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Technology · head to head

PostHog vs Redis

PostHog logo

PostHog

Technology

The single platform to analyze, test, observe, and deploy new features

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redis logo

Redis

Technology

The real-time data platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: PostHog the free tier covers 1M events, 5K web session recordings and 2.5K mobile recordings per month before usage-based billing starts; Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • They diverge on capability: PostHog covers Product analytics, Redis covers In-memory data store.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PostHog and Redis actually diverge.

Attributes where PostHog and Redis differ
AttributePostHogRedis
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryTechnologyUnknown
Founded20202009

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in PostHog

  • Product analytics
  • Session recording
  • Feature flags
  • A/B testing
  • Heatmaps
  • SQL access
  • Data warehouse
  • Apps platform

Only in Redis

  • In-memory data store
  • Data structures
  • Pub/Sub messaging
  • Lua scripting
  • Transactions
  • Persistence options
  • Replication
  • Clustering

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PostHog

  • Product analyticsnot Redis
  • Feature experimentationnot Redis
  • User behavior trackingnot Redis
  • A/B testingnot Redis
  • Debug production issuesnot Redis

Redis

  • Cachingnot PostHog
  • Session managementnot PostHog
  • Real-time analyticsnot PostHog
  • Message queuingnot PostHog
  • Leaderboardsnot PostHog

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

PostHog

  • The free tier covers 1M events, 5K web session recordings and 2.5K mobile recordings per month before usage-based billing starts
  • Accounts without a card on file are limited to 1 project; adding one raises it to 6
  • Data retention is 1 year until a card is added, which extends it to 7 years
  • Support is community-only until the account is on a paid plan
  • Error tracking is capped at 100K exceptions and surveys at 1500 responses per month on the free tier

Redis

  • Licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • All data must fit in memory, limiting scalability to available RAM
  • No built-in support for multi-tenancy
  • Limited transaction support compared to traditional databases

Pricing, plan by plan

PostHog

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1M events/month
    • 5K sessions/month
    • Unlimited users
  • Paid$undefined/month
    • $0.00031/event
    • $0.005/session
    • Advanced permissions
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • SAML SSO
    • Advanced security
    • Dedicated support

Redis

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Redis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose PostHog if

  • You need product analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want session recording.
PostHog review

Choose Redis if

  • You need in-memory data store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want data structures.
Redis review

Questions people ask

Is PostHog or Redis better?
Neither clearly leads. PostHog starts at Free and Redis at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PostHog or Redis?
PostHog starts at Free and Redis at Free.
Does PostHog or Redis run on more platforms?
PostHog runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use PostHog for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is PostHog best used for?
PostHog is most often used for product analytics, feature experimentation, user behavior tracking, a/b testing. Of those, product analytics and feature experimentation are not what Redis is typically brought in for.
What can PostHog do that Redis cannot?
PostHog covers Product analytics, Session recording, Feature flags, A/B testing. Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Redis: Is Redis open source?

Redis was open source under the BSD license since its inception in 2009 and has remained open source. However, in 2024-2025, Redis Labs changed licensing to source-available and AGPL, prompting the creation of Valkey, a BSD-licensed open-source fork.

Source
Redis: What is Redis used for?

Redis is an in-memory data structure store used primarily as a cache, database, and message broker. It provides high-speed data access for real-time applications, sessions, leaderboards, real-time analytics, and other use cases requiring fast data retrieval.

Source
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