Simple events tracking
Track clicks, views, and conversions with a simple API. No cookies, no bloat - just the events you need to understand how users behave.
- Track any user action
- Custom properties
- Real-time ingestion
- One API for all reports
What is event tracking?
Event tracking is the foundation of product analytics. Instead of relying on page-view counts or session timers, you capture discrete actions-clicks, page views, signups, purchases-as structured events with properties.
Every meaningful interaction becomes a data point you can query, filter, and visualize. This is how modern product teams answer questions like:
- How many users completed onboarding this week?
- Which features do paying customers use most?
- Where in the signup flow do users drop off?
Traditional analytics tools (like Google Analytics) are built around sessions and page views. That works for marketing, but it falls short when you need to understand product behavior: what users do inside your app, how they progress through flows, and what correlates with retention.
OpenPanel takes a different approach. You send events from your app or website using a lightweight SDK or API. Each event has a name (e.g. signup_completed, feature_used) and optional properties (e.g. plan: pro, source: google). OpenPanel stores these events and lets you build funnels, retention charts, and user profiles on top of them-without the complexity of enterprise analytics tools.
Because OpenPanel is privacy-first, you can run it without cookies and without sending personal data to third parties. Self-host it or use our cloud-your data stays yours.
What you can track
From basic page views to custom conversion events, you get full visibility into user actions.
Page views and screen views
Track which pages or screens users visit, with automatic properties like URL, referrer, and device.
Clicks and interactions
Capture button clicks, form submissions, and any custom interactions with a single line of code.
Custom events and conversions
Define your own events (e.g. signup, purchase, feature_used) and attach properties for filtering and analysis.
User and session context
Events are tied to anonymous or identified users and sessions, so you can analyze behavior over time.
Real-time ingestion
Events appear in your dashboard within seconds. No batching delays or overnight processing.
Funnels, retention, and profiles
Use the same events to build conversion funnels, retention cohorts, and per-user activity timelines.
How event tracking works
Three steps to go from zero to full product visibility.
Install the SDK or use the API
Add our lightweight script to your site or use our SDK for React, Next.js, or other frameworks. Self-hosted or cloud-your choice.
Send events from your product
Track page views automatically and call our API for custom events (signup, purchase, feature_used) with optional properties.
Analyze in dashboards, funnels, and retention
Events flow into funnels, retention charts, and user profiles. No extra setup-one tracking layer powers everything.
Who uses event tracking
Product and growth teams use events to answer concrete questions.
Product managers
Understand which features are used, where users drop off, and how behavior differs between segments.
Growth and marketing
Measure conversion from signup to activation and from visit to purchase. Optimize campaigns based on real events.
Support and success
View a user's event timeline before a call or ticket. No need to ask "what did you click?"-you can see it.
Related features
Explore more capabilities that work together with this feature.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about event tracking with OpenPanel.
Ready to get started?
Track events in minutes. Free 30-day trial, no credit card required.
Track events in minutes