In this crazy world of ultra evolving digital products and AI, developers and product teams rely heavily on tools that help them monitor performance. And they also need to track user behavior, and detect issues in real-time. Some of the most known tools for this are two tools that often come up in conversations are PostHog and Sentry. I know that they may seem similar at first glance, but they actually serve different purposes. Although they overlap sometimes.
In this article, I propose myself to explain the main differences between PostHog and Sentry and when to use each. Plus we can explore what alternative tools are available for product analytics and web analytics. This includes an emerging solution called PrettyInsights.
PostHog is an open-source product analytics platform that enables teams to understand how users interact with their applications. On the main features list, it offers event tracking, session recording, heatmaps, feature flags, A/B testing, and more. This is happening either in cloud or all in a self-hostable environment.
PostHog is tailored toward developers and product managers who want detailed insights into user behavior without sending sensitive data to third-party platforms. The tool is often presented for its privacy-friendly approach and flexibility as well as GDPR friendliness. This is especially for teams that prefer a fully on-premise setup.
Event tracking and funnel analysis
User session recordings
Feature flags & A/B testing
Custom dashboards
Heatmaps
Self-hosting capability
GDPR & HIPAA compliance options
PostHog stands out as a product analytics powerhouse designed for modern SaaS teams looking to own their data.
Sentry, on the other hand, is a performance monitoring and error tracking tool. It helps developers detect, diagnose, and fix issues in real time. Unlike PostHog, Sentry doesn’t focus on analyzing user behavior — instead, it focuses on code health and performance bottlenecks.
From JavaScript frontends to Python backends, Sentry supports dozens of programming languages and frameworks. It’s an essential tool in the CI/CD pipeline for maintaining application stability and improving performance through real-time insights.
Real-time error tracking
Stack traces and issue grouping
Performance monitoring
Source maps and deployment tracking
User feedback and crash reports
Integration with GitHub, Slack, and more
Sentry is purpose-built for developer-centric monitoring, making it a top choice for engineering teams that prioritize stability and speed.
| Feature | PostHog | Sentry |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Use Case | Product analytics | Error tracking & performance |
| Event Tracking | Yes | Limited |
| Session Recording | Yes | No |
| Heatmaps | Yes | No |
| Error Monitoring | Basic (via plugins) | Yes (advanced) |
| Performance Monitoring | No | Yes |
| Self-Hosting | Yes | Yes |
| User Feedback Collection | No | Yes |
| Target Users | Product & growth teams | Developers & devops |
| Pricing | Free tier + paid plans | Free tier + paid plans |
Choose PostHog if you need:
Deep insights into how users interact with your product.
Funnel and retention analysis.
Tools to run growth experiments (like A/B tests or feature flags).
A self-hosted, privacy-first alternative to tools like Mixpanel or Amplitude.
PostHog is ideal for growth-focused product teams and data-driven startups that want more control over their user analytics.
Use Sentry if you want to:
Catch bugs in production before users report them.
Track performance metrics like load time and API response latency.
Monitor frontend and backend errors in real time.
Get full stack traces and deploy context for faster debugging.
Sentry shines in environments where uptime and stability are critical — particularly for large engineering teams or mission-critical applications.
Absolutely. In fact, many companies use PostHog and Sentry together.
Use PostHog to measure product usage, run experiments, and make UX improvements.
Use Sentry to ensure those improvements don’t break anything.
The combination of behavioral insights from PostHog and performance/error insights from Sentry provides a complete picture of product health and user experience.
While PostHog and Sentry are powerful in their domains, they’re not the only options.
If you’re specifically looking for a streamlined alternative to PostHog for web analytics and product analytics, consider PrettyInsights.
PrettyInsights is an all-in-one analytics platform that blends:
Clean, easy-to-understand dashboards
Event-based tracking with no-code setup
Funnel and goal tracking
SEO and page performance metrics
GDPR-compliant data handling
Real-time insights with minimal setup
It’s especially useful for small teams and digital agencies that want both product analytics and web analytics in a single tool . And all these without the complexity or overhead of managing a self-hosted platform like PostHog.
When choosing between PostHog and Sentry, it comes down to your team’s goals.
Want to track what users do in your product and how they navigate? Go with PostHog.
Want to track errors, exceptions, and performance issues in your code? Go with Sentry.
Want both? Use them side by side.
And if you’re looking for a modern, privacy-first solution that covers both product and web analytics tools — especially one that’s easy to set up and doesn’t require self-hosting — give PrettyInsights a try.
In the end, the right tool is the one that helps your team ship better products, faster.