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PostHog Zapier integrationAutomate PostHog with Zapier.

The PostHog Zapier integration gives you 1 trigger, 1 action and 0 searches. One side listens: a Zap starts the moment a user performs an action you defined in PostHog. The other side writes: a Zap sends an event into PostHog. Here is what each does and where it trips.

See the 2 operations

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Overview

What the PostHog Zapier integration actually does

It connects PostHog, the product analytics platform, to the rest of your tools through Zapier, the automation service. A Zap can start when one of your users performs an action you have defined in PostHog, and a Zap can capture an event into PostHog for a given user, so analytics also see what happens outside your product.

Three results teams get from it. A product signal that reaches people instantly: Action Performed fires the moment a user does something that matters, such as reaching a pricing page or finishing onboarding, and the Zap passes it on to whoever needs to know. Offline events in the same funnel: Capture Event records a signed contract, a support call or a paid invoice against the user's distinct ID, so the funnel does not stop at the edge of your app. Milestones derived from behaviour: an action performed in PostHog, filtered on what came with it, captures a cleaner event that analysts can chart directly.

What Zapier does not do with PostHog: there is no search step, so a Zap cannot look up a person or an event history. The trigger only listens to actions already defined in PostHog, not to every raw event. And nothing reads dashboards or insights.

A PostHog n8n integration page covers the same app on n8n, if you want to compare before you build.

Vocabulary

Zapier vocabulary in one minute

Seven words cover the rest of the page. Each keeps exactly this meaning afterwards.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run every time the trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event in an app that starts the Zap. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it. PostHog has one: Action Performed.
Action
What the Zap does once started: the step that writes, sends or moves something for you. PostHog's is capturing an event.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. Your plan's allowance is counted in tasks.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked on a timer set by your plan. An instant trigger is pushed by the app the moment it happens. PostHog's is instant.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap continue only when what arrived meets the condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A second action, a filter or a search makes it one, and it then needs a paid plan.
Cost

What PostHog Zaps cost in tasks

The PostHog trigger never costs a task, however many users perform the action. Each action that succeeds afterwards is one task, so a Zap that captures one event per trigger uses one task per run.

  • Free plan100 tasks a month
  • Steps on the free plan2 (one trigger, one action)
  • Premium appNo
  • Action PerformedInstant, costs no task

An action that fails is not counted. The free plan gives 100 tasks a month, unlimited Zaps and no premium apps; PostHog is not one, so it works for free. Because the trigger is instant, the free plan's 15-minute polling interval does not apply to it. The limit to plan for: free Zaps have two steps. Put a filter between the trigger and the action, as in the Zap below, and it becomes a multi-step Zap on a paid plan. A busy action on a big product can also use up 100 tasks quickly.

Connect

Connect PostHog to Zapier in three steps

  1. 01

    Open the Apps page

    In your Zapier account, open Apps and click + Add connection. Search for PostHog in the dialog and select it. This connection is then reused by every Zap that listens to or writes into PostHog.

  2. 02

    Sign in to PostHog

    Click Add connection. PostHog opens in a new tab; sign in with an account that belongs to the organization and the project you want to automate, since both are required on every step.

  3. 03

    Grant access

    Approve the access Zapier asks for. Back in Zapier, the PostHog connection shows in your Apps list, and its organizations and projects become available in the trigger and action dropdowns.

First Zap

Your first Zap: turn a defined action into a clean milestone

GoalCapture a dedicated milestone event in PostHog whenever a user performs a defined action that meets your condition.

  1. 01

    Pick the trigger

    Create a Zap, choose PostHog and Action Performed. Select the organization, the project and the action defined in PostHog that should start everything.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent occurrences of that action, so you can build the next steps on a real user rather than a blank.

  3. 03

    Add a filter

    Add a Filter step from the plus icon. Pick the field to look at, the rule and the value, so only the users you care about go further. This makes the Zap multi-step.

  4. 04

    Add Capture Event

    Add PostHog and Capture Event. Choose organization and project, type the milestone's event name, and map the user's distinct ID from the trigger.

  5. 05

    Test and publish

    Test the action, check the event shows on the right person in PostHog, then click Publish. Each passing run costs one task; earlier actions are not replayed.

Triggers

The PostHog trigger on Zapier

1 event starts a Zap when something happens in PostHog, and one of them is instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

Action Performed

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers when an action is performed by a user.”

