GraphJSON vs Amplitude

Picking an analytics tool is a commitment - once your events flow into one platform, switching is painful. In this post we compare GraphJSON and Amplitude, two analytics tools with very different philosophies, so you can decide which one fits your team. (We've also compared Mixpanel and Google Analytics if you're evaluating those too.)

Introduction to GraphJSON#

GraphJSON is an independently built analytics product for developers who want to log JSON events and turn them into graphs with minimal ceremony. It stores events in ClickHouse and layers a point-and-click visualizer, SQL notebooks, dashboards, alerts, and embeds on top.

Introduction to Amplitude#

Amplitude is one of the biggest names in product analytics. It offers a mature suite for tracking user behavior - funnels, retention, journeys, experimentation - and is widely adopted by product teams at larger companies.

GraphJSON vs Amplitude: Key Differences#

1. Data Storage and Flexibility GraphJSON stores your data as JSON in a ClickHouse table. There's no schema to define up front, no tracking plan to negotiate - log whatever payload makes sense today and add fields tomorrow. Typeahead suggestions surface your field names and values as you explore.

   Amplitude is built around a structured event taxonomy. That governance is valuable to large organizations, but it means instrumentation decisions up front, and changing your data model later takes real effort.

2. Custom Querying and Data Analysis GraphJSON gives you full ClickHouse SQL notebooks. Joins, window functions, arbitrary aggregations - if you can express it in SQL, you can graph it, all without exporting your data anywhere.

   Amplitude's analysis happens through its built-in reports. They're polished, but when you hit the edge of what the UI supports, there's no escape hatch to raw SQL.

3. Visualization and Embedding GraphJSON supports a wide range of visualizations plus dashboards, alerts, and iframe embeds. The dynamic Embed API lets you change filters per request, so you can build personalized per-user dashboards or public /open metrics pages with the same graphs.

   Amplitude dashboards are primarily designed for internal consumption by your team, not for embedding into your own product.

4. Integration and Compatibility GraphJSON has one-click integrations with Vercel, Segment, and Stripe, and since logging is a single JSON POST, any language or platform that can send an HTTP request works - no SDK required.

   Amplitude maintains an impressive catalog of SDKs and integrations, though wiring them in correctly is typically a bigger project than a single POST endpoint.

5. Pricing and Support GraphJSON's pricing is on our pricing page: free up to 5,000 stored events, then $12 per million stored events per month. Check that page for current metering details. No credit card or sales call is required to start.

   Amplitude has a free starter tier, but costs scale with monthly tracked users and larger plans go through their sales team - which can get expensive quickly as your product grows.

Where Amplitude Shines#

To be fair: if you're a large organization that needs a governed event taxonomy, built-in experimentation, and a decade of enterprise feature development, Amplitude is the mature choice. Teams with dedicated data analysts will feel at home in its report suite.

How to choose#

Choose Amplitude when a broad product organization needs a mature suite for behavioral analytics, experimentation, governance, and collaboration. Choose GraphJSON when developers want a smaller surface, arbitrary JSON events, direct ClickHouse SQL, transparent stored-event pricing, or customer-facing embeds.

Test the tools with the same event set and the five questions your team asks most often. The right choice is the one that reaches a trustworthy answer with the least ongoing ceremony.