# Glitchless vs GameAnalytics: game observability versus free-to-play analytics

> Glitchless (glitchless.gg) and GameAnalytics compared for game developers: engines, frame times and stutter causes, crashes, funnels, retention, monetisation, bug reports, MCP for coding agents, data retention and pricing, checked October 2026.

Website: https://www.glitchless.gg/glitchless-vs-gameanalytics.html · The Glitchless team, October 23, 2026 · Checked against GameAnalytics' pricing, docs and GitHub on October 23, 2026

GameAnalytics is a hosted analytics service built mainly for mobile free-to-play: progression, design and business events, funnels, cohorts, retention, A/B tests and remote config, free with no cap on players, and SDKs for most engines.

It doesn't name what causes a stutter, its FPS data needs the Pro plan, and its MCP server needs the PipelineIQ plan. Detailed data is kept for one to three months.

Glitchless records every frame and each hitch's likely cause, crashes with the events before them, death heatmaps and bug reports with screenshots, and gives your coding agent all of it over MCP on every plan. For an ad- and purchase-driven mobile game, GameAnalytics plus Glitchless covers both sides.

## Side by side

| | Glitchless | GameAnalytics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Engines** | | |
| Unreal Engine | 5.7 and 5.8 plugin | SDK v6+, from Fab or GitHub |
| Unity | 6.3 LTS and later | Yes |
| Godot | 4.5 and later | GDExtension, 4.5 and later |
| Web games (Three.js, Phaser, Babylon.js, PlayCanvas) | Yes | HTML5 JavaScript SDK |
| GameMaker | 2024.2 and later | Yes |
| **Performance and crashes** | | |
| Frame times from players' devices | Every frame, merged across players | FPS each second on the Pro plan; Unity on iOS and Android only |
| Each stutter's likely cause | Shader and PSO compiles, GC, loads, streaming | An event when FPS drops below 10 (Unity) |
| Errors and crashes | With callstacks and the events before | Error events with stack traces; capped per launch in Unity |
| Native crash dumps and symbol upload | No | No |
| **Players** | | |
| Custom events and funnels | Yes | Design events and funnels |
| Retention (D1, D7, D30) | With install mode | Yes |
| Revenue and purchases | Yes | Purchases, virtual currency and ads |
| Level death heatmaps | Yes | Not listed |
| In-game bug reports with a screenshot | Yes | No |
| A/B tests and remote config | No | Yes |
| How long detail is kept | 14 days on Free, 90 on Indie, 400 on Studio | Full detail 1 month, events 3 months, then totals |
| **Agents** | | |
| MCP server for coding agents | 16 tools | Official server, needs PipelineIQ (from $499 a month) |
| Autoplay runs that check a fix | Web games; any build can measure itself | No |
| **Running it** | | |
| Open source | MIT | SDKs MIT; the service is closed |
| Self-host | Docker or Node, no other services | No |
| Free hosted tier | 5,000 play sessions a month, 14 days of data | Free, no cap on players |
| Paid hosted plans from | $19 a month | Pro from $49 a month |

## Which one should you choose?

### Choose GameAnalytics if

- Your game is a mobile free-to-play game built around ads and in-app purchases, and you want its standard KPIs.
- You want A/B tests and remote config without another service.
- Your engine is one Glitchless doesn't cover, such as Roblox, Construct or Defold.
- You need free analytics at very large player counts.

### Choose Glitchless if

- You want to know why the game stutters: every frame timed, with each hitch's likely cause, on any plan.
- You need crashes and errors grouped into issues, with the events before each one.
- You want death heatmaps and bug reports with screenshots from inside the game.
- Your coding agent does the fixing: the MCP server is on every plan, including Free.
- You want to keep detailed data longer than a month, or self-host it.

### Using both

Keep GameAnalytics for monetisation and retention KPIs, and add Glitchless for performance, crashes, heatmaps and bug reports. Purchases can go to both: in Glitchless they're one `track('purchase', …)` call.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is GameAnalytics free?

Yes, with no cap on players. The Pro plan, from $49 a month, adds health metrics such as FPS, and raw data export and the Metrics API (which its MCP server needs) come with PipelineIQ, from $499 a month.

### Can GameAnalytics show what causes a stutter?

No. On Pro it reports FPS each second, and its Unity SDK records an event when FPS drops below 10. Glitchless times every frame and names each hitch's likely cause: a shader or pipeline compile, garbage collection, a load or a streamed level.

### How long does each keep data?

GameAnalytics keeps full detail for a month and design and progression events for three, then totals. Glitchless keeps everything for 14 days on Free, 90 on Indie and 400 on Studio, and as long as you like when you self-host.

### Which works with coding agents?

Both have MCP servers. GameAnalytics' needs a Metrics API key from its PipelineIQ plan. Glitchless's works on every plan, including Free and self-hosted.

## Sources

- [GameAnalytics pricing](https://gameanalytics.com/pricing)
- [GameAnalytics SDKs (docs)](https://docs.gameanalytics.com/event-tracking-and-integrations/sdks-and-collection-api/sdks-overview)
- [GameAnalytics Unreal SDK (docs)](https://docs.gameanalytics.com/event-tracking-and-integrations/sdks-and-collection-api/game-engine-sdks/unreal)
- [GameAnalytics Godot SDK (docs)](https://docs.gameanalytics.com/event-tracking-and-integrations/sdks-and-collection-api/game-engine-sdks/godot)
- [GameAnalytics error events (docs)](https://docs.gameanalytics.com/events-metrics-and-filtering/event-types/error-events)
- [GameAnalytics health metrics (docs)](https://docs.gameanalytics.com/products-and-features/analytics-iq/health)
- [GameAnalytics data retention (docs)](https://docs.gameanalytics.com/event-tracking-and-integrations/data-retention-and-limits/data-retention-practices)
- [GameAnalytics MCP server](https://github.com/GameAnalytics/GA-MCP)