In short
OpenReplay is an open-source session replay and product analytics platform. Teams can run it on their own servers for free, or pay OpenReplay to run it: a usage-based Serverless cloud, or a Dedicated instance from $199 a month in one of 50 regions. It adds developer tools, co-browsing, heatmaps, funnels and mobile-app recording. Faintrail is hosted for you and built for owners and marketers: each visit plays beside a plain-words log, typed text is never recorded, email addresses, phone and card numbers on the page are hidden, and you choose the EU, the UK or the US. Faintrail can't be self-hosted yet.
OpenReplay and Faintrail side by side
| Faintrail | OpenReplay | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | Each visit replayed beside a plain-words log; rage clicks, unanswered clicks, unsent forms and errors marked for you | Replay with developer tools (network, console, errors, performance), co-browsing, funnels, heatmaps, journeys and web analytics; iOS, Android and React Native apps |
| Privacy defaults | Typed text never recorded; email addresses, phone and card numbers on the page hidden; pages you mark private left out; sets no cookies, though in "record unless they say no" mode it keeps a visit number in the browser's storage, which privacy rules can treat like a cookie | Form fields and email addresses hidden by default; numbers shown on the page, such as phone or card numbers, are not hidden unless a developer turns that on |
| Where data is kept | Hosted by Faintrail in the EU, the UK or the US: you choose | On your own servers (open-source, free), or run by OpenReplay: Dedicated in one of 50 regions on AWS, Google Cloud or Azure. The Serverless region isn't stated |
| Run it yourself | Not available yet; contact us | Yes, free: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, DigitalOcean, Scaleway, OVHcloud, Ubuntu, Kubernetes or Docker. Mostly AGPL v3 licence |
| AI | Download up to 100 visits as one text file for the assistant you already use. Nothing is sent to an AI automatically | "Kai": session summaries and pattern detection; an MCP server for AI assistants; AI agents "coming soon" on Enterprise |
| How long visits are kept | Replays 30 days and logs 90 days by default, up to a year if you choose | 30 days on Serverless; custom on Dedicated; you decide when self-hosted |
| Price | Not set yet | Self-hosted: free. Cloud: 1,000 sessions a month free (2 users), then Serverless at $5.95 per 1,000 sessions. Dedicated from $199 a month, billed hourly. Enterprise: custom |
| Set-up | One small script, pasted in once. Nothing to host | A script snippet or a code package; self-hosting also means installing, upgrading and backing up the server (the open-source version is "intended for low traffic") |
Prices in US dollars, as OpenReplay shows them. Sources, checked 15 November 2026: OpenReplay pricing; OpenReplay site summary (llms-full.txt); Sanitising data; Deployment; Licence.
Why teams choose Faintrail
- Nothing to install, upgrade or back up. OpenReplay's free version runs on a server your team looks after. Faintrail is hosted for you: someone pastes a script in once, and everyone else just opens visits.
- Phone and card numbers on the page are hidden too. OpenReplay hides form fields and email addresses by default, but numbers shown on the page stay visible unless a developer changes a setting. Faintrail never records typed text, and hides email addresses, phone and card numbers shown on any page from the first visit.
- Written for people who aren't developers. OpenReplay's replays sit beside network and console tools, which developers need. Faintrail's sit beside a plain-words log, such as Clicked button "Pay £89" ⚠ unanswered click, so whoever owns the page can see what went wrong and filter to the visits that matter.
When OpenReplay is the better choice
Choose OpenReplay if your visitors' data must stay on servers you control, or you want to read and change the code: its open-source version is free to run yourself, and Faintrail can't be self-hosted yet. It's also the better choice if you need developer tools beside the replay, want to join a visitor's session live to help them (co-browsing), record mobile apps, want heatmaps and funnels, or need a hosted copy in a particular country beyond the EU, the UK and the US (its Dedicated plan offers 50 regions).
Switching from OpenReplay
- Add Faintrail beside OpenReplay. Both scripts can run at once, so nothing goes dark while you compare.
- Set what to record. Choose your private pages, the pages always recorded and how many visitors to record. OpenReplay's privacy settings live in your site's code and don't carry over.
- Compare a week of visits. Check that Faintrail shows you what you opened OpenReplay for.
- Keep what you need. Recordings stay in OpenReplay, on your server or theirs; Faintrail can't import them. If you self-host, shutting the server down is up to you.
Questions people ask
Is OpenReplay free?
Its open-source version is free to run on your own servers. OpenReplay's cloud has a free tier of 1,000 sessions a month for 2 users, then Serverless at $5.95 per 1,000 sessions; a Dedicated instance starts at $199 a month. Faintrail has no prices yet.
Is OpenReplay safe?
OpenReplay says it's SOC 2 Type II compliant, its code is public on GitHub, and by default its script hides form fields and email addresses in the browser before anything is sent. Numbers shown on a page aren't hidden by default. How safe it is in practice also depends on who runs the server, if you host it yourself. We don't judge another company's security.
Can I host Faintrail myself, like OpenReplay?
Not yet. Faintrail is hosted for you, and you choose whether your visitors' data is kept in the EU, the UK or the US. If you need it on your own servers, or in another country, contact us.
Does OpenReplay hide what people type?
Yes, by default: OpenReplay's script obscures what's typed into form fields, and email addresses in fields and on the page. Faintrail never records typed text either, and also hides phone and card numbers shown on the page.
OpenReplay or PostHog?
Both are open source and can be run on your own servers; PostHog adds analytics, experiments and surveys, while OpenReplay adds co-browsing and developer tools. If neither team will look after a server and you want visits in plain words, Faintrail is hosted for you. See PostHog compared.
