Research & comparison — updated May 2026. Focused on session replay as the primary use case.
We evaluated 6 session replay providers across features, pricing at scale (100K–1M sessions/mo), setup complexity, and data confidence. Here is the bottom line:
Pricing confidence varies. PostHog numbers are exact (published rate card). Datadog has conflicting sources ($1.80 vs $2.50/1K). LogRocket and FullStory require sales quotes at scale — ranges are wide. See the confidence column in each pricing table.
Answer these questions as a team. Your answers map directly to a shortlist.
What is our expected monthly recorded session volume?
| Under 5K | → FullStory or PostHog free tier covers you |
| 5K–50K | → All options viable, price differences are small |
| 50K–250K | → PostHog, Datadog, Sentry lead on cost |
| 250K+ | → PostHog or OpenReplay; others get expensive |
What tools are we already paying for?
| Datadog (APM/logs) | → Add Datadog RUM — correlation is the value |
| Sentry (errors) | → Add Sentry replay — cheapest path to error context |
| Neither | → PostHog or standalone tool (no existing lock-in) |
What is the primary use case for replay?
| Bug reproduction | → Sentry (error-linked) or LogRocket (state replay) |
| UX/product insight | → FullStory (frustration signals) or PostHog (funnels) |
| Customer support | → OpenReplay (co-browsing) or FullStory (search) |
| All of the above | → PostHog (broadest feature set for the price) |
Do we need data sovereignty / self-hosting?
| Yes, required | → OpenReplay (best OSS) or PostHog (self-host option) |
| Nice to have | → PostHog EU cloud, or OpenReplay 35+ regions |
| Not a concern | → All options are on the table |
All-in-one product analytics platform with session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, and surveys. Strong open-source ethos with self-host option. Best value for startups and mid-size teams that want a single tool.
Enterprise observability platform where session replay is part of Real User Monitoring (RUM). Best for teams already deep in the Datadog ecosystem who want frontend replay correlated with backend traces, logs, and APM.
Error-monitoring-first platform where session replay is designed to help reproduce bugs. Replay is tightly linked to error events — ideal if your primary goal is debugging, not product analytics.
Session-replay-first platform with strong Redux/state integration. Captures network requests, console logs, and application state alongside replays. Good for frontend-heavy debugging workflows.
Digital experience intelligence platform with auto-capture and frustration signals (rage clicks, dead clicks, error clicks). Strong UX/product analytics focus. Expensive at scale but generous free tier.
Open-source session replay with co-browsing, DevTools integration, and full self-host option. Best for developer-centric teams that need deep debugging and want data sovereignty.
| Feature | PostHog | Datadog | Sentry | LogRocket | FullStory | OpenReplay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Session Replay (Web) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Session Replay (Mobile) | ✓ | ✓ | Beta | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Heatmaps | ✓ | Via RUM | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Error Tracking | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Product Analytics | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | Basic |
| Feature Flags | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Network Request Capture | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Console Log Capture | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Redux / State Replay | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Co-browsing | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | Add-on | ✗ | ✓ |
| Rage Click Detection | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Privacy / Masking Controls | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-host Option | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Open Source | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Backend Trace Correlation | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Setup Complexity | Low 1 script tag, ~5 min |
Medium CDN + init config, ~15 min |
Low Add to existing Sentry SDK, ~5 min |
Low 1 script tag, ~5 min |
Low 1 script tag, auto-capture, ~5 min |
Medium CDN + tracker init, ~10 min |
| Time to First Replay | ~10 min | ~20 min (needs DD account) | ~10 min (if Sentry exists) | ~10 min | ~10 min | ~15 min (cloud) / hours (self-host) |
These are session replay costs only — what you'd pay for the replay feature. Some providers (PostHog, Sentry) bill other products separately — see the "All-In" section below for the full picture.
"Sessions" = recorded sessions sent to the provider. Most teams sample 10–100% of traffic, so 1M recorded sessions may represent 1M–10M actual users.
