Freshpaint
Autotrack events without engineering, with healthcare-grade privacy controls
Freshpaint is a customer data platform that automatically captures every user interaction on a website or app without requiring engineers to instrument events in advance, then lets teams define and rename events retroactively and route them to analytics, marketing, and advertising destinations. It has since specialized heavily in healthcare privacy, offering HIPAA-compliant tracking that strips protected health information before data reaches third-party tools.
Overview
Freshpaint began with the same complaint that produced autocapture session replay: tracking requires engineering, engineering is a queue, and by the time an event is instrumented the question that needed it has passed. Its answer was to autotrack everything, clicks, form interactions, page views, and let non-technical users define named events afterwards by pointing at elements, with historical data applied retroactively.
That capability sits on a standard CDP routing layer: events go to analytics tools, marketing platforms, ad networks, and warehouses through configured destinations, with a Segment-compatible API for teams that also want explicit instrumentation. The result is a CDP that a marketing team can operate without waiting on developers, which remains its core commercial appeal outside healthcare.
The company's second act reshaped its positioning. Regulatory enforcement and litigation over tracking pixels on healthcare websites made a specific problem urgent: analytics and advertising tools were receiving data that constituted protected health information, and hospitals had no reliable way to prevent it. Freshpaint built controls that intercept and strip identifiers before data leaves for third parties, signed business associate agreements, and became a standard answer for healthcare marketing teams. Buyers outside healthcare get the same product with less of the compliance apparatus mattering to them.
Best for
Healthcare organizations that must run digital marketing without leaking protected health information to analytics and ad platforms, and marketing teams anywhere that want event tracking without an engineering dependency.
Not the right fit for
- Teams with mature engineering practice and a governed tracking plan, who may prefer explicit instrumentation over autotracking.
- Warehouse-first architectures where reverse ETL from modelled data is the better activation pattern.
- Buyers seeking the cheapest possible event pipeline, since specialization commands a price.
- Organizations wanting deep product analytics in the same tool; Freshpaint routes data rather than analyzing it.
- Very small businesses with a couple of destinations and no compliance exposure.
How it works
- 1
A single snippet or SDK installs on the site or app. From that point every interaction is captured automatically, without a tracking plan or engineering tickets, and stored as raw interaction data.
- 2
Named events are defined in a visual interface by selecting elements or matching conditions. Because raw interactions were already captured, a newly defined event is populated with historical data rather than starting from the moment it was created.
- 3
Destinations are configured to receive events, with per-destination filtering that controls exactly which events and properties each tool gets. This is where the privacy layer operates: rules strip or block identifiers so a marketing pixel receives a conversion signal without receiving who converted.
- 4
For healthcare deployments, the platform inspects data flows for potential protected health information, blocks non-compliant transmissions, and provides audit reporting on what was sent where, alongside a business associate agreement that most analytics vendors will not sign.
Feature breakdown
20 features in 4 modulesAutotrack and event definition
Tracking without the engineering queue.- Automatic interaction capture
- Clicks, form interactions, and page views recorded without predefined events or developer involvement.
- Retroactive event definition
- Name an event today and it populates with historical interactions, so analysis is never blocked on missing instrumentation.
- Visual event builder
- Point at elements on your own site to define events, with matching rules for dynamic pages.
- Segment-compatible API
- Explicit track and identify calls supported alongside autotracking for teams that want both approaches.
- Event management
- Rename, merge, and deprecate events centrally without touching application code or redeploying.
Routing and destinations
Standard CDP fan-out with per-destination control.- Destination catalogue
- Analytics, advertising, marketing automation, support, and warehouse destinations configured without code.
- Per-destination filtering
- Choose exactly which events and properties each tool receives, which is the mechanism behind the privacy controls.
- Server-side delivery
- Events forwarded from Freshpaint's servers rather than loading each vendor's script in the browser.
- Warehouse sync
- Structured event data written to cloud warehouses for analysis alongside other business data.
