Before we start talking about Amplitude and its alternative tools, it's essential to understand what product analytics is and how it works. Product analytics is the data showing how and which of your users interact with the product. It helps to track, visualize and analyze user interaction data.
In this article, we'll touch upon Amplitude Analytics and alternatives you can use for your product analytics set up.
- What is Amplitude used for?
- Amplitude pricing
- Amplitude Analytics alternatives
- Things to Look For in an Analytics Tool
- FAQ Amplitude
What is Amplitude used for?
Amplitude is a product analytics tool and an event-tracking platform founded in 2012 by Spenser Skates and Curtis Liu.
Amplitude is primarily used for customer journey analytics, digital analytics, mobile analytics, product intelligence, and product analytics. It's a complex product with a hefty price tag focused on larger organizations.
Amplitude pricing
As you'd see in the image above, Amplitude doesn't mention their pricing on their website because they tailor plans based on customer demand.
The price for their most affordable plan used to be ~$12,000 per year in 2020, which has reportedly increased to ~$25,000 per year.
Amplitude Analytics alternatives
Though Amplitude is an excellent product analytics tool, it has several flaws that have made users search for alternatives.
Expensive: One major issue with Amplitude is that it's costly, and only some businesses can afford $25,000 annually for analytics.
Learning Curve: Amplitude is meant to be used in enterprises with dedicated departments for product management. It's a complex product meant to be used by product teams only; others would need help understanding and using it.
Lets check out some alternatives!
Simple Analytics (easy to use and predictable pricing)
Simple Analytics is a straightforward analytics tool that gives you the insights you need while being 100% GDPR-compliant. It's affordable tool that doubles as a web -and product analytics tool.
Pros of using Simple Analytics
- Simplified UI - Using tools that are easy to navigate around is always preferred over complex ones. Simple Analytics offers a straightforward user interface that makes analysis easier. Working with it is, therefore, a smooth activity.
- Affordable Pricing- Simple Analytics is exceptionally cost-effective. They offer both product and web analytics tools at a reasonable price. They have plans starting at $9/month. It packs the tools and features from the most expensive tools for a friendly price.
- Automated Event Collection- Another feature that makes Simple Analytics stand out in its product category is automated event collection. While you must manually set additional tags for other tools, Simple Analytics does the job for you. Once you link it to your website, it lets you track the metrics of all action buttons just by hovering over them.
- Mini Websites- As a business with an online presence, you often get featured in the conversation of your users. You might get a mention on Twitter or a feature on a website. While most tools let you know where you got a mention, they don’t deliver the specifics. Simple Analytics stands out here. It gives you the specifics of your feature and helps you track it through a mini website.
Cons of using Simple Analytics
The user interface of Simple Analytics is made to look simple and easy to understand so everyone, be it the founder or marketing teams, can use it easily. A Product Manager may need a few more screens, but that is something that can be quickly built with goals.
Pricing of Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics is one of the most cost-efficient tools available in its segment. The product is perfect for businesses. It caters to companies and has plans for individuals and students. Therefore it ensures that the best features are available at a very reasonable price.
The pricing of Simple Analytics starts at a low $9/month, making it a pocket-friendly tool for all businesses.
Pendo
Pendo is a product analytics tool that enables product managers to proactively engage with customers and understand how their product is being used. Also, yes, tools like Pendo are better to be used by a PM and not the best choice for solopreneurs or small teams.
It also has many features that help you provide personalized user onboarding and in-app training, which is an added feature of Pendo. Furthermore, these features are available on mobile too
Pros
- Provides additional features such as an onboarding tool for SaaS
- Provides detailed product analytics
Cons
- Too many features make the UI cluttered
- Expensive tool
Pricing
Pendo is a software targeted towards enterprises, which also shows up in its pricing. You’ll have to pay $7000/year for up to 2000 monthly active users.
It’s indeed pricey and certainly not recommended if you are just starting. Better to stick to something affordable and simple.
FullStory
FullStory is a digital experience analytics platform that allows you to track user behavior and interactions on their websites or mobile applications. It also provides real-time analytics and insights that help companies to improve customer experiences and identify potential issues.