Starts your Zap each time one of your users performs an action you have defined in PostHog, inside the organization and project you choose. The point is to react to behaviour that matters, not to every click: the definition you built in PostHog does the sorting.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
when a product moment should reach a person or another tool immediately, such as a trial user hitting the upgrade screen.
Watch out
organization, project and action are all required, and only actions already defined in PostHog appear in the list.
Actions

The PostHog action on Zapier

PostHog gives you 1 action. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Capture Event

Action

In Zapier“Captures an event.”

Records an event in a PostHog project and ties it to a person through their distinct ID, next to what they do inside the product.

When to use it
for things that happen outside the product, like a deal won in the CRM or a paid invoice, that belong in the same analysis.
Watch out
event name and the user's PostHog distinct ID are required; a mismatched ID attaches the event to the wrong person.
When it breaks

When a PostHog Zap breaks

Zapier ties no help article to PostHog, so these are the failures every Zap can hit. Two of them are sharper here, because PostHog sits on both ends.

A PostHog Zap that seems broken may be doing exactly what it was told: a loop, an empty action list, a backlog nobody planned for. When these four cases do not explain it, see the Zapier troubleshooting page.

  • A loop between trigger and action

    If the event you capture also matches the action that triggers the Zap, the Zap sets itself off again and again, and burns through your tasks fast.

  • No history before publishing

    A Zap only reacts to actions performed after it is switched on. Users who did it last week are not picked up; backfilling is a separate job.

  • A flood after a bulk import

    When a huge batch suddenly arrives, after a bulk import or a migration, Zapier's flood protection can hold it back instead of running every step.

  • An empty action dropdown

    The trigger only lists actions defined in PostHog. With none defined in that project, there is nothing to pick, and the Zap cannot be set up.
Need help

Need help automating PostHog with Zapier?

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FAQ

PostHog Zapier integration: common questions

01Is the PostHog Zapier integration free?
Yes, on Zapier's side. PostHog is not a premium app, so it works on the free plan, which gives 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps. The limit is the shape of the Zap: two steps on the free plan, one trigger and one action. Action Performed followed by one action fits. Adding a filter, a second action or a search makes it a multi-step Zap that needs a paid plan. PostHog's own pricing is outside Zapier and not covered on this page.
02How many Zapier tasks does the PostHog integration use?
The trigger costs nothing, however often users perform the action. Each action that succeeds afterwards is one task, and a failed action is not counted. So a Zap that captures one event per trigger uses one task per run, and a Zap with two actions uses two. On a busy product, a widely performed action can use up the free plan's 100 tasks quickly, so define the action narrowly in PostHog or filter it, knowing that a filter means a paid plan.
03Is the PostHog trigger real time?
Yes. Action Performed is an instant trigger: PostHog tells Zapier the moment the action happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan. The polling intervals of the plans, 15 minutes on Free down to 1 on Team and Enterprise, apply to triggers Zapier has to check on a timer, not to this one. In the editor, a Zap built on an instant trigger shows a lightning bolt, which is a quick way to confirm it.
04What does it take to connect PostHog to Zapier?
A PostHog account that belongs to the organization and project you want to automate, and a Zapier account. Open Apps, click + Add connection, search for PostHog, then sign in in the tab that opens and grant access. Every step then asks for an organization and a project. For the trigger you also need at least one action defined in PostHog, and for Capture Event you need the user's PostHog distinct ID.
05Why is the PostHog action list empty in Zapier?
Because Action Performed only lists actions already defined in PostHog, in the project you selected. A raw event, even one you see every day, is not an action until someone defines it in PostHog's data management. Check that you picked the right organization and project, define the action there if it does not exist, then come back to the trigger in Zapier. The list fills from what PostHog holds, nothing else.
06What if the PostHog operation you want is not there?
Then Zapier does not offer it, and no hidden menu will bring it back. The integration has one trigger, on defined actions, and one action, which captures an event. There is no search, no trigger on raw events, and nothing that reads insights or dashboards. If the workflow depends on one of those, check whether another platform covers it for this app before building around the gap. The comparison pages are a quick way to check.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for PostHog?
It depends on the criterion that matters most. On Zapier, PostHog gives an instant trigger and one action, quick to set up and free while the Zap stays at two steps. If you need filters or several steps, compare how each platform counts and bills them before choosing. The comparison pages on this site set those criteria side by side, without naming a winner, because the answer depends on volume and team.
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