| Provider | Free Tier | 10K sessions/mo | 50K sessions/mo | 100K sessions/mo | Billing Model | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | 5,000 replays/mo | $25/mo | $148/mo | $273/mo | Per replay, published tiered rates | ● HIGH |
| Datadog | None | $18–25/mo | $90–125/mo | $180–250/mo | $1.80/1K (annual) or $2.50/1K (on-demand) | ● MED |
| Sentry | 50 replays/mo | $110/mo | $223/mo | $366/mo | $0.003/replay (reserved) + $80 base plan | ● MED |
| LogRocket | 1,000 sessions/mo | $69/mo (Team) | ~$295/mo (Pro) | Custom (Enterprise) | Plan-based: 10K=$69, 25K=$139, Pro=$295 | ● MED |
| FullStory | 5,000 sessions/mo | Free (within 5K) | ~$200+/mo | ~$400–600/mo | Custom quotes, contract-based | ● LOW |
| OpenReplay | None on Dedicated | $179/mo | $179/mo | $179–400/mo | Dedicated instance from $179/mo (flat, not per-session) | ● MED |
| Provider | 100K sessions/mo | 250K sessions/mo | 500K sessions/mo | 1M sessions/mo | Annual at 1M | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | $273/mo | $543/mo | $968/mo | $1,718/mo | ~$21K/yr | ● HIGH |
|
Datadog annual committed |
$180/mo | $450/mo | $900/mo | $1,800/mo | ~$22K/yr | ● MED |
|
Datadog on-demand / restructured |
$250/mo | $625/mo | $1,250/mo | $2,500/mo | ~$30K/yr | ● MED |
|
Sentry reserved pricing + $80 base |
$366/mo | $751/mo | $1,394/mo | ~$2,672/mo | ~$32K/yr | ● MED |
| LogRocket | ~$500+/mo | ~$2,000–3,000/mo | ~$4,000–8,000/mo | ~$8,000–10,000/mo | ~$96K–120K/yr | ● LOW |
| FullStory | ~$400–600/mo | ~$2,500–5,800/mo | ~$4,000–8,300/mo | ~$6,700–16,700/mo | ~$80K–200K/yr | ● LOW |
|
OpenReplay dedicated cloud instance |
~$179–400/mo | ~$400–800/mo | ~$800/mo | ~$1,200+/mo | ~$10–14K/yr | ● MED |
|
OpenReplay (self-host) $0 software |
$0 software cost — you pay for cloud infrastructure only (VMs + storage: ~$200–800/mo scaling with volume) | ~$2.4K–10K/yr | ● HIGH | |||
Cumulative tiered pricing, each tier applies only to recordings within that band:
| 0–5K | Free | = $0 |
| 5K–15K | $0.0050/rec | 10K × $0.005 = $50 |
| 15K–50K | $0.0035/rec | 35K × $0.0035 = $122.50 |
| 50K–150K | $0.0020/rec | 100K × $0.002 = $200 |
| 150K–500K | $0.0017/rec | 350K × $0.0017 = $595 |
| 500K+ | $0.0015/rec | 500K × $0.0015 = $750 |
| 1M total | = $1,717.50/mo |
Requires a base plan ($26 Team or $80 Business). Reserved replay pricing tiers (pay-as-you-go is ~25% more):
| 0–50 | Included in plan | = $0 |
| 50–5K | $0.00300/replay | 4,950 × $0.003 = $14.85 |
| 5K–100K | $0.00285/replay | 95K × $0.00285 = $270.75 |
| 100K–900K | $0.00257/replay | 900K × $0.00257 = $2,313 (at max tier) |
| 1M total | = ~$2,592 replays + $80 base = ~$2,672/mo |
Previous version had ~$0.006/replay — that was wrong. Actual reserved rate is ~$0.003, roughly half. Sentry is more competitive at scale than initially estimated.
Multiple sources conflict: $1.80/1K sessions (annual committed, widely cited) vs $2.50/1K sessions (on-demand or post-2025 restructuring). I could not confirm which is current from their pricing page directly — it requires a login or specific URL path that didn't render. Both rows are shown. Verify by checking your Datadog dashboard or asking sales for a quote.
LogRocket: Confirmed Team plan at $69/mo (10K sessions) and $139/mo (25K) from their pricing page. Professional starts at $295/mo. Enterprise (100K+) is fully custom-quoted — the $96K–120K/yr range comes from Vendr contract reports, not published rates. Actual cost depends heavily on negotiation.
FullStory: Zero published per-session pricing. All numbers are from ~400 reported Vendr contracts (median $27.5K/yr). Range is $10K–$200K+/yr. Your quote will depend on volume, contract term, and how hard you negotiate (20–35% off initial quotes is common).
OpenReplay: Earlier "$5.95/1K sessions" serverless plan was not found on their current pricing page. Current model is instance-based: Dedicated from $179/mo (flat monthly, not per-session). Capacity depends on instance size (O1/O2/O3) — use their pricing calculator for exact numbers.
| Provider | Default Retention | Max Retention | Extended Retention Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | 30 days | Configurable | Included in plan (self-host: unlimited) |
| Datadog | 30 days (replay), 15 days (resources) | 30 days | Not extendable beyond 30 days |
| Sentry | 30 days (Team), 90 days (Business) | 90 days | Upgrade to Business plan |
| LogRocket | 1 month (Free/Team) | 3 months (Enterprise) | Enterprise plan upgrade |
| FullStory | 12 months (Free), varies on paid | 12 months | Included in plan tier |
| OpenReplay | 30 days (cloud) | Configurable (Dedicated/self-host) | Dedicated plan or self-host (storage cost only) |
The tables above are session replay only. Some providers (PostHog, Sentry) bill analytics events and error tracking separately. Others (LogRocket, FullStory, OpenReplay) bundle everything into one session price. Datadog bundles within RUM but most teams add APM/logs/infra on top. Below is context on what else you might pay for — skip this if you're comparing replay costs apples-to-apples.