- Historical replay
- Send stored events into a newly connected destination so a new tool begins with context.
Healthcare privacy
The specialization that defines the company today.- PHI detection and blocking
- Automated inspection of outbound data flows to identify and prevent transmission of protected health information.
- Business associate agreements
- Signed BAAs covering the data platform, which most analytics and advertising vendors decline to provide.
- Compliant conversion tracking
- Ad platforms receive conversion signals without the identifying data that would make them a HIPAA problem.
- Audit reporting
- Records of what data went to which destination, which is what a compliance review actually asks for.
- Consent integration
- Collection and forwarding gated on consent management platform signals.
Platform
Governance and operations.- Data governance controls
- Rules over which properties may be collected and forwarded, applied centrally rather than per tool.
- Identity handling
- Anonymous and known user activity linked where permitted, with controls appropriate to regulated contexts.
- Access control
- Role-based permissions over event definitions and destination configuration.
- Monitoring and alerting
- Notifications when data flows change or a compliance rule triggers, so problems surface before an audit finds them.
- Implementation support
- Structured onboarding, which in healthcare deployments typically includes reviewing every existing pixel on the site.
Use cases
4 documentedHospital marketing director after a pixel audit
Legal has demanded the removal of every advertising pixel from patient-facing pages, ending the ability to measure campaigns.
Conversion signals reach ad platforms with identifying data stripped before transmission, under a signed business associate agreement, and measurement resumes without the compliance exposure.
Growth marketer with no engineering support
Every new event needs a developer ticket, and the analytics backlog is measured in months.
Autotracking means the data already exists; events are defined visually and populated with history, removing the dependency entirely.
Healthcare provider network measuring appointment bookings
Needs to know which campaigns produce appointments without any patient-identifiable data reaching third parties.
Aggregate conversion events flow to ad platforms while identifiers are blocked at the boundary, with audit records available for compliance review.
Marketing team reducing browser script load
A dozen vendor tags slow the site and complicate consent handling.
Destinations move to server-side delivery from one collection layer, cutting client-side scripts and centralizing consent enforcement.
Pricing
from Quoted; commercial plans typically start in the hundreds of dollars per month with healthcare deployments priced higherQuoted subscription based on volume, destinations, and compliance requirements. Healthcare deployments including business associate agreements and PHI controls are priced above general commercial use.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial | Quoted monthly or annual |
|
| Healthcare | Quoted annual |
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| Enterprise | Quoted annual |
|
Billing notes
- There is no self-serve free tier; evaluation runs through a sales conversation, which is typical for compliance-oriented vendors.
- Healthcare pricing reflects the legal risk being absorbed, not just the software, so comparisons against general CDPs are not like for like.
- Volume metering follows events and monthly users depending on the agreement; confirm which meter applies before signing.
- Implementation support is usually included in healthcare deployments and is genuinely necessary given the pixel audit involved.
- Prices as of August 2026 are quoted rather than published; budget from a scoped conversation rather than a list price.
Value assessment: In healthcare the value calculation is unusual: the alternative to Freshpaint is often not another CDP but turning off measurement entirely, or accepting regulatory exposure that has already produced substantial settlements elsewhere in the sector. Against that, the price is easy to justify. Outside healthcare it is a competent autotracking CDP whose main draw is removing the engineering dependency, competing against cheaper and more established general-purpose platforms where the specialization adds no value.
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
- Autotracking removes the engineering bottleneck that blocks most analytics work.
- Retroactive event definition means historical data is available for questions asked later.
- The clearest answer available for healthcare marketers who must measure without leaking protected health information.
- Willingness to sign business associate agreements, which most analytics and ad vendors refuse.
- Per-destination filtering gives fine control over exactly what each tool receives.
- Server-side delivery reduces client-side script load and centralizes consent enforcement.
Limitations
- No published pricing or self-serve entry, so evaluation requires a sales process.
