PostHog vs Heap

Open-source analytics that doesn't spy on your users, but might make you question your own product decisions meets automatic analytics that captures everything, so you can stop guessing what users actually do. Here's our take.

PostHog

Nice Pick

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

Heap

Automatic analytics that captures everything, so you can stop guessing what users actually do.

Pros

• Auto-captures all user events without manual instrumentation
• Retroactive analysis lets you query past data without pre-defining events
• Intuitive visual interface for non-technical team members
• Session replay and heatmaps integrated with analytics

Cons

• Can become expensive quickly as data volume grows
• Data sampling on free and lower-tier plans limits accuracy
• Requires careful data governance to avoid noise from irrelevant events

The Verdict

Use PostHog if: You want feature-rich and can live with complex.

Use Heap if: You prioritize auto-captures all user events without manual instrumentation over what PostHog offers.

The Bottom Line

PostHog wins

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