PostHog vs Amplitude

Self-host swap-in for Amplitude. · Self-host Amplitude · PostHog on os-alt

PostHog is one of the open-source self-host replacements for Amplitude — license MIT, 20min docker-compose (the official `hobby` deploy is one command) to stand up, and $20-40 vps — clickhouse + postgres + kafka + redis + the app; demanding stack but absorbs serious event volume. Compare against Amplitude's Free tier up to 10M events/mo; Plus/Growth start at $49/mo and rise sharply with event volume below.

	PostHogopen-source	Amplitudepaid SaaS
Category	Product analytics / event tracking / funnels	Product analytics / event tracking / funnels
License / pricing	`MIT`	Free tier up to 10M events/mo; Plus/Growth start at $49/mo and rise sharply with event volume
Starting price	$0 self-host	$49/user/mo
GitHub	PostHog/posthog ★ 34.5k · last commit todayalive	closed source
Setup time	20min docker-compose (the official `hobby` deploy is one command)	SaaS — sign up + bill
Monthly cost	$20-40 VPS — ClickHouse + Postgres + Kafka + Redis + the app; demanding stack but absorbs serious event volume.	from $49/user/mo (Free tier up to 10M events/mo; Plus/Growth start at $49/mo and rise sharply with event volume)

Switching from Amplitude to PostHog

Use Amplitude's Export API (`GET /api/2/export`) to stream events as JSONL. Run PostHog's `posthog-cli migrate amplitude --in events.jsonl` (or write a 30-line Node script that POSTs to `/capture`). Person properties from Amplitude map to PostHog person properties; event names + properties carry over directly. Funnels and retention reports rebuild against the imported data.

Good fit for: Teams whose Amplitude use is funnel + retention + feature flags — PostHog matches that surface and adds session replay and surveys.
Weak at: Heavy resource footprint vs. lighter analytics tools; ClickHouse is excellent but adds an ops surface most small teams don't have.
License note: Core is MIT; PostHog also publishes a 'PostHog Cloud' commercial license for some enterprise add-ons, but self-host of the OSS edition is unrestricted.

Other open-source self-host alternatives to Amplitude

RudderStack
AGPL-3.030min docker-compose (rudder-server + Postgres + transformer + control plane)$15 VPS for the server; storage is wherever you route events (BigQuery / Snowflake / your own Postgres).
Plausible Analytics
AGPL-3.010min docker-compose (Elixir app + ClickHouse + Postgres)$10 VPS; ClickHouse is the heaviest piece but tiny at startup volumes.

PostHog also replaces

FullStory— Session replay + product analytics
Mixpanel— Product analytics

In a terminal? npx os-alt amplitude prints Amplitude's self-host options — how the CLI works →

FAQ

Is PostHog a free alternative to Amplitude?

Yes — PostHog is open source under MIT. Self-host cost: $20-40 VPS — ClickHouse + Postgres + Kafka + Redis + the app; demanding stack but absorbs serious event volume.. Amplitude starts at $49/user/mo (Free tier up to 10M events/mo; Plus/Growth start at $49/mo and rise sharply with event volume).

How long does PostHog take to set up vs Amplitude?

Self-hosting PostHog: 20min docker-compose (the official `hobby` deploy is one command). Amplitude is a hosted SaaS — sign up and you're in.

What is PostHog good at, and what is it weak at?

Good fit for: Teams whose Amplitude use is funnel + retention + feature flags — PostHog matches that surface and adds session replay and surveys.. Weak at: Heavy resource footprint vs. lighter analytics tools; ClickHouse is excellent but adds an ops surface most small teams don't have..