PostHog vs Countly
Both are alternatives to Amplitude. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Countly vs PostHog — same comparison, one verdict.
PostHog
TOP PICKProduct analytics, session replay, flags and experiments in one self-hostable product.
PostHog is the most complete answer here because it collapses several line items into one: product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, surveys and a data warehouse, all in a product you can run on your own infrastructure. For teams currently paying Amplitude for analytics and LaunchDarkly for flags, that consolidation is often the real saving rather than any single rate. Around 37.4k stars and pushed to daily. The licence needs stating precisely: the core is MIT, but the `ee/` directory is licensed separately as enterprise — so it is MIT-with-a-carve-out rather than plain MIT, which is how it is usually described.
Countly
Mobile-first analytics you can run on-premise — but check the licence.
Countly is built around mobile and IoT rather than the web, with crash reporting, push notifications and user profiles alongside analytics, and a long history of on-premise deployment in regulated and government settings. Around 5.9k stars. One correction to how it is usually listed: Countly is very often described as open source, but the community edition ships under a custom "Countly Lite License" rather than an OSI-approved licence — it is source-available, with restrictions, and the terms are worth reading before you build a product on it. Included here because the mobile and on-premise combination is genuinely rare, and because the licence deserves to be stated accurately.
Side by side
| PostHog | Countly | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 85 | 66 |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT core, with an `ee/` enterprise directory carve-out | Countly Lite License (custom, source-available — not OSI open source) |
| Pricing | Generous free tier on cloud; self-hostable at no licence cost for the MIT core. | Community edition free to self-host under its own licence terms; enterprise is commercial. |
PostHog is Macrostack's recommended Amplitude alternative, so it's our pick here.
PostHog
Strengths
- +Replaces analytics, session replay, flags and experiments with one tool
- +Self-hostable, so behavioural data never leaves your infrastructure
- +Autocapture means useful data before anyone writes a tracking plan
- +Very generous free tier if you would rather use the hosted version
Trade-offs
- −Self-hosting at volume means operating ClickHouse — a real commitment
- −The `ee/` directory is not MIT despite the project's reputation
- −Heavier and more complex than a focused analytics tool
- −Analysis depth still trails Amplitude for sophisticated cohort work
Countly
Strengths
- +Mobile and IoT first, where most of this category is web first
- +Crash reporting and push notifications alongside analytics
- +Long track record of on-premise deployment in regulated environments
- +Rich user-profile and cohort features in the enterprise tier
Trade-offs
- −Not open source despite being widely listed as such — read the Lite License
- −Much of the useful functionality sits in the paid enterprise edition
- −Smaller community than every other option here
- −Heavier to deploy than Umami or OpenPanel
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-31. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.