Understanding which costs are bundled vs. billed separately is critical. This is where the sticker shock comes from.
| Provider | Session Replay Cost | Analytics Events | Error Tracking | Base Platform Fee | Other Hidden Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | $0.0015–0.005/replay | Billed separately $0.000248/identified event $0.00005/anonymous event 1M free/mo |
Billed separately $0.00037/exception 100K free/mo |
None — $0 | Feature flags: $0.0001/request (1M free). Data pipelines: $0.0005/event. Each product metered independently with own free tier. |
| Datadog | $1.80/1K sessions (RUM + Replay bundle) |
Included in session price | Included in RUM | None for RUM alone But most teams add APM ($31/host), logs ($0.10/GB), infra ($15–23/host) |
RUM alone is clean. But the total Datadog bill (APM + logs + infra + RUM) commonly hits $5K–15K+/mo. Custom metrics overages are common. |
| Sentry | ~$0.006/replay Only 50 included on all plans |
N/A (not an analytics tool) | Included in base plan 50K errors included, overages billed |
$26/mo (Team) or $80/mo (Business) | Performance spans: 5M included, overages billed. Logs: 5GB included, +$0.50/GB. Attachments: 1GB included. |
| LogRocket | Bundled in plan tier | Included in session price | Included in session price | $99–350/mo (plan tier) | Session overage fees (unpublished rates). Conditional recording & feedback widget are paid add-ons. Extended retention costs extra. |
| FullStory | Bundled in plan tier | Included (auto-captured) | Included | ~$2K+/yr (quoted) | Mobile sessions may be a separate SKU. Retention extensions add 10–20%. Implementation services $5K–15K. Annual price escalators 3–7%. |
| OpenReplay | $5.95/1K sessions | Included | Included | None (cloud) Self-host: infra costs only |
Dedicated plan: flat ~$800/mo. Self-host: your cloud infra ($200–800/mo). No surprise line items. |
These estimates include everything: session replay + analytics events + error tracking + base platform fees. Assumes a typical web app generating ~30 events per session with identified users, moderate error rates (~0.5% of sessions), and standard retention.
| Provider | 100K sessions/mo | 250K sessions/mo | 500K sessions/mo | 1M sessions/mo | Annual All-In at 1M |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
PostHog replay + events + errors |
~$520/mo replay $248 + events ~$240 + errors ~$32 |
~$1,200/mo replay $503 + events ~$610 + errors ~$80 |
~$2,200/mo replay $928 + events ~$1,100 + errors ~$160 |
~$3,900/mo replay $1,678 + events ~$2,000 + errors ~$300 |
~$47K/yr |
|
Datadog RUM + replay (standalone) |
~$180/mo $1.80/1K sessions, all-inclusive |
~$450/mo | ~$900/mo | ~$1,800/mo | ~$22K/yr |
|
Datadog realistic full-stack (RUM + APM + logs + infra) |
~$3,000–6,000/mo RUM $180 + APM + logs + infra |
~$4,000–8,000/mo | ~$6,000–12,000/mo | ~$8,000–15,000+/mo | ~$96K–180K/yr |
|
Sentry replays + errors + spans + base |
~$440/mo base $80 + replays ~$286 + error overages ~$70 |
~$900/mo | ~$1,600/mo | ~$2,900/mo | ~$35K/yr |
|
LogRocket all-inclusive session price |
~$500+/mo | ~$2,000–3,000/mo | ~$4,000–8,000/mo | ~$8,000–10,000+/mo | ~$96K–120K/yr |
|
FullStory all-inclusive + implementation |
~$400–600/mo | ~$2,500–5,800/mo | ~$4,000–8,300/mo | ~$6,700–16,700/mo | ~$80K–200K/yr |
|
OpenReplay cloud (all-inclusive) |
~$590/mo |
~$800/mo dedicated instance |
~$800/mo dedicated instance |
~$1,200+/mo larger dedicated |
~$10–14K/yr |
|
OpenReplay (self-host) infra only, $0 software |
$0 software — cloud infra estimate: $200–800/mo scaling with volume and storage needs | ~$2.4K–10K/yr | |||
PostHog bills replay, analytics events, and errors as three separate meters — each with its own free tier. Here's the breakdown at 1M sessions/mo:
Total: ~$3,900/mo (~$47K/yr) — replay is only 43% of the bill. Events are the bigger cost at scale.
