In-depth: PostHog vs Plausible

Plausible is a popular privacy-first alternative to Google Analytics. It's lightweight, cookie-free, and open source – making it a great fit for teams who want simple website metrics without the complexity of GA4.PostHog also offers web analytics with cookieless tracking and a simple dashboard, but it goes much further by integrating product analytics, session replay, A/B testing, feature flags, surveys, and more.In this comparison, we break down where these tools overlap, where they differ, and which is the better fit depending on what you need.How is PostHog different?1. We're free (forever)Our "pay-as-you-go" tier includes all of the features of PostHog for free with an allowance of 1M events per month. For Plausible, this would cost a minimum of $69/m on the starter plan.Beyond PostHog's free tier, we try to be as cheap as possible and transparent. Want to know how much we'll charge? See our pricing calculator.2. We're more than just web analyticsWeb analytics is a core feature of PostHog, but we offer many more tools to help you analyze, test, observe, and deploy your site and app.These include product analytics, session replay, surveys, experiments, feature flags, a data warehouse, error tracking, LLM observability, logs, workflows, a CDP, and more.3. We're multi-platformPlausible is entirely focused on the web, whereas PostHog supports both web tracking and other platforms, like mobile, backend, and API.This isn't limited to event capture and features either. Our data warehouse lets you import and query data from sources like Stripe, Hubspot, and Postgres, and our data pipelines let you send data to destinations like Slack, S3, or a custom HTTP webhook.Web analyticsBoth Plausible and PostHog are Google Analytics alternatives, so they're ideal for tracking and analyzing your website.Product analyticsTeams rely on product analytics when they need more customization in both capturing and analyzing data. Although not a focus of Plausible, it does offer some basic product analytics features for those that need them.💡 Good to know: Many of Plausible's product analytics features, like custom properties and funnels, are on its more expensive "Business" plan. It's roughly twice the price of the Starter plan and includes up to 10 sites and 10 team members.PlatformBeyond web analytics is where PostHog really shines. We provide all of the tools developers need to build a successful product (and they all work together).💡 Good to know:Plausible's API is limited to capturing events and querying aggregate metrics. PostHog's API provides capture, full SQL querying, feature flags, and CRUD operations for all metadata.You can add unlimited teammates to your project in PostHog. Plausible limits you to 1 on their Starter plan, 3 on their Growth plan, and 10 on their Business plan. For more than that, you need a custom enterprise plan.IntegrationsAlthough Plausible has some integrations with other tools, it mostly stands on its own. PostHog has many more features for importing data from other sources as well as sending it to other destinations.Security, compliance, privacyPlausible prides itself on being privacy-friendly, but PostHog stands toe-to-toe with it in terms of features. On top of that, PostHog includes many of the features enterprises need for compliance.Pricing comparisonPlausible is a monthly subscription based on usage. There are four plan tiers, each unlocking more features; for up to 10k pageviews a month, you can expect to pay:Starter ($9/mo) – 1 site, 3 team members max, 3-year data retention, goals, custom events, and email/Slack reportsGrowth ($14/mo) – Up to 3 sites, 3 team members, shared links, embedded dashboards, and team managementBusiness ($19/mo) – Up to 10 sites, 10 team members, 5-year data retention, custom properties, funnels, ecommerce revenue attribution, Stats API, and Looker Studio connectorEnterprise (custom) – 10+ sites, SSO, priority support, scheduled raw data exports, and higher API limitsFor 1M pageviews a month, the Starter plan lands at $69/mo, the Growth plan at $104/mo, the Business plan at $139/mo, and Enterprise is custom pricing.PostHog is entirely usage-based. Its free tier includes:FeatureFree usage per monthAdditional costProduct analytics1 million eventsFrom $0.00005/eventWeb analytics1 million eventsFrom $0.00005/eventSession replay5,000 recordingsFrom $0.005/recordingFeature flags and A/B testing1 million API requestsFrom $0.0001/requestSurveys1,500 responsesFrom $0.10/responseError tracking100,000 exceptionsFrom $0.00037/exceptionLLM observability100,000 eventsFrom $0.00006/eventData warehouse1 million synced rowsFrom $0.000015/rowLogs50 GB ingestedFrom $0.25/GBWorkflows10,000 messages/channelFrom $0.003/emailPostHog AI500 creditsFrom $1 per 100 creditsA lot of products also use volume-based pricing that gets cheaper as you scale – the more you use, the less you pay per unit. See the calculator for exact rates at your volume.Basically, we aim to give you the tools you want for as cheap as possible. We split out the products, and features like group analytics and pipelines within products, to do this.When to choose PostHog vs PlausibleChoosing the right analytics tool depends on what you need it to do. Here's a quick guide:Building a product, not just a website? PostHog goes beyond pageviews with funnels, session replay, experiments, and feature flags – so you won't outgrow it.Need