Pirsch 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 | Pirsch | PostHog |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,030 | ★ 39,909 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude |
What are Pirsch and PostHog?
Pirsch
Pirsch is a Go library for server-side, cookie-free web analytics. The open-source repository provides the tracking and statistics code you embed in your own application; the hosted pirsch.io dashboard is a separate commercial product.
- Cookie-free tracking
- No personal data collected
- Lightweight tracking script
- Go analytics engine
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
Pirsch vs PostHog: key differences
Pirsch is written in Go, while PostHog is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Pirsch versus MIT for PostHog. Pirsch is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for PostHog. PostHog has the considerably larger community, at 39,909 GitHub stars versus 1,030.
Why pick each one
Choose Pirsch if…
- GDPR-friendly by design
- Fast and efficient
Watch out for
- Self-hosting needs assembly
- Smaller ecosystem
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 Pirsch or PostHog better?
Neither is universally better. PostHog has the larger community, while Pirsch is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pirsch and PostHog free and open-source?
Yes. Pirsch is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PostHog under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pirsch and PostHog with Docker?
Pirsch: yes. PostHog: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pirsch or PostHog?
Pirsch has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for PostHog. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.