- Autotracking can produce noisy data without governance discipline, since capturing everything is not the same as defining anything.
- Narrower destination catalogue than the largest general-purpose CDPs.
- Analysis happens elsewhere; the product routes and governs rather than reporting.
- The healthcare specialization means roadmap priorities follow that market's needs.
- Outside regulated industries the differentiation is thinner against cheaper established alternatives.
Head-to-head comparisons
3 alternativesFreshpaint vs Segment
from Free for up to around 1,000 monthly tracked users; Team plans from roughly $120 per monthSegment has the larger destination catalogue, the industry-standard API, and stronger governance tooling, and it is the default choice for general commercial use. Freshpaint wins decisively in healthcare, where it will sign a business associate agreement and actively block protected health information from reaching third parties, which Segment does not position itself to do. Outside that context, Segment is usually the safer general-purpose pick.
Full Freshpaint vs Segment comparisonFreshpaint vs RudderStack
from $0 (Free, 250,000 events per month), then $265 per month (Growth, 1 million events)RudderStack is the cost-efficient, warehouse-first alternative for teams with engineering capacity, offering Segment-compatible collection and self-hosting options. Freshpaint targets the opposite buyer: marketing teams without engineering support who want autotracking, and regulated organizations who need compliance controls at the data boundary. The two rarely compete on the same shortlist.
Full Freshpaint vs RudderStack comparisonFreshpaint vs Stape
from Free for low request volumes; paid plans from roughly $20 per monthBoth address the problem of data leaving the browser for third parties, from different angles. Stape hosts server-side Google Tag Manager, giving control over tag execution and payloads at a low price. Freshpaint provides a full CDP with automated protected health information detection and contractual coverage. Technical teams comfortable with server-side GTM often prefer Stape's economics; regulated organizations needing a signed agreement and audit trail need Freshpaint.
Full Freshpaint vs Stape comparisonImplementation & onboarding
- Setup time
- Basic installation is quick, but healthcare deployments include an audit of every existing pixel and data flow, which typically takes several weeks and is the substantive part of the work.
- Learning curve
- Low for defining events, higher for governance. Teams must decide which properties may leave the platform, and in regulated contexts that decision belongs to compliance rather than marketing.
- Onboarding
- Guided implementation is standard given the compliance orientation, and includes reviewing existing tracking rather than only installing the new layer.
- Migration notes
- Because the platform supports Segment-compatible calls, existing explicit instrumentation can often be pointed at Freshpaint with minimal change. Autotracked history does not transfer from other vendors, and pixel removal work should be sequenced carefully to avoid losing measurement continuity mid-campaign.
Platform, API & security
- Platforms
- Web (JavaScript)Mobile SDKsServer-side librariesGoogle Tag Manager
- API
- Segment-compatible tracking API alongside autotracking, plus configuration and export APIs and warehouse connectors.
- Compliance
- HIPAA (with BAA)GDPRCCPASOC 2 Type II
- Data residency
- US processing with regional options depending on agreement.
- SSO
- Available on enterprise plans.
- Security notes
- The core security proposition is outbound control: inspecting and filtering what leaves for third parties, with audit records of every transmission, which is a different posture from CDPs focused on ingestion.
Support & resources
- Channels
- Email and ticket supportDedicated success managementImplementation consulting
- Documentation
- Product documentation supplemented by a substantial body of healthcare privacy guidance that has become a reference for the sector.
- Community
- Concentrated in healthcare marketing and compliance circles rather than the general growth engineering community.
Company
- Founded
- 2018
- Headquarters
- Denver, Colorado, United States
- Ownership
- Private, venture-backed
- Employees
- ~100 (est. 2026)
- Funding
- Raised venture funding across seed and growth rounds.
Timeline
- 2018Founded around autotracking, capturing events without engineering instrumentation.
- 2021Establishes itself as a marketer-operable CDP with retroactive event definition.