simple, lightweight website analytics with no cookies and minimal setup? Plausible is probably the right choice.Recommendations by team typeFor product and engineering teamsPostHog – Track user behavior through funnels and paths, watch session replays to debug issues, run A/B tests, and roll out features with flags – all in one platform with SQL access for power users.For content sites and blogsPlausible – Clean, real-time dashboard that shows pageviews, referrers, and top pages at a glance. No training needed, no cookie banners, and a script that's significantly smaller than Google Analytics.For marketing teamsPlausible – UTM campaign tracking, Google Search Console integration, and conversion goals without the complexity of GA4. PostHog also covers these basics via web analytics and can send conversion data to ad platforms like Google and Meta via its CDP, but adds product-level depth most marketers won't need.For privacy-conscious and regulated organizationsBoth are open source, GDPR-ready, and hosted in the EU. PostHog is also SOC 2 certified, HIPAA-ready, and offers a built-in data warehouse for full data access. Plausible is cookieless by default with no personal data collection, which can eliminate the need for consent banners entirely.For early-stage startupsPostHog – Start with web analytics and grow into product analytics, session replay, feature flags, and experiments without switching tools or rebuilding your stack. The generous free tier covers 1 million events/month – 100x more than Plausible's cheapest plan. Startups can also qualify for $50k in free credits.Frequently asked questionsHow much do PostHog and Plausible cost?Plausible starts at $9/month for 10k pageviews on its Starter plan. Key features like funnels, custom properties, and ecommerce tracking require the Business plan ($19/mo+). PostHog is entirely usage-based with a free tier that includes 1 million events/month – 100x more than Plausible's cheapest plan – plus 5,000 session replays, 1 million feature flag requests, and more. All features are available on every tier.Does PostHog offer a free trial?PostHog doesn't offer a free trial because it doesn't need one. Instead, it has a free forever tier with no credit card required. Adding a credit card unlocks all features, and you can set billing limits to avoid surprise charges. Plausible offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.Is Plausible simpler than PostHog?For basic website metrics, yes – Plausible's single-page dashboard is hard to beat. But PostHog's web analytics dashboard is similarly clean and simple. The difference is that PostHog lets you go deeper when you need to – with funnels, retention charts, session replays, and SQL access – without forcing you to switch tools.Can I use PostHog without cookies?Yes. Like Plausible, PostHog supports cookieless tracking for web analytics. Both tools are GDPR-ready and can be used without cookie consent banners when configured for privacy-first tracking.Can I self-host PostHog or Plausible?Both are open source and offer self-hosting. Plausible's Community Edition is a lighter version that excludes some premium features like funnels and ecommerce tracking. PostHog's open-source edition is available on GitHub, though most users opt for PostHog Cloud for managed infrastructure and automatic updates.Can I migrate from Plausible to PostHog?Yes. See the Plausible to PostHog migration guide for step-by-step instructions on importing your historical data.Can I migrate from Google Analytics to PostHog?Yes. See the Google Analytics to PostHog migration guide for details on importing your GA data into PostHog.Does Plausible have session replay?No. Plausible focuses exclusively on website analytics and doesn't offer session replay, heatmaps, or any qualitative user behavior tools. If you need replays alongside your analytics, PostHog includes session replay with console logs, network monitoring, and error tracking integration.Does Plausible have A/B testing or feature flags?No. Plausible doesn't offer experimentation or feature flag tools. If you need to run A/B tests or roll out features incrementally with feature flags, you'll need a separate tool – or use PostHog, which includes both natively.Which is better for SEO tracking?Plausible integrates with Google Search Console and displays this data directly on its main dashboard. PostHog doesn't have a direct GSC integration, but supports tracking through web analytics with the added ability to connect traffic data to product behavior like sign-ups, conversions, and feature usage.What other analytics tools are available?Still deciding? Check out our guides to Google Analytics alternatives, Plausible alternatives, Matomo alternatives, and the best web analytics tools for more options.What are the best web analytics tools in 2026?The top web analytics tools in 2026 include:PostHog – Best all-in-one platform combining web analytics with product analytics, session replay, A/B testing, and morePlausible – Best lightweight, cookieless analytics for simple website metricsFathom – Privacy-first alternative with simple dashboard and EU hostingMatomo – Best self-hosted option with GA-like features and GDPR complianceGA4 – Best for marketing teams already in the Google ecosystemUmami – Lightweight open-source alternative for self-hostingFor a detailed comparison of features, pricing, and use cases, see our full guide to the best web analytics tools.