PostHog vs Branch

by Gralio Feb 10, 2025

PostHog and Branch cater to different needs. PostHog excels in product analytics and feature management, while Branch focuses on mobile marketing attribution and deep linking. Choose PostHog for comprehensive product insights and Branch for optimizing mobile user acquisition.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 958 reviews and 60 websites, saving 5 hours, 49 minutes of reading.

PostHog

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Branch

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

PostHog is an all-in-one product development platform. It helps you understand user behavior, run A/B tests, and manage features. With tools like session recording and product analytics, PostHog helps you build better products. It's open-source, scalable for any size team, and offers a generous free tier.

Branch helps businesses understand what marketing campaigns are driving app downloads and user actions. Its tools help create links that work seamlessly across different platforms, giving users a smooth experience. Branch also provides insights into campaign performance so you can invest in what works.

Summary

Main difference

PostHog is a product-centric platform ideal for analyzing user behavior and managing features, especially for web and mobile apps. Branch specializes in mobile app attribution and deep linking, making it best for businesses focused on mobile marketing campaigns and user acquisition.

Relative strengths of PostHog (compared to Branch)

Offers session recording and website analytics for comprehensive user behavior analysis.
Provides a generous free tier and open-source flexibility for cost-effectiveness and customization.
Supports A/B testing and feature flags for product experimentation and iterative development.

Relative weaknesses of PostHog (compared to Branch)

Lacks the specialized mobile attribution and deep linking capabilities of Branch.
Community support and documentation can be inconsistent.
Self-hosting can be complex and may require technical expertise.

What companies are using PostHog and Branch?

No data

Who should use PostHog VS. Branch

PostHog is a product development platform perfect for teams seeking user behavior insights, A/B testing, and feature management. Session recording and product analytics help build better products. Users love its easy setup and insightful session recordings, while some find the self-hosted version limiting. The open-source nature and generous free tier make it accessible.

Branch is a mobile measurement and deep linking platform that helps businesses understand their marketing campaigns and user acquisition. Users praise Branch's comprehensive insights and seamless integrations, while some note data discrepancies and a slightly outdated interface. Best for companies with mobile apps running marketing campaigns.

Ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, offering scalability and a generous free tier.
A versatile tool suitable for various industries, especially software development and product teams.

Best for small, medium, and enterprise businesses.
Ideal for E-commerce, Software, IT, Telecommunications, and Marketing & Advertising.

PostHog and Branch features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Session Replay

Supported

PostHog offers session replay with features like event timelines and console logs.

Not supported

Branch does not offer session replay.
Product Analytics

Supported

PostHog supports product analytics, including autocapture and SQL access.

Partially supported

Branch supports event analytics and auto capture, but cohort analysis, funnels, and SQL access are not clearly documented.
Feature Flags

Supported

PostHog supports feature flags, A/B testing, and multivariate flags.

Not supported

Branch does not support feature flags.
Campaign tracking

Supported

PostHog supports campaign tracking with UTM parameters and custom URLs.

Supported

Branch supports campaign tracking, allowing performance monitoring and revenue analysis.
Website analytics

Supported

PostHog offers comprehensive website analytics, including traffic and user behavior insights.

Not supported

Branch is not designed for website analytics, it focuses on mobile apps.
Session recordings

Supported

PostHog offers session recordings to replay user interactions.

Not supported

Branch does not support session recordings.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

+0.67

Rather positive sentiment

-0.31

Rather negative sentiment
Customer Service

+0.5

Rather positive sentiment

+0.51

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.77

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.71

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.34

Rather positive sentiment

+0.3

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.84

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment
Scalability

-0.14

Neutral sentiment

-0.11

Neutral sentiment

PostHog and Branch Pricing

PostHog offers usage-based pricing with a generous free tier that includes a monthly quota for each product. Users only pay for usage that exceeds the free tier limits. The platform offers various add-ons, including Teams, Person profiles, Group Analytics, and Data Pipelines. Discounts are available for startups and non-profits.

Plans

User sentiment

Rather positive

+0.67

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.31

We couldn't find a pricing page for Branch.

PostHog and Branch review insights

958 reviews analysed from

Users love

Easy to set up and integrate with websites.
Excellent session recording for understanding user behavior.
The generous free tier makes it accessible for various projects.
Open-source nature allows for self-hosting and customization.

