How AppGlance compares
Two tools come up in almost every conversation about app analytics: Firebase, because it is free and everywhere, and TelemetryDeck, because it is the other privacy-first option built by Apple developers. We wrote a fair page about each, including the parts where they beat us.
Pick Firebase for depth, SQL and a free tier at any volume. Pick TelemetryDeck for the strictest identity guarantee and a flexible query builder. Pick AppGlance if you want to see who is in your app right now, get a push when someone buys, and have your store privacy answers written for you.
Pick by what you actually want
"I want to slice the data myself"
You will write SQL, you want years of history, and you have the patience for a big console.
Firebase"I never want to be able to identify anyone"
You want the guarantee built into the architecture, so that nobody on your team can undo it.
TelemetryDeck"I just want to see what is happening"
Who is in the app now, who installed today, who bought, and a buzz on your phone when it happens.
← AppGlanceThe full comparisons
AppGlance vs Firebase Analytics →
- How long you wait before a number appears.
- What "free" actually costs you.
- Where your data ends up, drawn out step by step.
- The five cases where you should keep Firebase.
AppGlance vs TelemetryDeck →
- The one real disagreement: what counts as a "user".
- Both identity models drawn side by side.
- The six things neither of us will argue about.
- Where TelemetryDeck is the better pick.
The short table
| AppGlance | Firebase | TelemetryDeck | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live "right now" | Yes, per app, every few seconds | Roughly the last half hour | Not the focus |
| Push when someone buys | Yes | No | Digest summaries |
| Ask your own questions | Fixed panels | SQL via BigQuery | Insight builder |
| Store privacy answers | Generated | Guidance you map yourself | Documented guidance |
| Can you ever see who a user is | Only if you switch it on | Depends how you use it | Never, by design |
| Who owns it | An indie studio in Norway | An indie company in Germany | |
| Price | Free to 100k events a month, then $4.99 | Free | Free tier, then volume plans |
Checked August 2026. We make AppGlance, so read the "us" column accordingly and verify anything decision-critical on the other vendors' own sites.
Or skip the reading and look at it
The demo is the real dashboard on sample data from three apps. No account, nothing to install.
Related: what privacy-first analytics actually means and the free App Store privacy label tool.