free Tier (Cloud)

• EmitKit: 5,000 events/month, every month, forever
• Operational: 10,000 events free (one-time only, not recurring)

For ongoing side projects or low-volume production apps, EmitKit’s recurring free tier is more valuable.

3. Both Use Usage-Based Pricing (Cloud)

Once you exceed free tiers, both charge based on event volume. EmitKit has transparent, publicly disclosed pricing ($0.0003/event overages). Operational’s per-event costs aren’t clearly published on their pricing page.

4. Cloud vs Self-Hosted Trade-offs

Choose EmitKit Cloud if:

• You want 5k events/month free (recurring)
• You want transparent, predictable pricing
• You’re in the 50k-100k events/month range

Choose Operational Cloud if:

• You want 10k events free (one-time)
• You’re comfortable with usage-based pricing (details may require signup)

Choose EmitKit Self-Hosted if:

• You need analytics-scale event storage (ClickHouse)
• You need multi-tenant architecture
• You need advanced features (funnels, user identity tracking)
• You’re comfortable running PostgreSQL + ClickHouse

Choose Operational Self-Hosted if:

• You want simpler infrastructure (just MySQL)
• You don’t need analytics-scale features
• You value easier setup and maintenance
• You need action buttons and event chaining

Where EmitKit Wins

1. Analytics-Scale Event Storage

EmitKit uses ClickHouse (via Tinybird) for event storage, which is designed for billions of rows. If you need to run complex analytical queries across millions of events, ClickHouse significantly outperforms MySQL.

2. Advanced Analytics Features

EmitKit includes funnel tracking, user identity tracking, user properties, and cohort analysis. It’s built for teams that want to combine operational notifications with product analytics.

3. Multi-Tenant Architecture

EmitKit’s organization → folder → channel → events hierarchy supports complex use cases. Build SaaS platforms with proper tenant isolation, organize channels into folders, and scale to multiple teams or products.

4. Recurring Free Tier (Cloud)

EmitKit’s free tier gives you 5,000 events per month, every month, forever. Operational’s free tier is 10,000 events one-time. For ongoing side projects, EmitKit’s recurring model is better.

5. Transparent Cloud Pricing

EmitKit’s pricing is fully disclosed: $19/month for 50k events, then $0.0003 per event overages. You can calculate costs at any volume instantly. Operational’s per-event pricing requires more research.

6. Folder Organization

EmitKit supports nested folder hierarchies to organize channels. This is useful for teams managing multiple products or complex organizational structures.

Where Operational Wins

1. Simpler Self-Hosting Infrastructure

Operational only requires MySQL 8.x and Node.js. EmitKit requires PostgreSQL + ClickHouse (via Tinybird or self-hosted). If you’re self-hosting, Operational is significantly easier to set up and maintain.

2. Action Buttons

Operational’s action buttons let you trigger webhooks directly from the event UI. Need to refund a customer or send a Slack message? Click a button. EmitKit requires you to build this yourself.

3. Event Chaining & Contexts

Operational groups related events together (e.g., all events from a single checkout flow). This makes it easier to understand user journeys without manually correlating events.

4. Lightweight Dependencies

Operational has “very few 3rd party dependencies” according to their README. EmitKit’s ClickHouse backend adds complexity. If you want minimal dependencies, Operational is the better choice.

5. Lower Self-Hosting Costs

Because Operational only requires MySQL (not PostgreSQL + ClickHouse), the infrastructure costs for self-hosting are lower (approximately $12-30/month vs $12-50/month for EmitKit).

6. Polished Operational UX

Operational’s interface is specifically designed for operational visibility with built-in patterns for common use cases (waitlists, onboarding, payment monitoring). You don’t have to design these workflows yourself.

7. Video Guides for Self-Hosting

Operational provides video guides for self-hosting on various platforms (Render.com, Docker, etc.), making the setup process more accessible for teams without deep DevOps experience.

