PostHog vs Google Analytics for SaaS: Which One Should Startups Use?

Google Analytics is useful for understanding marketing traffic. PostHog is useful for understanding product behavior. Startups confuse the two because both are called analytics, but they answer different questions.

Use Google Analytics for

• Traffic source and acquisition reporting
• High-level marketing performance
• Top-of-funnel attribution questions

Use PostHog for

• Product event tracking and funnels
• Activation and retention analysis
• Session replay and in-product behavior

What most SaaS startups need

If you sell a SaaS product, product analytics usually matters more than traffic vanity metrics once users begin signing up. Many startups end up using both, but if you can only choose one early, choose the tool that helps improve activation and retention.