PostHog

Overview

PostHog is a product analytics platform that helps website owners understand how visitors interact with their content through event tracking, session recordings, and behavior analysis. PostHog combines product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, and user surveys in one integrated platform , built originally for software engineering teams but applicable to any website owner who wants detailed visitor insights. Unlike simple traffic analytics tools like Google Analytics, PostHog captures granular interaction data and lets you watch recordings of actual user sessions to see exactly where visitors click, scroll, and struggle.

The platform is open source and can be self-hosted or used through PostHog Cloud , giving technically capable users full control over their analytics data. For newsletter creators who run content websites alongside their email newsletters, PostHog provides visibility into which articles drive engagement, where readers drop off, and how visitors navigate between content. This level of insight helps creators optimize their web presence to convert more casual visitors into newsletter subscribers.

More than 90% of companies use PostHog for free thanks to its generous free tier , making sophisticated analytics accessible without upfront investment. The platform automatically captures user interactions without requiring manual event tagging for basic actions, though you can define custom events for specific tracking needs. For creators building membership sites, content archives, or community platforms around their newsletters, PostHog offers depth beyond basic page view counts.

Best For

PostHog works best for newsletter creators who maintain substantial websites with their newsletters and want to understand visitor behavior in detail. This includes creators running content archives, membership communities, course platforms, or resource libraries where understanding user navigation patterns matters. The tool particularly suits technically comfortable creators who can implement tracking code and interpret analytics data, as well as those who value privacy and data ownership enough to consider self-hosting. PostHog makes less sense for creators who only send email newsletters without accompanying websites or those who need simple traffic metrics rather than detailed behavioral analysis.

Key Features

• Session Replay: Session replay records how users actually interact with your website, showing what they clicked, where they got stuck, and what broke . For newsletter creators, watching these recordings reveals which content keeps readers engaged, where signup forms confuse visitors, and how people navigate your content archive. The feature works on both websites and mobile apps , providing a complete picture of how your audience accesses your content across devices.

• Heatmaps and Click Tracking: Heatmaps show where users click, rage click (repeatedly click in frustration), or move their mouse on your pages . This visual feedback helps identify which calls to action attract attention and which elements confuse visitors. Unlike basic clickmaps that only track clickable elements, PostHog's heatmaps show attempted clicks on non-clickable areas, revealing where users expect interactions that don't exist.

• Autocapture and Event Tracking: PostHog automatically captures user interactions like clicks and form changes without requiring manual event setup , simplifying initial implementation. For newsletter creators, this means you can immediately start tracking which article links get clicked, which signup forms perform best, and how visitors move through your content funnel. You can also define custom events for specific actions like newsletter signups or content downloads.

• Product Analytics: The platform provides tools to analyze user behavior patterns, create conversion funnels, and segment audiences based on actions taken on your site. Newsletter creators can track the path from first visit to newsletter signup, identify which content topics drive the most subscriptions, or compare behavior between free readers and paying members. These insights help optimize both content strategy and site structure.

• Privacy-Focused and Self-Hostable: PostHog is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you complete control over your analytics data . For creators concerned about data privacy or wanting to comply with strict regulations, this option means visitor data never leaves your infrastructure. The self-hosting capability also eliminates concerns about third-party tracking policies or data sharing.

Pricing

PostHog offers a generous free tier that includes 1 million events, 5,000 session recordings, 1 million feature flag requests, 100,000 exceptions, and 1,500 survey responses per month . This free tier resets monthly and is available on all plans, meaning over 90% of companies use PostHog without paying anything . Beyond the free tier, PostHog uses usage-based pricing with rates that decrease as volume increases. For product analytics, pricing starts at $0.00005 per event after the first million monthly events, with lower rates at higher volumes . Session recordings cost $0.005 each after the first 5,000 monthly recordings . You can set billing limits for each product to prevent unexpected charges , and the platform requires no annual commitment. Paid plans include 7-year data retention compared to 1 year on the free plan , and email support is available for accounts spending over $2,000 monthly.