PostHog vs Rakam Analytics
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
VS
Rakam Analytics
Custom analytics platform with SQL on event data
| Feature | PostHog | Rakam Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,909 | ★ 790 |
| First released | 2020 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude | Mixpanel, Amplitude |
What are PostHog and Rakam Analytics?
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
Rakam Analytics
Rakam is an analytics platform that lets you collect custom events and run SQL queries to build reports. It is designed for product teams that want flexible self-hosted analytics.
- Custom event collection
- SQL on event data
- Flexible reports
- Self-hosted control
PostHog vs Rakam Analytics: key differences
PostHog is written in Python, while Rakam Analytics is built with Java. Licensing differs — MIT for PostHog versus Apache-2.0 for Rakam Analytics. Rakam Analytics is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for PostHog. Rakam Analytics is the more established project (first released 2014), while PostHog arrived in 2020. PostHog has the considerably larger community, at 39,909 GitHub stars versus 790.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Rakam Analytics if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is PostHog or Rakam Analytics better?
Neither is universally better. PostHog has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are PostHog and Rakam Analytics free and open-source?
Yes. PostHog is licensed under MIT and Rakam Analytics under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PostHog and Rakam Analytics with Docker?
PostHog: yes. Rakam Analytics: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PostHog or Rakam Analytics?
Rakam Analytics has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for PostHog. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.