- 2023Regulatory scrutiny of healthcare tracking pixels drives a decisive pivot toward HIPAA-compliant marketing data.
- 2024Adds PHI detection, blocking, and audit reporting with business associate agreements as a core offering.
- 2026Established as the default answer for healthcare organizations needing compliant digital measurement.
Integrations
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads
- Meta Ads
- Snowflake
- BigQuery
- HubSpot
- Salesforce
- Mixpanel
- Amplitude
- Google Tag Manager
Frequently asked questions
10 questionsWhat is Freshpaint?
Freshpaint is a customer data platform that automatically captures user interactions without engineering instrumentation, lets teams define events retroactively, and routes data to analytics, marketing, and advertising destinations. It specializes in healthcare privacy, blocking protected health information from reaching third-party tools.
Why do healthcare organizations need a special CDP?
Because standard analytics and advertising pixels transmit data that can constitute protected health information, and regulators and courts have treated that as a HIPAA problem. Most analytics and ad vendors will not sign a business associate agreement, which leaves healthcare marketers choosing between measurement and compliance. Freshpaint exists to remove that choice.
What is autotracking?
Capturing all user interactions automatically rather than instrumenting each event in code. The practical benefit is that events can be defined later and applied to data already collected, so an analytics question does not have to wait for an engineering release cycle before it can be answered.
How much does Freshpaint cost?
Pricing is quoted rather than published, based on volume, destinations, and whether healthcare compliance controls are required. There is no free tier, and healthcare deployments cost more than general commercial use because the vendor is taking on contractual risk alongside providing software.
Does Freshpaint sign a business associate agreement?
Yes, which is central to its healthcare positioning. Under HIPAA, a vendor handling protected health information on a covered entity's behalf must have a BAA in place, and the refusal of major analytics and advertising platforms to sign one is precisely what makes healthcare measurement difficult.
Freshpaint vs Segment: which should I choose?
For general commercial use, Segment has more destinations, the standard API, and stronger governance, and is usually the better choice. For healthcare, Freshpaint is the practical answer because it will sign a BAA and actively strips identifying data before it reaches third parties, capabilities Segment does not offer in that form.
Can I still run Google Ads and Meta Ads on a healthcare website?
With appropriate controls, yes. The requirement is that the ad platform receives a conversion signal without data that identifies an individual in a health context. Freshpaint's filtering enforces that at the boundary and records what was sent, which is what a compliance review will ask to see.
Do I need engineers to implement Freshpaint?
Only for the initial snippet or SDK install. After that, event definition and destination configuration are done in the interface without code, which is the main appeal for marketing teams. In healthcare deployments the more substantial work is auditing existing pixels, which involves compliance more than engineering.
Does autotracking create data quality problems?
It can. Capturing everything is not the same as defining anything, and without governance the result is a large pool of undocumented interactions. The counterweight is that data you did not think to collect is still there when a question arises, which explicit instrumentation cannot offer at any price.
Does Freshpaint analyze data or just move it?
It collects, governs, and routes. Analysis happens in the destinations you connect, such as Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, or your warehouse. Evaluate it as infrastructure, and judge the reporting experience by whichever analytics tool you point it at.
Editorial verdict
Freshpaint has done something unusual for a customer data platform: found a market where the alternative is not a competing vendor but switching measurement off entirely. Healthcare marketers facing regulatory exposure over tracking pixels have very few credible options, and a CDP that inspects outbound flows, blocks protected health information, signs a business associate agreement, and produces an audit trail is worth considerably more than its feature list suggests. Outside that context it is a solid autotracking CDP whose main virtue is independence from the engineering queue, competing against cheaper and broader general-purpose platforms. Buy it for the compliance problem it was rebuilt to solve, and compare it on ordinary CDP terms only if you do not have that problem.
Written by the SaaSTracker editorial team. Awards, when shown, are judged against the published criteria in our methodology.