Pros
- Provides session replay and usage heatmaps
- Auto captures product metrics and events
Cons
- Still expensive to most businesses
- UI can be hard to navigate
Pricing of FullStory
FullStory offers three plans, but the pricing isn’t mentioned on their pricing page; however, according to a Capiche and this Twitter thread, the pricing can range in-between $247/month to $850/month based on requirements.
They also have a startup program that reduces the price to ~ $1000/year.
Heap
Heap is a product analytics tool with features like session replay, heatmap, and user journey. Its primary role is to be the single source of truth for all product-related metrics.
Anyone using Heap can customize it as per their requirements, as it allows users to create custom dashboards and charts. Heap is widely used in the industry for funnel optimization and to improve product adoption.
Pros
- Provides data enrichment
- Provides in-depth product analytics
Cons
- Can get overwhelming
- Expensive tool to use
Pricing
Heap is an enterprise-grade software tool with three paid plans, Growth, Pro, and Premier. The pricing isn’t publicly available on their website. However, some review sites say it starts at $3,600/year for 300K sessions/year (25K sessions/month).
Do note that the starting pricing doesn't contain all the features that Heap offers; you’d have to upgrade to a higher plan.
Things to Look For in an Analytics Tool
Selecting a tool for product analytics is a crucial decision. You might ask what could possibly go wrong when choosing one, yet you can miss out on a lot. Therefore, be sure to go through this checklist before making a choice. You're good to go if the tool provides these:
- Ease of Use: Regardless of your chosen product, it must be simple to use. You shouldn’t spend your precious time on a complex web analytics tool that takes time and experience to get familiar with.
- Accuracy: Getting an accurate picture of what’s happening on your website is important. Inaccurate data might lead to misjudged decisions that impact your business.
- Straightforward UI: Most of the time, you don’t need 75 custom dashboards (looking at you, Google). A straightforward overview of what’s happening on your website will give you the insights you need instantly. Look for a tool that gives you the insights you need without too many distracting bells and whistles.
- Lightweight: Your website is your storefront on the internet. Providing the best possible experience to your visitors matters. Installing an analytics script has an impact on your page speed. Choose an analytics tool that doesn’t slow your website down. This not only affects your visitors’ experience. Google will notice this as well.
- Privacy: The world is moving in a direction where privacy is becoming increasingly important. Google Analytics has been declared illegal in multiple EU countries. You don’t want to get caught up in this mess. Take privacy or compliance with regulation into account.
- Integration: To get a complete picture of your business, the tool should be able to integrate with other devices you use, such as your CRM or dashboarding tools.
- Pricing: Consider the tool's pricing and ensure it aligns with your budget. Take advantage of some companies' free trials or basic versions to ensure the product suits your needs before committing to a paying plan.
Although this checklist can assist you in getting started, there may be other factors for your organization that you need to consider.
Feel free to try Simple Analytics if you want a tool that checks these boxes. It provides the insights you need in a straightforward dashboard while being 100% GDPR compliant.
FAQ Amplitude
Is Amplitude better than Google Analytics?
This ultimately depends on your needs. Both Amplitude and Google Analytics are full-blown analytics tools with lots of custom dashboards and complex features. If you are looking for an affordable and straightforward analytics you might want to give Simple Analytics a try.
Who uses Amplitude?
Companies in the segment of Media, e-commerce, and technology widely use Amplitude Analytics. These companies use it mostly to evaluate customer behavior and enhance the quality of their products.
Should I use Amplitude or Simple Analytics?
This ultimately depends on what your needs are. If you want a straightforward analytics tool that is affordable and 100% GDPR-compliant out-of-the-box, you might want to opt for Simple Analytics. If you need a full-blown product analytics tool with lots of complex features, you should try Amplitude Analytics.
What is Simple Analytics?
Simple Analytics is a privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative that gives you the insights you need without collecting personal data. If you care about the privacy of your users and want an intuitive dashboard with the most important website insights, Simple Analytics might be the tool you are looking for.