--- title: "Deploy OpenPanel vs PostHog" description: "Lighter Mixpanel-style stack vs PostHog suite" category: "Analytics" url: https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-openpanel-vs-posthog --- # Deploy OpenPanel vs PostHog Lighter Mixpanel-style stack vs PostHog suite **[Deploy OpenPanel vs PostHog on Railway](https://railway.com/template/deploy-openpanel-vs-posthog)** Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-openpanel-vs-posthog/manifest.json - **Creator:** onepush - **Category:** Analytics ## Template content ### op-redis - **Image:** redis:8.2.1@sha256:5fa2edb1e408fa8235e6db8fab01d1afaaae96c9403ba67b70feceb8661e8621 - **Start command:** `/bin/sh -c "rm -rf ${RAILWAY_VOLUME_MOUNT_PATH}/lost+found/ && exec docker-entrypoint.sh redis-server --requirepass ${REDIS_PASSWORD} --bind '* -::*' --protected-mode no --port ${PORT:-6379} --save 60 1 --dir ${RAILWAY_VOLUME_MOUNT_PATH}"` ### op-dashboard - **Image:** lindesvard/openpanel-dashboard:2.3.0@sha256:b773cf864454a0ec89b2a133b48bf06202880ed650a75cc2f1f5c87aaed1cffa - **Health check:** /api/healthcheck ### op-proxy - **Image:** caddy:2-alpine@sha256:d8542f48d34a9cf4e4c11a478865229840e87e4c96ea3f439101f31a5d35f75f - **Start command:** `sh -c "echo \"$CADDYFILE\" > /etc/caddy/Caddyfile; echo START_OK PORT=$PORT; cat /etc/caddy/Caddyfile; exec caddy run --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile --adapter caddyfile"` - **Public domain:** Yes ### op-postgres - **Image:** ghcr.io/railwayapp-templates/postgres-ssl:17 ### op-api - **Image:** lindesvard/openpanel-api:2.3.0@sha256:cee4855cd715a7248c5c49090fe93a28ffc505541de20cb238d8884a6bcb9223 - **Start command:** `sh -c "echo Running migrations...; CI=true pnpm -r run migrate:deploy; exec pnpm start"` - **Health check:** /healthcheck ### op-worker - **Image:** lindesvard/openpanel-worker:2.3.0@sha256:b22e247fb6980b820c1a954d0e3d2fe88b3edf40a58aa53329467af239538e80 - **Health check:** /healthcheck ### op-clickhouse - **Image:** clickhouse/clickhouse-server:25.12@sha256:8a790dd3468db22b1d4e7b18a176f378ff5ff6053b9c48dd4ea1fa71a24c5ba6 - **Start command:** `sh -c 'mkdir -p /etc/clickhouse-server/config.d && printf "%s\n" "::0.0.0.0" > /etc/clickhouse-server/config.d/railway-listen.xml && exec /entrypoint.sh'` ## Documentation # Deploy and Host OpenPanel vs PostHog (Open-Source Product Analytics) on Railway OpenPanel 2.3.0 gives you a Mixpanel-style stack with events, funnels, retention, profiles, session replay, and dashboards on Postgres, Redis, ClickHouse, and four app services. PostHog is a larger suite adding flags, experiments, surveys, and a warehouse. This guide compares both for self-hosting on Railway. ## About Hosting OpenPanel vs PostHog on Railway (self hosted OpenPanel template) This Railway deployment runs the full OpenPanel 2.3.0 stack as seven services: op-proxy, op-api, op-dashboard, op-worker, op-postgres, op-redis, and op-clickhouse. Only op-proxy is public on port 8080. It routes /api/* to the Fastify event API and everything else to the Next.js dashboard, forwarding the client IP header. PostHog is not in this template, but it's the usual comparison. Its open-source core includes analytics, replay, flags, experiments, surveys, and a data warehouse. That's more, and heavier to self-host. PostHog recommends their cloud at scale. Pick PostHog for flags and experiments. Pick OpenPanel for a lighter Mixpanel-style setup. OpenPanel is AGPL-3.0. Events land in ClickHouse, basic data in Postgres, and Redis handles cache, pub/sub, and queue. Dashboard is Next.js, API Fastify. ## Why Deploy OpenPanel vs PostHog, the Mixpanel alternative on Railway (Railway Free Trial) PostHog wins on breadth. OpenPanel wins on weight and focus. If you need flags, experiments, or surveys, PostHog consolidates those. If you mainly need product analytics with user-level funnels, retention, and replay, OpenPanel gives you that without PostHog's many services. Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it. By deploying OpenPanel vs PostHog on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway. ### Railway vs Other Hosting Providers and VPS for OpenPanel vs PostHog self hosting | Provider | Setup reality for OpenPanel | Best for | |---|---|---| | DigitalOcean | You manage droplet, Docker Compose, reverse proxy, SSL, backups, monitoring. | Teams wanting a predictable VPS bill and comfortable with ops. | | AWS | ECS, RDS, ElastiCache, ClickHouse on EC2 add many moving parts. You own networking, IAM, scaling. | Larger teams with existing AWS governance. | | Hetzner | Cheap VPS with Docker Compose works, but you handle disk, backups, exposure. | Budget self-hosters wanting full control. | ## Common Use Cases for hosted OpenPanel vs PostHog - **Product analytics for SaaS:** Track signups, activations, feature use, retention without closed SaaS. - **Funnel and cohort analysis:** Build conversion funnels, compare cohorts, see drop-off. - **Session replay and user profiles:** Watch sessions and full event history. ## Dependencies for OpenPanel vs PostHog Docker hosted on Railway The template depends on three data stores and four app services. op-postgres uses postgres-ssl:17 with a volume. op-redis runs Redis 8.2.1 with password, appendonly, volume /data; it handles cache, pub/sub, queue. ### Deployment Dependencies for Managed OpenPanel vs PostHog Service (Product Analytics) - **op-proxy:** Caddy 2 Alpine, public 8080, uses CADDYFILE env, routes /api/* to op-api, rest to op-dashboard, forwards client IP. - **op-api:** Fastify event API, port 3000, health /healthcheck, runs `pnpm -r run migrate:deploy` then starts. - **op-dashboard:** Next.js, port 3000, health /api/healthcheck. Public health through proxy: /api/healthcheck returns ready only when Redis, Postgres, ClickHouse reachable. ### Implementation Details for OpenPanel vs PostHog (Using OpenPanel official docker images) Key vars: SELF_HOSTED=true required. COOKIE_SECRET generated. DATABASE_URL and DATABASE_URL_DIRECT point to Postgres. REDIS_URL to Redis. CLICKHOUSE_URL to ClickHouse. DASHBOARD_URL public domain, API_URL public domain + /api. API_URL_SSR private API URL for dashboard SSR. CUSTOM_COOKIE_DOMAIN keeps cookies working. Generated passwords: POSTGRES_PASSWORD, REDIS_PASSWORD, CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD. Optional: RESEND_API_KEY and EMAIL_SENDER for emails; OPENAI_API_KEY and ANTHROPIC_API_KEY for in-app AI chat. After deploy: open domain, create first account, create project, add SDK snippet. Point SDK apiUrl at `https://yourdomain.com/api`. One public domain means cookies work without custom domain. ## How does OpenPanel vs PostHog compare against other analytics platforms ### OpenPanel vs Mixpanel - **Ownership:** OpenPanel AGPL-3.0 self-hosted. Mixpanel closed SaaS, free tier then paid. - **Core analytics:** Both track events, funnels, retention, cohorts, profiles. - **Session replay:** OpenPanel includes replay. Mixpanel does not. - **Data control:** OpenPanel keeps raw events in your ClickHouse. Mixpanel stores in its cloud. ### OpenPanel vs PostHog - **Scope:** PostHog includes analytics, replay, flags, experiments, surveys, warehouse. OpenPanel focuses on analytics and replay. - **Self-host weight:** OpenPanel lighter Mixpanel-style. PostHog heavier; recommends cloud at scale. - **Flags/experiments:** PostHog built-in. OpenPanel no. ### OpenPanel vs Plausible - **Purpose:** Plausible simple privacy web analytics. OpenPanel user-level product analytics. - **User profiles:** OpenPanel tracks profiles, sessions, funnels, retention. Plausible does not. - **Replay:** OpenPanel has session replay. Plausible no. ### OpenPanel vs Google Analytics 4 - **Cost:** GA4 free closed SaaS. OpenPanel self-host free unlimited events, pay infra. - **Data access:** GA4 raw via BigQuery. OpenPanel stores in your ClickHouse. - **Privacy:** GA4 GDPR concerns in EU. OpenPanel cookieless tracking, data on your infra. ## How to use OpenPanel vs PostHog (the OSS product analytics platform)? After healthy deploy, open public domain. Create first account. ALLOW_REGISTRATION=true closes public signup after first user. Create project in dashboard. Copy web SDK snippet or install server/mobile SDK. Set apiUrl to `https://yourdomain.com/api`. Events flow to ClickHouse via Fastify API. ## How to self host OpenPanel vs PostHog on other VPS Services (OpenPanel