Google Analytics 4 vs PostHog
They differ on 6 of the 14 things buyers in this category actually ask about. Here is where, and what each one asks you to give up.
The free default, now event-based, with BigQuery export and a steep relearning curve.
Strongest argument
Free at volumes most sites will never exceed
Biggest objection
Requires a cookie banner, and consent refusals silently gut your data
Free and powerful, in exchange for a cookie banner, a hard interface and Google holding your data.
PostHog
UsageProduct analytics, session replay, feature flags and experiments in one open-source platform.
Strongest argument
Replaces four separate subscriptions — analytics, replay, flags and experiments
Biggest objection
Usage-based pricing across several products makes the bill hard to predict
Consolidates a whole toolchain, at the cost of a bill with several independently growing lines.
The differences that matter
Where they actually diverge
Only the rows where the two disagree. Everything they both do is listed below.
Cost
What each costs at 50 people
List price only. It ignores add-ons, seat minimums and the cost of the move itself — all of which routinely dwarf the difference below.
Prices are unverified estimates — useful for comparing orders of magnitude, not for budgeting. Confirm the current figure with the vendor before you commit to anything.
Common ground
What both of them do
These will not help you choose — which is exactly why they are worth knowing about before a vendor pitches one as a differentiator.
- Data modelEvents
- Works without cookie consentNo
- Funnels and retentionYes
- Real-time reportingYes
- Raw data exportYes
- SAML single sign-onYes
- SOC 2Yes
- Public APIYes
In full
Every pro and con, both sides
Google Analytics 4
- Free at volumes most sites will never exceed
- Raw event export to BigQuery is included, which no other free tool offers
- Integrates with Google Ads and Search Console without configuration
- Requires a cookie banner, and consent refusals silently gut your data
- GA4 discarded most of Universal Analytics’ mental model and reporting
- Data thresholding hides rows without telling you which ones
PostHog
- Replaces four separate subscriptions — analytics, replay, flags and experiments
- Generous free tier that real products can run on for a long time
- Open source and self-hostable, so data residency is your decision
- Usage-based pricing across several products makes the bill hard to predict
- Aimed at product teams — marketers will find it unfamiliar
- Self-hosting is only supported at meaningful scale on Kubernetes
Questions
Google Analytics 4 vs PostHog, answered
Google Analytics 4 or PostHog — which is better?
Neither, in the abstract. Google Analytics 4 suits you if free at volumes most sites will never exceed matters most; PostHog if replaces four separate subscriptions — analytics, replay, flags and experiments does. The honest trade-offs are: Google Analytics 4 — Free and powerful, in exchange for a cookie banner, a hard interface and Google holding your data. PostHog — Consolidates a whole toolchain, at the cost of a bill with several independently growing lines.
Is Google Analytics 4 cheaper than PostHog?
At least one of them is priced on usage rather than headcount, so there is no honest like-for-like figure. Model both against your own volume — contacts, events or tickets — before comparing, because the headline numbers measure different things.
Can we migrate from Google Analytics 4 to PostHog?
Usually yes, and the difficulty depends on history, integrations and headcount far more than on the two products. Data export quality is the thing to check first: ask both vendors what you can take with you before you commit to either. Our questionnaire produces a scoped estimate for the move.
What else should we consider besides Google Analytics 4 and PostHog?
In product & web analytics the other credible options are Fathom Analytics, Matomo, Plausible. Narrowing to two before you have written down your requirements is the most common way to end up with the wrong one.
Do not stop at two