Counterscale vs PostHog
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
PostHog
Open-source product analytics platform
| Feature | Counterscale | PostHog |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 80 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | one-click, source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,148 | ★ 39,909 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude |
What are Counterscale and PostHog?
Counterscale
Counterscale is a simple, privacy-friendly web analytics tool designed to be easy to deploy and maintain on Cloudflare Workers. It tracks page views and visitors with minimal infrastructure.
- Runs on Cloudflare Workers
- Privacy-friendly tracking
- Minimal infrastructure
- Cheap to operate
PostHog
PostHog is an open-source product analytics platform with event tracking, session replay, feature flags, and A/B testing. It targets product teams wanting an all-in-one analytics suite. It is deployed via Docker or Kubernetes.
- Product analytics and funnels
- Session replay
- Feature flags and experiments
- Self-hostable all-in-one
Counterscale vs PostHog: key differences
Counterscale is written in TypeScript, while PostHog is built with Python. Counterscale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for PostHog. PostHog is the more established project (first released 2020), while Counterscale arrived in 2024. PostHog has the considerably larger community, at 39,909 GitHub stars versus 2,148. PostHog lists first-class Docker deployment; Counterscale does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Counterscale if…
- Almost free to run
- Very easy deployment
Watch out for
- Cloudflare dependency
- Basic feature set
Choose PostHog if…
- Comprehensive product suite
- Session replay included
- Open-core model
Watch out for
- Heavy to self-host
- Self-host edition is scaled down
Frequently asked questions
Is Counterscale or PostHog better?
Neither is universally better. PostHog has the larger community, while Counterscale is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Counterscale and PostHog free and open-source?
Yes. Counterscale is licensed under MIT and PostHog under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Counterscale and PostHog with Docker?
Counterscale: check the project docs for container support. PostHog: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Counterscale or PostHog?
Counterscale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for PostHog. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.