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Web analytics software · head to head

PostHog vs Mixpanel

Sebastiaan Smits Editor Sebastiaan Smits · Published September 30, 2026 · Updated October 20, 2026

PostHog bundles product analytics with session replay, feature flags, experiments, surveys and error tracking, each with its own free monthly allowance. Mixpanel concentrates on self-serve funnels, cohorts and retention, and now includes replay, experiments and flags on its Free and Growth plans too. Engineering-led teams wanting a wide toolbox pick PostHog; product and growth teams wanting clean reports without SQL pick Mixpanel.

Side by side

PostHogMixpanel
What it isOpen-source product analytics with session replay and feature flags built inEvent-based product analytics with self-serve funnels and cohorts
Best forProduct and engineering teams that want analytics, replay and experiments in one toolProduct and growth teams analyzing user behavior
HeadquartersUnited StatesUnited States
Pricing modelUsage-based + open sourcePer tracked event / month
PricingUsage-based pricing metered on events, session replays and feature flag requests, each with a free monthly allowance (1 million events, 5,000 recordings, 1 million flag requests); the MIT-licensed self-hosted version is free but officially unsupported.A free plan covers up to 1 million monthly events; the Growth plan starts at $0 with the first 1 million events free and then bills by event volume up to 20 million, and Enterprise is quoted and holds SAML SSO and SCIM.
Free optionFree planFree plan
List price
as listed on September 30, 2026		$0 to start: 1M events, 5K session recordings and 1M feature flag requests free each month, then usage-based per productGrowth starts at $0: first 1M events per month free, then usage-based by event volume up to 20M
Place in our web analytics software ranking#3 of 14#6 of 14
Websiteposthog.commixpanel.com

Both are reviewed in full in Best Web Analytics Software in 2026. Position in that ranking can be paid for; the wording of a review or of this comparison cannot. Placement disclosure.

Which one to choose

Choose PostHog if

engineers own your analytics, you want error tracking, surveys and a data warehouse alongside replay and flags, or you need the option of running the open-source code yourself.

PostHog, #3 in the ranking · Visit PostHog →

Choose Mixpanel if

growth and product people will build the reports themselves, you want one main meter to forecast, and presentable funnels matter more than the widest toolbox.

Mixpanel, #6 in the ranking · Visit Mixpanel →

Where they differ

How much sits in one product

Both now cover analytics, session replay, experiments and feature flags. PostHog goes further, adding error tracking with 100,000 free exceptions a month, surveys with 1,500 free responses, a data warehouse, data pipelines and logs in the same product. Mixpanel caps feature flags at 10 active on Free and 50 on Growth. A team consolidating beyond analytics and replay gets more from PostHog.

Edge: PostHog

Who builds the reports

Mixpanel is built so a growth marketer can assemble a funnel or retention curve directly, no analyst required, and the output is clean enough for a leadership meeting. PostHog targets product engineers and managers, offers SQL queries next to trends, funnels and paths, and has a busier onboarding because of everything it includes. For non-technical report builders, Mixpanel is friendlier.

Edge: Mixpanel

Hosting and data residency

PostHog's code can be self-hosted free under the MIT license, but PostHog calls this unsupported, limits it to free-plan features and recommends it only below about 300,000 events a month. Mixpanel's pricing page offers US or EU data residency and does not mention self-hosting. For most teams both are cloud products; PostHog is the only one of the two you can run yourself.

Edge: PostHog

The free allowances

Both free plans start at 1 million events a month. PostHog adds 5,000 session recordings and 1 million feature flag requests. Mixpanel's Free plan includes 10,000 session replays, 1,000 monthly experiment users, up to 10 active flags and unlimited seats. Mixpanel gives twice the replays; PostHog gives free allowances for many more products. Which is larger depends on what you use.

Edge: even

Forecasting the bill

PostHog meters each product separately, from events and recordings to flag requests and exceptions, each billed beyond its own free allowance. Mixpanel's Growth plan starts at $0 with the first 1 million events free, bills by event volume up to 20 million, and advertises a $480 yearly saving on annual billing. With one main meter, Mixpanel is easier to forecast.

Edge: Mixpanel

Tally: PostHog 2, Mixpanel 2, even 1.

When neither fits

Neither suits a regulated organization whose first need is consent management and compliant site measurement rather than product behavior. Piwik PRO pairs a consent platform with analytics for public sector, healthcare and finance, and Matomo offers self-hosted analytics with full data ownership.

See Piwik PRO and Matomo among the 14 products in Best Web Analytics Software in 2026.

Questions and answers

Is PostHog free compared with Mixpanel?

Both have usable free plans. PostHog's free tier covers 1 million events, 5,000 recordings and 1 million feature flag requests a month, plus allowances for surveys and error tracking. Mixpanel's free plan covers 1 million events, 10,000 session replays and 10 active flags. Beyond those limits both charge by usage.

Does Mixpanel include session replay the way PostHog does?

Yes, now. Mixpanel includes session replay on every plan: 10,000 replays a month on Free and up to 500,000 on Growth, with some replay features sold as a paid add-on. PostHog's free tier includes 5,000 recordings a month, with usage billing after that.

Can you self-host PostHog or Mixpanel?

PostHog can be self-hosted free under the MIT license, but it is unsupported, limited to free-plan features and recommended only for small volumes. Mixpanel's pricing page offers hosted plans with US or EU data residency and does not mention a self-hosted edition.

Which suits a non-technical growth team better, PostHog or Mixpanel?

Mixpanel. It is designed so funnels, cohorts and retention reports can be built in the interface without SQL. PostHog is aimed at product engineers and managers, and a team wanting less than its full toolkit will find the interface busier than it needs.

Sources

Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on September 30, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.