What advantages do PostHog and Plausible offer compared to Google Analytics for Next.js applications?

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1

I’m setting up analytics for my Next.js site and need to monitor visitor data and traffic sources. Recently I tried out PostHog to see what it offers, but honestly I’m not seeing major benefits over Google Analytics for basic tracking needs.

I know that GA can’t be hosted on your own servers, but other than that difference, I’m fine with Google having access to my site data. From an ease-of-use perspective, Google Analytics seems like the obvious choice.

Can anyone with deeper analytics experience explain what specific benefits these alternative tools provide? Are there particular use cases where PostHog or Plausible would be clearly better than sticking with the standard Google solution?

2

You won’t notice the performance hit until your site gets bigger. GA loads tons of scripts and kills page speed, especially on mobile. I switched to Plausible last year just for this - it’s under 1KB vs GA’s bloated mess. GDPR’s another headache if you get European traffic. GA forces you into cookie banners and consent popups that annoy users. Plausible skips all that since it doesn’t track personal data or use cookies. PostHog’s great when you need more than basic page views. Custom events in GA mean wrestling with GTM or messy tracking code. PostHog lets you track clicks and form submissions without the technical nightmare.