Key Differences

Philosophy

• EmitKit: Analytics-first, multi-tenant, ClickHouse-powered platform for scale
• Operational: Operations-first, simple MySQL stack, purpose-built for early-stage SaaS patterns

Technical Stack

• EmitKit: SvelteKit + PostgreSQL + ClickHouse (Tinybird)
• Operational: Vue 3 + MySQL 8.x (optional ClickHouse for analytics)

Infrastructure Complexity

• EmitKit: More complex (PostgreSQL + ClickHouse), harder to self-host, more powerful
• Operational: Simpler (just MySQL), easier to self-host, fewer dependencies

Target Use Case

• EmitKit: Teams that need operational notifications + product analytics in one platform
• Operational: Teams that need operational notifications with simpler infrastructure

Self-Hosting Trade-off

• EmitKit: More infrastructure overhead, but you get analytics-scale storage and advanced features
• Operational: Simpler infrastructure, but limited to operational use cases (unless you add optional ClickHouse)

Who Should Choose EmitKit

Choose EmitKit if you:

• Need analytics-scale event storage and plan to run complex queries across millions of events
• Want product analytics + operational notifications in a single platform (funnels, cohorts, user tracking)
• Have complex multi-tenancy needs (e.g., building a SaaS platform with multiple orgs)
• Want a recurring free tier (5k events/month forever) for ongoing side projects
• Are comfortable with ClickHouse or willing to use Tinybird’s managed ClickHouse
• Value folder organization for managing many channels across teams/products
• Prefer transparent pricing with flat overage rates
• Are building a data-intensive product that will eventually need serious analytics

EmitKit is for teams that want to combine operational visibility with product analytics, and are willing to handle more infrastructure complexity to get ClickHouse’s scale and query performance.

Who Should Choose Operational

Choose Operational if you:

• Want the simplest possible self-hosting setup (just MySQL, no ClickHouse)
• Don’t need advanced analytics and are focused purely on operational visibility
• Value action buttons to trigger workflows directly from the event UI
• Like event chaining to understand multi-step user journeys
• Prefer video guides for self-hosting and setup
• Want minimal dependencies and a lightweight stack
• Are early-stage and want to validate ideas before investing in complex infrastructure
• Have limited DevOps resources and want easier maintenance
• Don’t need multi-tenant architecture or complex organizational hierarchies

Operational is for teams that want operational notifications with the simplest possible infrastructure, and don’t need the analytics-scale features that come with ClickHouse.

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The Honest Take

Both EmitKit and Operational are open-source (AGPL-3.0), self-hostable event platforms. Neither is proprietary. The meaningful differences are in technical stack, feature priorities, and infrastructure complexity.

Pick EmitKit if you need analytics-scale event storage (ClickHouse), advanced product analytics (funnels, cohorts, user tracking), and multi-tenant architecture. You’ll handle more infrastructure complexity (PostgreSQL + ClickHouse), but you get a platform that scales to billions of events with powerful analytical queries. The recurring free tier (5k events/month forever) is perfect for ongoing side projects.

Pick Operational if you want the simplest possible self-hosting setup (just MySQL), action buttons for triggering workflows, and event chaining for understanding user journeys. You trade analytics-scale features for significantly simpler infrastructure. The one-time free tier (10k events) is generous for initial validation.

The self-hosting reality: Both are free to self-host with unlimited events. Operational has lower infrastructure costs ($12-30/month) and is easier to set up (just MySQL). EmitKit has higher infrastructure costs ($12-50/month) and requires PostgreSQL + ClickHouse, but you get analytics-scale storage and advanced features.

The cloud reality: EmitKit has a recurring free tier (5k events/month forever) and transparent pricing ($0.0003/event overages). Operational has a one-time free tier (10k events) and usage-based pricing (details require more research).

If you’re a technical team building a data-intensive SaaS product and want operational notifications + product analytics in one platform, EmitKit’s ClickHouse backend justifies the extra infrastructure complexity. If you’re an early-stage team focused purely on operational visibility and want the simplest possible setup, Operational’s MySQL-only stack is the pragmatic choice.

Both are great open-source tools. The choice comes down to whether you need analytics-scale features (EmitKit) or prefer simpler infrastructure (Operational).