PostHog vs Google Analytics

Open-source analytics that doesn't spy on your users, but might make you question your own product decisions meets the free data black hole that marketers love and developers dread. Here's our take.

PostHog

Open-source analytics that doesn't spy on your users, but might make you question your own product decisions.

Pros

• Feature-rich
• Self-hostable
• Session replay
• Feature flags
• Self-hosted option keeps data in-house and avoids third-party cookie drama
• Feature flags and A/B testing built-in, so you can iterate without deploying new code
• Session recordings let you watch users struggle in real-time, which is both terrifying and enlightening

Cons

• Complex
• Resource-heavy
• Overkill for simple sites
• Self-hosting can turn into a DevOps nightmare if you're not prepared for the infrastructure
• The UI can feel cluttered when you're drowning in event data, making simple insights harder to find

Google Analytics

Nice Pick

The free data black hole that marketers love and developers dread.

Pros

• Free tier covers most small to medium sites
• Integrates seamlessly with Google Ads and other Google services
• Real-time reporting for quick insights
• Massive community and extensive documentation

Cons

• Privacy concerns and GDPR compliance headaches
• Steep learning curve for advanced features
• Data sampling can skew results on large datasets

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. PostHog is a hosting & deployment while Google Analytics is a devtools. We picked Google Analytics based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Google Analytics wins

Based on overall popularity. Google Analytics is more widely used, but PostHog excels in its own space.