You can reduce this: use anonymous events ($0.00005 — 5x cheaper), lower the replay sample rate, or set per-product billing caps. PostHog with anonymous-only events at 1M sessions drops to ~$2,100/mo ($25K/yr).
Datadog RUM + Session Replay is genuinely cheap standalone ($1.80/1K sessions, everything included). But nobody buys Datadog just for session replay — the value is correlating frontend sessions with backend traces. A realistic Datadog deployment includes:
If you truly only want session replay and nothing else, the standalone RUM row is your cost. If you want the full-stack correlation that makes Datadog worthwhile, budget for the full-stack row.
Session replay costs only — no analytics events, error tracking, or platform fees included. ● = confidence dot (see legend above tables). Enterprise discounts (15–35%) not applied.
| Provider | Default Retention | Max Retention | Extended Retention Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| PostHog | 30 days | Configurable | Included in plan (self-host: unlimited) |
| Datadog | 30 days (replay), 15 days (resources) | 30 days | Not extendable beyond 30 days |
| Sentry | 30 days (Team), 90 days (Business) | 90 days | Upgrade to Business plan |
| LogRocket | 1 month (Free/Team) | 3 months (Enterprise) | Enterprise plan upgrade |
| FullStory | 12 months (Free), varies on paid | 12 months | Included in plan tier |
| OpenReplay | 30 days (cloud) | Configurable (Dedicated/self-host) | Dedicated plan or self-host (storage cost only) |
PostHog is an open-source, all-in-one product analytics platform. Session replay is one of several integrated tools (alongside product analytics, feature flags, A/B testing, surveys, and a CDP). The replay experience is tightly coupled with analytics — you can jump from a funnel drop-off directly into a session recording to see why users dropped.
Datadog's session replay is part of its Real User Monitoring (RUM) product. The key differentiator is correlation: you can trace a user session from the browser click through frontend errors, backend traces, logs, and infrastructure metrics — all in one platform. Session replay is an add-on to RUM, not a standalone product.
Sentry is an error-monitoring platform where session replay was added to help teams reproduce bugs visually. Unlike other tools where replay is the primary product, Sentry's replay is designed to complement error tracking — you see the replay of what happened around an error. The recommended approach is to sample lightly (1–5%) for general sessions but capture 100% of sessions where errors occur.
LogRocket is a session-replay-first platform with strong frontend debugging capabilities. Its standout features include Redux/Vuex/ngrx state replay (see the exact state at any point in the session) and network request inspection. It also includes product analytics, error tracking, and performance monitoring.
FullStory is a digital experience intelligence platform focused on understanding user behavior. It auto-captures every interaction without manual instrumentation. Its frustration signals (rage clicks, dead clicks, error clicks, thrashed cursor) are industry-leading. The free tier (5K sessions, 12-month retention) is surprisingly generous.
OpenReplay is an open-source session replay tool that emphasizes developer experience and data sovereignty. Its standout feature is co-browsing — you can share a live session with a user for real-time support. The self-hosted option means unlimited replays at zero marginal cost (just your infrastructure). The cloud version is competitively priced.
Each page below has the provider's session replay SDK loaded with a placeholder configuration. Replace the placeholder tokens with your real project credentials to activate recording.
CDN async loader with DD_RUM init, sessionReplaySampleRate set to 100%.
sample-datadog.html →Sentry Browser SDK via CDN with replayIntegration and error sample rates.
sample-sentry.html →CDN script tag with LogRocket.init(), simplest setup of all providers.
sample-logrocket.html →Find your team's situation below. Each row narrows to 1–2 providers.
| If your team... | Go with | Runner-up | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wants one tool for replay + analytics + flags | PostHog | FullStory | All-in-one, transparent pricing, open source |
| Already pays for Datadog APM/logs | Datadog RUM | PostHog | Frontend-to-backend trace correlation is the value |
| Already uses Sentry for error tracking | Sentry Replay | PostHog | Cheapest path, error-linked replay, 5-min setup |
| Needs deep Redux/Vuex state debugging | LogRocket | OpenReplay | Only tools with application state replay |
| Needs UX insight, frustration signals, conversion funnels | FullStory | PostHog | Best auto-capture and frustration detection |
| Needs data sovereignty / must self-host | OpenReplay | PostHog (self-host) | $0 software cost, full control, co-browsing |
| Has less than 5K sessions and wants to start free | PostHog or FullStory | Sentry, LogRocket | Both have generous free tiers (5K sessions, no card) |
| Expects 500K–1M+ sessions, budget matters | PostHog | OpenReplay (dedicated) | ~$21K/yr vs $80K–200K for FullStory/LogRocket |