PostHog

PostHog Inc.

8.3

Overall Score / 10

vsPostHog for most users

Hotjar

Contentsquare (acquired Hotjar)

7.1

Overall Score / 10

Our Verdict

PostHog for most users

Choose PostHog if:

—You only need heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback
—You want the easiest setup for non-technical teams
—You prefer a visual, UX-focused analytics tool

Choose Hotjar if:

—You want event analytics + session replay + feature flags in one tool
—You prefer open source with self-hosting options
—You need a more generous free tier (1M events + 5K replays)

The biggest difference: PostHog is an all-in-one analytics platform (events + replay + flags + surveys); Hotjar is focused specifically on visual behavior analytics (heatmaps + recordings + feedback)

Side-by-Side Comparison

Criteria	PostHog	Hotjar
Cheapest Paid Plan	$2000/mo (Enterprise)Source: PostHog Inc. pricing page →	$49/mo (Observe Plus)Source: Contentsquare (acquired Hotjar) pricing page →
Free Tier	Yes 1M analytics events, 5K session replays, 1M feature flag requests, 100K error logs, 1,500 surveys per month	Yes 20K monthly sessions, unlimited heatmaps, session recordings, 1-month data retention
Value for Money	9	7
Ease of Use	6	9
Feature Power	9	6
Setup Ease	7	9
Migration Ease	6	7
Transparency	10	6
Deployment	hybrid	cloud
API Available	Yes	Yes
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android, Self-hosted (Docker)	Web
Compliance	SOC 2 Type II (Enterprise), GDPR, HIPAA (Enterprise)	GDPR, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001

Data independently verifiedLast verified: March 2026Scoring methodology →Source policy →

Feature Comparison

Feature Comparison Matrix

19 features compared · 17 differences

Hide identical

Feature	PostHog	Hotjar
Core
Data warehouse	Full	None
Error tracking	Full	None
Feature flags	Full	None
Feedback widgets	None	Full
Form analysis	None	Full
Funnels	None	Full
Heatmaps	Full	None
Heatmaps (click, scroll, move)	None	Full
Highlights and tags	None	Full
Open source	Full	None
Session recordings	None	Full
Session replay	Full	None
Surveys	Full	Full
User interviews recruitment	None	Full
Advanced
A/B testing	Full	None
LLM analytics	Full	None
Product analytics	Full	None
Integrations
API Access	Full	Full
Contentsquare integration	None	Full

Pricing Comparison

PostHog Pricing

FreeFree

1M analytics events, 5K session replays, 1M feature flag requests, unlimited team members

Pay-as-you-goPopularFree

Same free tier + pay for overages (~$0.00005/event), billing limits available

Enterprise$2000/mo

SOC 2, HIPAA, 7-year retention, dedicated support, SSO

Hotjar Pricing

FreeFree

20K monthly sessions, unlimited heatmaps, session replay, 1-month data retention

Observe PlusPopular$49/mo

Observe product: higher session limits, extended data retention, no branding, unlimited seats (pricing restructured into 3 products: Observe, Ask, Engage)

ProCustom

Advanced analytics, higher traffic volumes, extended retention

EnterpriseCustom

Maximum data retention, priority support, custom integrations

Who Should Choose Which?

Who should choose PostHog

Best for

Developers wanting an all-in-one open-source analytics platform
Teams wanting transparent usage-based pricing with generous free tier
Privacy-conscious companies who may want to self-host

Avoid if

You need the most polished enterprise analytics UX
You want dedicated phone support on lower tiers
You need advanced experimentation features (Amplitude may be better)

Who should choose Hotjar

Best for

UX teams wanting visual insights into user behavior
Marketing teams optimizing conversion rates
Non-technical teams wanting easy-to-understand analytics

Avoid if

You need event-based product analytics (Mixpanel/PostHog is better)
You want an all-in-one analytics platform
You are concerned about the Contentsquare transition

Switching Guidance

Switching from PostHog

Common triggers to leave:

•Need more polished enterprise UX
•Need dedicated support
•Need advanced experimentation

Potential blockers:

•Self-hosted data sovereignty
•Multi-product integration (analytics + flags + replay)
•Generous free tier

Switching from Hotjar