self hosting guide) Upstream docs provide Docker Compose and setup script at openpanel.dev/docs/self-hosting. Steps below mirror Railway template for generic VPS. ### Clone the Repository Clone OpenPanel repo from official upstream. Self-hosting docs link current repo and compose file. Download compose file if you don't want full repo. ### Install Dependencies Install Docker and Docker Compose on VPS. Point domain or subdomain to VPS for public proxy. Open firewall ports 80/443 if Caddy terminates TLS. ### Configure Environment Variables Create .env with same vars as Railway template: SELF_HOSTED=true, COOKIE_SECRET, DATABASE_URL, DATABASE_URL_DIRECT, REDIS_URL, CLICKHOUSE_URL, DASHBOARD_URL, API_URL, API_URL_SSR, CUSTOM_COOKIE_DOMAIN, ALLOW_REGISTRATION, ALLOW_INVITATION. Generate POSTGRES_PASSWORD, REDIS_PASSWORD, CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD. ### Start the OpenPanel vs PostHog Application Run Docker Compose to start seven services. ``` docker compose up -d ``` Check /api/healthcheck. Open domain, create first user. ## Official Pricing of OpenPanel vs PostHog (OpenPanel pricing) OpenPanel cloud pricing by monthly events, everything else unlimited: 5K events $2.50/mo, 100K $20/mo, 1M $90/mo, 10M $350/mo. Yearly gets two months free. 30-day free trial. Self-hosting free with unlimited events, pay only infra. PostHog has its own pricing. Don't assume self-hosted core matches cloud feature set or cost. Check their pricing page. PostHog recommends cloud at scale, especially full suite. ## OpenPanel vs PostHog cloud vs self hosted comparison (Pricing, features, costs, and more) OpenPanel self-hosted gives unlimited events for infra cost. Cloud removes ops, starts low for small volumes. PostHog cloud removes more ops and adds managed flags, experiments, surveys, warehouse. PostHog self-host possible but heavier and hobby deploy limited. If you need flags/experiments, PostHog cloud or well-resourced self-host. ### Monthly cost of self hosting OpenPanel vs PostHog on Railway Expect roughly $20-40/mo at low volume. ClickHouse, Postgres, Redis, four app services all run. Costs grow with event volume as ClickHouse needs more CPU, memory, disk. Railway $5 trial covers short test. PostHog full self-host costs more due to extra services. ### System Requirements for Hosting OpenPanel vs PostHog on a VPS OpenPanel low volume: start 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 20 GB disk. ClickHouse and Postgres need headroom as events grow. PostHog full suite: plan 4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, larger disk depending on replay and event volume. Hobby self-host limited, not for production scale. ## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ### Is OpenPanel really free to self-host? Yes. AGPL-3.0, self-hosting free unlimited events. Pay only infrastructure on Railway or VPS. ### Does the Railway template include session replay? Yes. Session replay is part of OpenPanel 2.3.0. View sessions and user histories from dashboard. ### Can I use PostHog feature flags with OpenPanel? No. OpenPanel does not ship flags or experiments. Use PostHog or separate flag provider for runtime targeting. ### What happens after the first user signs up? ALLOW_REGISTRATION=true lets first account register, then public signup closes. First user invites teammates if ALLOW_INVITATION=true. ### How do I point the SDK at my Railway deployment? Set SDK apiUrl to `https://yourdomain.com/api`. Use public domain for DASHBOARD_URL and API_URL. ### Should I choose OpenPanel or PostHog? PostHog if you need flags, experiments, surveys, warehouse. OpenPanel for lighter Mixpanel-style analytics with replay on Railway. ## Similar templates - [Formbricks | Open-Source Typeform & Qualtrics Alternative](https://railway.com/deploy/formbricks-surveys) — Surveys, NPS and in-app feedback on your own Postgres, Hub and Cube - [Typesense PHP](https://railway.com/deploy/typesense-php) — official PHP client against Railway - [Typesense vs Meilisearch](https://railway.com/deploy/typesense-vs-meilisearch) — self-hosted Typesense vs Meilisearch Open this page in a browser: https://railway.com/deploy/deploy-openpanel-vs-posthog