PostHog vs Swetrix
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
Swetrix
Privacy-focused, cookieless web analytics service
| Feature | PostHog | Swetrix |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,909 | ★ 1,202 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude | Google Analytics |
What are PostHog and Swetrix?
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
Swetrix
Swetrix is an open-source, privacy-focused web analytics platform that is fully cookieless and GDPR compliant. It tracks page views, user flows, and custom events without identifying visitors.
- Cookieless tracking
- User flow analysis
- Custom events
- Performance metrics
PostHog vs Swetrix: key differences
PostHog is written in Python, while Swetrix is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for PostHog versus AGPL-3.0 for Swetrix. Swetrix is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for PostHog. PostHog has the considerably larger community, at 39,909 GitHub stars versus 1,202.
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 Swetrix if…
- No cookie banner needed
- Detailed flow reports
Watch out for
- Needs ClickHouse and Redis
- Setup is multi-component
Frequently asked questions
Is PostHog or Swetrix better?
Neither is universally better. PostHog has the larger community, while Swetrix is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PostHog and Swetrix free and open-source?
Yes. PostHog is licensed under MIT and Swetrix under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PostHog and Swetrix with Docker?
PostHog: yes. Swetrix: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PostHog or Swetrix?
Swetrix has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for PostHog. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.