Branch provides comprehensive insights into user acquisition and app behavior.
Seamless integration with various marketing platforms.
Excellent customer support and a responsive team.
Easy to create and use deep links and QR codes.

Users dislike

The self-hosted version lacks some features, like multi-domain monitoring.
Documentation can have duplicate or outdated information.
Community support could be more responsive.
Large JS bundle size impacts website performance.

Data discrepancies are common between Branch and internal data.
The older links can be slow to load.
The search feature for older links needs improvement; finding specific links can be difficult.
The interface is a bit outdated and could use a UI refresh.

PostHog and Branch Ratings

G2

4.4/5

(525)
Glassdoor

5.0/5

(5)

G2

4.3/5

(441)
Glassdoor

4.0/5

(331)

Company health

Employee growth

45% increase in the last year

16% decrease in the last year

Web traffic

31% increase in the last quarter

17% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

March 2021 - $27M

November 2021 - $667M

How do PostHog's session recordings compare to Branch's deep linking analytics?

PostHog's session recordings capture user interactions within a web or mobile app, allowing for analysis of user behavior flows and identification of usability issues. Branch's deep linking analytics, on the other hand, focus on measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by tracking user clicks, installs, and conversions attributed to specific links. They are distinct features serving different purposes; PostHog focuses on product usability and user experience, while Branch centers on marketing attribution and campaign performance.

Which product better supports open-source customization and self-hosting?

PostHog is significantly better for open-source customization and self-hosting. It is explicitly open-source, allowing for extensive customization and self-hosting options, while Branch is a proprietary platform with no self-hosting capabilities. PostHog users specifically appreciate the open-source nature and self-hosting, though they note some feature limitations in the self-hosted version.

What are the advantages of PostHog?

PostHog offers a comprehensive product development platform with session recording, A/B testing, and feature management, while Branch focuses primarily on mobile app attribution and marketing analytics. PostHog's open-source nature allows for self-hosting and customization, appealing to developers. Additionally, PostHog's generous free tier makes it more accessible for smaller projects and teams.

What are the disadvantages of PostHog?

PostHog's self-hosted version has feature limitations, notably lacking multi-domain monitoring. The documentation can be inconsistent with outdated or duplicated information, and community support responsiveness needs improvement. Finally, the large JS bundle size can negatively impact website performance.

Alternatives to PostHog and Branch

VWO Testing

VWO Testing is a comprehensive platform that helps businesses improve their websites and mobile apps through testing and personalization. It offers A/B testing, user behavior analysis tools (like heatmaps and session recordings), and personalization features. VWO is designed to be user-friendly, even for non-technical teams, and it integrates with various data sources. Trusted by major brands, VWO promises to help you optimize your digital experiences to increase conversions and deliver what your customers want.

AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer is a software platform that helps businesses understand and improve their mobile apps. It provides data and tools to track marketing campaigns, analyze user behavior, prevent fraud, and enhance user engagement. This data helps businesses make informed decisions about their app marketing strategies, understand what is working, and improve their return on investment. AppsFlyer is a trusted partner for many large companies and prioritizes user privacy.

Hotjar | by Contentsquare

Hotjar | by Contentsquare helps you understand user behavior on your website. It provides visual heatmaps showing where users click, scroll, and move their mouse. This helps identify popular content, areas of interest, and potential usability issues. By understanding how visitors interact with your website, you can optimize design, content, and user experience to improve conversions and achieve business goals.

Statsig

Statsig is a comprehensive platform that helps businesses make data-driven decisions about their products. It offers tools for feature flagging, A/B testing, and product analytics, all in one place. This means you can test different versions of features and see how they perform with your users, making it easier to iterate and improve your product. Statsig is designed to be used by various teams, including engineering, product management, and data science, making it a versatile tool for mid-sized companies. They offer a free plan to help you get started.

Swaarm

Swaarm is a marketing platform designed for businesses involved in app promotion and online advertising. It helps track ad performance, understand what's working, and make campaigns more effective. Key features include managing campaigns, viewing detailed reports, and automating tasks. Swaarm aims to be user-friendly, cost-effective, and reliable, making it suitable for both small and large businesses.

Mixpanel

Mixpanel is a tool that helps you understand how people use your website or app. It tracks user actions, like button clicks and page views, and presents the data in easy-to-understand reports. This helps you see what features are popular, identify areas for improvement, and ultimately make decisions that lead to a better user experience and increased customer satisfaction.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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