📊 Analytics & Monitoring Comparison
Plausible vs PostHog
A detailed comparison to help you choose the right tool for your needs.
Last updated: 2026-01-31
Plausible
From $9/mo, or self-hosted free
Strengths
- + Script is under 1KB — does not slow your site down at all
- + No cookies means no GDPR consent banner needed
- + Self-host for free if you have the technical skills
Weaknesses
- − No free hosted plan — $9/month minimum
- − No funnels, cohorts, or advanced analysis
- − Self-hosting requires server maintenance
PostHog
Free up to 1M events, then usage-based
Strengths
- + 1 million free events/month covers most startups for a long time
- + Replaces 4+ separate tools (analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing)
- + Self-hosting option if you need to keep data on your own servers
Weaknesses
- − Steep learning curve — the sheer number of features can be overwhelming at first
- − Setting up meaningful dashboards takes time and thought
- − Self-hosted version requires real infrastructure to run
The verdict
Which one is right for you?
Choose Plausible if you want
- → Script is under 1KB — does not slow your site down at all
- → No cookies means no GDPR consent banner needed
Choose PostHog if you want
- → 1 million free events/month covers most startups for a long time
- → Replaces 4+ separate tools (analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing)
In depth
About each tool
Plausible
Lightweight, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative that does not need cookie consent
Plausible gives you clean website analytics in a script that weighs less than 1KB. No cookies, no consent banners, no complex setup. It is fully GDPR, CCPA, and PECR compliant out of the box because it does not collect personal data.
The dashboard shows visitors, page views, referrers, and top pages — the metrics you actually check. If you need user-level tracking, funnels, or A/B testing, this is not the tool. If you want to know “is my content working?” without the guilt of tracking your visitors, Plausible is the cleanest option. Self-hosting is free if you are comfortable managing a server; the hosted service starts at $9/month.
PostHog
Product analytics, session replay, feature flags, and A/B testing — all in one open-source tool
PostHog is what you get when developers build analytics for developers. Instead of paying for Mixpanel (analytics) + FullStory (session replay) + LaunchDarkly (feature flags) + Optimizely (A/B tests), PostHog bundles all four into one platform. And the free tier is 1 million events per month — enough for most startups to run for months without paying.
The honest downside is complexity. PostHog can do a lot, and figuring out what to track and how to set up useful dashboards takes real effort. If you just want page views and referrer data, Plausible or Fathom is simpler. If you want to understand how users actually move through your product, PostHog is worth the setup time.
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