PostHog vs OpenPanel
Both are alternatives to Amplitude. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as OpenPanel 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.
OpenPanel
Mixpanel-style product analytics with a web-analytics front door.
OpenPanel sets out to be the middle ground this category is missing: simple web analytics for the questions you ask daily, plus event-based product analytics with funnels and retention for the ones you ask monthly, in a single self-hostable product. It is the youngest project in this comparison by a wide margin, which is the caveat to weigh honestly — the design is good and the track record is short. Worth a look if PostHog feels like more machinery than the problem deserves and Umami is not quite enough.
Side by side
| PostHog | OpenPanel | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 85 | 90 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT core, with an `ee/` enterprise directory carve-out | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Generous free tier on cloud; self-hostable at no licence cost for the MIT core. | Free and open source to self-host. Hosted plans available. |
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
OpenPanel
Strengths
- +Sits deliberately between simple web analytics and full product analytics
- +Self-hostable with a straightforward Docker deployment
- +AGPL-3.0 with no enterprise directory carve-out
- +Lighter to run than PostHog for a fraction of the complexity
Trade-offs
- −Youngest and least proven project on this page
- −Small community, so few answers when something breaks
- −No session replay or feature flags
- −AGPL-3.0 copyleft needs reading if you intend to modify it
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-31. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.