PostHog vs Tianji
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
Tianji
Insight hub combining analytics, uptime, and server status
| Feature | PostHog | Tianji |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,909 | ★ 3,100 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude | Google Analytics |
What are PostHog and Tianji?
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
Tianji
Tianji is an all-in-one insight hub that combines website analytics, uptime monitoring, and server status into a single application. It offers a unified dashboard for observing your sites and infrastructure.
- Website analytics
- Uptime monitoring
- Server status reporting
- Unified insight dashboard
PostHog vs Tianji: key differences
PostHog is written in Python, while Tianji is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for PostHog versus Apache-2.0 for Tianji. Tianji is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for PostHog. PostHog is the more established project (first released 2020), while Tianji arrived in 2023. PostHog has the considerably larger community, at 39,909 GitHub stars versus 3,100.
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 Tianji if…
- Multiple tools in one
- Clean interface
Watch out for
- Jack-of-all-trades scope
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is PostHog or Tianji better?
Neither is universally better. PostHog has the larger community, while Tianji is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PostHog and Tianji free and open-source?
Yes. PostHog is licensed under MIT and Tianji under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PostHog and Tianji with Docker?
PostHog: yes. Tianji: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PostHog or Tianji?
Tianji 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.