PostHog vs Vince 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
Vince Analytics
Self-hosted, privacy-friendly web analytics in one binary
| Feature | PostHog | Vince Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 42 · Fair |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 39,909 | ★ 2,015 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude | Google Analytics |
What are PostHog and Vince 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
Vince Analytics
Vince is a self-hosted, privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics packaged as a single small binary. It focuses on low resource usage and a simple Plausible-style dashboard.
- Single small binary
- Privacy-friendly tracking
- Plausible-style dashboard
- Low resource usage
PostHog vs Vince Analytics: key differences
PostHog is written in Python, while Vince Analytics is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for PostHog versus AGPL-3.0 for Vince Analytics. Vince Analytics is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for PostHog. PostHog is the more established project (first released 2020), while Vince Analytics arrived in 2023. PostHog has the considerably larger community, at 39,909 GitHub stars versus 2,015.
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 Vince Analytics if…
- Trivial to deploy
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is PostHog or Vince Analytics better?
Neither is universally better. PostHog has the larger community, while Vince Analytics is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PostHog and Vince Analytics free and open-source?
Yes. PostHog is licensed under MIT and Vince Analytics under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PostHog and Vince Analytics with Docker?
PostHog: yes. Vince Analytics: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PostHog or Vince Analytics?
Vince Analytics has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for PostHog. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.