# Umami vs. PostHog: Open-source web and product analytics, focused on analytics > Umami and PostHog are both open source and both cover web and product analytics. PostHog adds feature flags, experiments, and more. Umami stays focused on analytics with cookie-free tracking by default. Feature table last verified: October 2026 Source: https://umami.is/compare/posthog ## Feature comparison ### Analytics workflows | Feature | Umami | PostHog | | --- | --- | --- | | Web analytics dashboard | Yes | Yes | | Custom events | Yes | Yes | | Funnels | Yes | Yes | | Journeys / paths | Yes | Yes | | Retention | Yes | Yes | | Cohorts | Yes | Yes | | Revenue reporting | Yes | Beta | | UTM and channel reporting | Yes | Yes | | Custom dashboards | Yes | Yes | | Session replay | Cloud Business+ or self-hosted | 5,000 free recordings / mo | | Heatmaps | Cloud Business+ or self-hosted | Yes | | Autocapture of clicks and forms | No | Yes | | Feature flags | No | Yes | | Experiments | Measure via tags | Yes | | Surveys and error tracking | No | Yes | | Official MCP server | Read-only | Yes | ### Collection & identity | Feature | Umami | PostHog | | --- | --- | --- | | Web install | Script tag | JS snippet or SDK | | Cookies in the default setup | None | First-party cookie (cookieless mode optional) | | Identity model | Anonymous sessions, optional distinct IDs | Person profiles, optional anonymous-only | ### Deployment | Feature | Umami | PostHog | | --- | --- | --- | | Open source | MIT | MIT (except ee directory) | | Managed cloud | Yes | US and EU | | Self-hosting | Docker and PostgreSQL | Docker Compose, no support | | Paid features when self-hosting | Replay, heatmaps, and MCP included | Paid-plan features are Cloud-only | ### Pricing | Feature | Umami | PostHog | | --- | --- | --- | | Free cloud tier | 100K events / mo | 1M events / mo | | Pricing model | Plans with included events | Usage-based per product | | Paid cloud plans | From $20 / mo | Pay per use above free tier | | Self-hosting cost | Free | Free | ## Where they overlap Both are open-source platforms that combine web analytics with product analytics. Each offers custom events, funnels, paths, retention, cohorts, dashboards, session replay, and heatmaps, and each has an official MCP server for AI assistants. If those workflows are what you need, either tool can cover them. ## Where Umami differs **Scope.** PostHog lists ten products in its repository, including feature flags, experiments, surveys, error tracking, a data warehouse, and AI observability. Umami is an analytics platform only. Every screen is about measuring acquisition, behavior, conversion, and retention. **Privacy defaults.** Umami's tracker uses no cookies and does not identify users unless you send a distinct ID. PostHog's default setup stores a first-party cookie and supports person profiles; a cookieless mode and anonymous-only tracking are available as configuration. **Self-hosting.** Umami runs on Docker with a PostgreSQL database, and the self-hosted version includes session replay, heatmaps, and MCP. PostHog offers a free Docker Compose deployment that runs ClickHouse, Kafka, PostgreSQL, Redis, and other services. PostHog provides it without support or guarantees, and states that paid-plan features are Cloud-only. **Pricing.** Umami Cloud plans include a monthly event allowance, with reports such as funnels and retention on every plan. PostHog meters each product separately, with its own free tier and usage rates. ## Where PostHog goes further PostHog does more than analytics. If you want feature flags, an experimentation engine, surveys, error tracking, or SQL access to a data warehouse in the same tool, Umami does not provide them. PostHog also autocaptures clicks and form submissions, where Umami tracks the events you define. PostHog's free cloud tier is larger: 1 million events and 5,000 session recordings per month, compared with 100,000 events on Umami's Hobby plan, where session replay requires a Business plan. ## Which one fits **Choose Umami** if you want web and product analytics in one focused tool, prefer cookie-free tracking by default, want a self-hosted deployment with a small footprint, or need marketing and product teams to share the same reports. **Choose PostHog** if your engineering team wants flags, experiments, and analytics in one platform, or you rely on autocapture and SQL-level access to event data. PostHog describes engineers and technical founders as its primary audience. ## Trying Umami alongside PostHog You can add the Umami tracker next to an existing PostHog snippet and compare the two on live traffic. Installing the tracker starts new data collection only. It does not import historical PostHog events, and event names and properties need to be mapped to [Umami custom events](https://docs.umami.is/docs/track-events) by hand. ## Frequently asked questions ### How is Umami different from PostHog? Both are open-source and cover web and product analytics. PostHog also includes feature flags, experiments, surveys, error tracking, and a data warehouse. Umami focuses on analytics: traffic, campaigns, events, funnels, journeys, retention, cohorts, session replay, heatmaps, and revenue, with cookie-free tracking by default. ### Is Umami easier to self-host than PostHog? Umami runs with Docker and a PostgreSQL database. PostHog’s self-hosted option is a Docker Compose deployment that includes ClickHouse, Kafka, PostgreSQL, and Redis, which PostHog offers without support and recommends moving to its Cloud as volume grows. ### Does Umami have session replay and heatmaps like PostHog? Yes. Session replay and heatmaps are available on Umami Cloud Business and Enterprise plans and are included when self-hosting. PostHog includes 5,000 free session recordings per month on its cloud. ### Does Umami have feature flags or experiments? No. Umami does not include feature flags or an experimentation engine. You can measure an A/B test in Umami by tagging variants, but assigning visitors to variants happens in your own code or another tool. ### Do both have an MCP server? Yes. Umami’s official MCP server is read-only and is available on Cloud Pro plans and above and on self-hosted v3.4 or later. PostHog provides an official hosted MCP server that also covers its other products. ## Further reading - [Product analytics in Umami](https://umami.is/product-analytics): Events, funnels, journeys, retention, cohorts, replay, and heatmaps. - [Umami vs. GA4, Mixpanel, Amplitude & PostHog workflows](https://umami.is/blog/umami-vs-ga4-mixpanel-amplitude-posthog-workflow.md): How common product analytics workflows translate to Umami.