Amplitude vs Heap: which should you choose?
Quick answer: Amplitude is built for product-teams, while Heap suits product-teams. For most users Amplitude is the stronger default, but Heap can be the better fit depending on your budget and use case.
Amplitude and Heap look similar on the surface; the differences show up in practice. Below we compare them on pricing, strengths and the use cases each one fits, then give a clear verdict.
Side-by-side
| Amplitude | Heap | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Product Analytics | Product Analytics |
| What it's known for | Enterprise-grade digital analytics platform for product, behavioral and growth analytics with strong cohort, retention and experimentation features. | Autocapture product analytics (now part of Contentsquare) that records every user interaction without manual event tagging, plus session replay and AI insights. |
| Pricing | Free Starter (up to ~50k MTUs); Plus from ~$49/mo; Growth/Enterprise custom | Free up to ~10k sessions/mo; Growth/Pro/Premier from ~$3,600+/year, custom by session volume |
| Best audience | Product, growth and data teams running experimentation and behavioural analysis. | Product teams wanting tag-free, retroactive product analytics. |
| Best for | product-teams, growth | product-teams, autocapture |
| Entry price | Free | Free |
| Biggest strength | Enterprise-grade behavioural and growth analytics. | Autocapture records data without engineering effort. |
| Main caveat | MTU-based pricing gets expensive at scale. | Paid tiers are custom-quoted (from ~$3,600+/yr). |
Features compared
Where they really diverge is in the day-to-day feature set:
Amplitude key features
- Behavioural and product analytics
- Cohorts, retention and funnels
- Feature and web experimentation (A/B testing)
- Session replay (included allowance)
Heap key features
- Autocapture of every user interaction (no manual tagging)
- Retroactive event definition and analysis
- Funnels, retention and cohorts
- Session replay
Pricing tiers side by side
Amplitude plans
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Starter (free) | $0 | up to 10k MTUs / 2M events, 1k session replays/mo |
| Plus | ~$49/mo annual | up to 300k MTUs or 25M events/mo, unlimited seats |
| Growth | Custom | unlimited MTUs, full experimentation, governance |
| Enterprise | Custom | SSO, dedicated support, custom SLAs |
Heap plans
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | up to 10k monthly sessions |
| Growth / Pro / Premier | Custom (~$3,600+/yr) | priced by session volume, add-ons available |
Tiers compiled from the vendors' published plans and independent reviews; prices are approximate and change often, so confirm current figures (and your region's taxes) on each vendor's site.
Strengths compared
Where Amplitude wins
Enterprise-grade product analytics with built-in experimentation and cohorting.
- Enterprise-grade behavioural and growth analytics.
- Strong experimentation and cohort tooling.
That makes it the stronger pick for product, growth and data teams running experimentation and behavioural analysis.
Where Heap wins
Autocapture analytics that records everything, enabling retroactive analysis without tagging.
- Autocapture records data without engineering effort.
- Retroactive analysis on data already collected.
That makes it the stronger pick for product teams wanting tag-free, retroactive product analytics.
Verdict: choose by fit
There is no single winner; it depends on where you sit.
- Choose Amplitude if you fit its core audience — product, growth and data teams running experimentation and behavioural analysis.
- Choose Heap if you fit its core audience — product teams wanting tag-free, retroactive product analytics.
FAQ
Is Amplitude better than Heap?
Amplitude is the stronger default for most users, but Heap can be the better fit depending on your budget and use case.
What is the main difference between Amplitude and Heap?
Amplitude is enterprise-grade product analytics with built-in experimentation and cohorting. Heap is autocapture analytics that records everything, enabling retroactive analysis without tagging.
Which is cheaper, Amplitude or Heap?
Both Amplitude and Heap offer a free tier, so the real comparison is the paid plans above — pick based on the storage, features and limits you actually need.
Sources
Facts above are drawn from these independent reviews and the vendors' own pages for Amplitude and Heap: