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Technology · head to head

PostHog vs SingleStore

PostHog logo

PostHog

Technology

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

From
Free
Rated
-
SingleStore logo

SingleStore

Databases

The real-time distributed SQL database for data-intensive applications

From
Free
Rated
-

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; SingleStore high licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
  • They diverge on capability: PostHog covers Product analytics, SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PostHog and SingleStore actually diverge.

Attributes where PostHog and SingleStore differ
AttributePostHogSingleStore
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiCloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed
CategoryTechnologyDatabases
Founded20202011

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 SingleStore

  • Real-time Analytics
  • Fast Data Ingest
  • In-memory Processing
  • Distributed Architecture
  • MySQL Compatible
  • Columnar Storage
  • Vector Search
  • Kafka

What people use each for

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

PostHog

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

SingleStore

  • Transaction processingnot PostHog
  • Data storagenot PostHog
  • Application backendnot PostHog
  • Reportingnot PostHog
  • Data analyticsnot 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

SingleStore

  • High licensing costs that increase with data scale and cluster size
  • Eventual consistency in replication: secondary replicas may lag during high write loads
  • Complex operational setup requiring specialized knowledge for optimization
  • Vendor lock-in due to proprietary technology without open-source alternatives
  • Disorganized documentation and lack of online training resources

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

SingleStore

Free
  • Free Tier$0.99/month
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Limited resources

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.

Choose SingleStore if

  • You need real-time analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
  • You also want fast data ingest.

Questions people ask

Is PostHog or SingleStore better?
Neither clearly leads. PostHog starts at Free and SingleStore at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PostHog or SingleStore?
PostHog starts at Free and SingleStore at Free.
Does PostHog or SingleStore run on more platforms?
PostHog runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. SingleStore runs on Cloud (SingleStoreDB Cloud), Self-Managed.
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 SingleStore is typically brought in for.
What can PostHog do that SingleStore cannot?
PostHog covers Product analytics, Session recording, Feature flags, A/B testing. SingleStore covers Real-time Analytics, Fast Data Ingest, In-memory Processing, Distributed Architecture.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PostHog: What does PostHog's free tier include per month?

PostHog free tier includes: 1M analytics events, 5K session replays, 1M feature flag requests, 100K error tracking exceptions, 1,500 survey responses, 1M data warehouse rows, 10K data pipeline events, 100K AI observability events, 500 PostHog AI credits, 10K workflow messages, and 10GB log ingestion. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

Source
SingleStore: Does SingleStore offer a free tier?

Yes, SingleStore offers a free tier starting from $0.99/month with usage-based pricing. The free tier allows developers to evaluate the platform with limited resources before scaling to production workloads.

Source
PostHog: How much data retention does PostHog provide on paid plans?

PostHog free tier provides 1-year data retention. Pay-as-you-go plans offer 7-year data retention across all projects, enabling longer historical analysis. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

Source
SingleStore: Can SingleStore handle both transactional and analytical workloads?

Yes, SingleStore is a hybrid transactional/analytical processing (HTAP) database that combines operational (OLTP) and analytical (OLAP) workloads in a single unified engine, eliminating the need for separate systems.

Source
PostHog: What percentage of PostHog users stay on the free tier?

PostHog states that 97% of companies use PostHog for free, indicating extensive free tier adoption. However, specific per-unit pricing rates for overages on paid plans are not published. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

Source
SingleStore: Does SingleStore integrate with Apache Spark?

Yes, SingleStore provides the Spark Connector 3.0 for bidirectional data integration with Apache Spark. The connector supports SQL, Python, Scala, Java, and R for data loading and extraction.

Source
PostHog: When does PostHog provide priority support on paid plans?

PostHog provides email or Slack support for accounts exceeding $2,000/month on pay-as-you-go plans. Specific response times and support SLAs are not detailed on their pricing page. Source: https://posthog.com/pricing

Source
SingleStore: Can SingleStore ingest data from Kafka?

Yes, SingleStore supports high-throughput streaming ingestion from Apache Kafka and other sources, enabling millions of events per second without requiring ETL pipelines or data movement.

Source
SingleStore: Is SingleStore available as cloud or self-managed?

SingleStore offers both deployment options: SingleStoreDB Cloud (managed service) and SingleStore Self-Managed for on-premises or private cloud deployments. The managed service handles infrastructure, scaling, and maintenance automatically.

Source
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