Product analytics is essential for businesses to succeed in today's market. It helps to analyze customer behavior, understand product usage, and improve user experiences.
Selecting the right product analytics tool that best fits your business needs is crucial. However, choosing the right one can take time and effort, with the availability of product analytics tools taking time and effort.
We will take a look at some popular product analytics tools. As a result, you can understand how to make an informed decision based on your requirements and budget. By the end of this article, businesses will clearly understand the different product analytics tools available and which is the best fit for their business needs.
- What is FullStory used for?
- Pricing of FullStory
- FullStory Alternatives
- Things to Look for in an Analytics Tool
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is FullStory used for?
FullStory is primarily a product analytics tool with a heatmap feature baked into it. It is a hybrid tool, but FullStory likes to call it a Digital Experience Intelligence Platform (DXI), as you can use session replay and product analytics to get a deeper insight into product usage. Though it has a ton of features, FullStory isn’t a true DXI, as there is a lack of intelligence inside the product.
One of the critical benefits of FullStory is its user-friendly interface. So it is easy for users to navigate and get started with the tool. In addition, it has advanced search and filtering capabilities. It also allows users to find and analyze specific interactions or events.
Pricing of FullStory
FullStory offers three pricing plans: Enterprise, Advanced, and Business. The enterprise plan is for those companies which require all-around clarity in their digital folio, and the advanced program caters to those requiring in-depth product pipeline analysis. Finally, the Business suite tends to the needs of those looking to discover trends to enhance their funnel.
Though their pricing isn’t public; 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.
FullStory Alternatives
Despite its many benefits, FullStory does have some drawbacks to consider. One potential downside is its pricing. In addition, FullStory's integrations are limited to some of the more popular platforms.
This may be a difficulty for businesses using less common tools. FullStory can be overwhelming for new users, as it offers a lot of data and features that may take time to understand and utilize fully.
Let's check out some alternatives.
Simple Analytics
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 businesses. 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.
PostHog
PostHog provides businesses with product analytics that assists in obtaining insights into their user behaviour. It is a GDPR-compliant platform that empowers entities to monitor user interactions and scrutinize data instantly.
Using it, companies can establish personal events to track explicit actions on their website or app, like button clicks or page views. PostHog also integrates with well-known tools like Slack, Segment, and Zapier.
Pros
- Affordable paid plan and generous free plan
- Open-source
- GDPR-compliant
Cons
- Customer support isn’t available for every plan
- Too complex for many
Pricing of PostHog
PostHog offers a paid plan starting at $0.0003068/event and $0.005/recording. There are also custom plans available for larger companies. It’s relatively affordable; however, if you want to have support, you’ll need to upgrade.
Mixpanel
Mixpanel is one of the most popular product analytics tools out there and is used by companies like Netflix and CNN. The founders of Mixpanel believed that metrics like registered users, page views, and app downloads were just vanity metrics and could have been easily inflated. Mixpanel was built to solve this by providing absolute product clarity with their metrics.
It offers many ways to customize for the unique needs of businesses from different industries. With its customizable dashboard, Mixpanel allows its users a lot of room to keep track of their numbers.
Pros
- Provides in-depth product analytics
- Custom dashboards and charts can be created
Cons
- Using it is hard without dedicated product knowledge
- Expensive for most businesses if all features need to be unlocked
Pricing
Mixpanel offers a variety of pricing plans to suit different business needs, with options for startups, small businesses, and enterprises. Prices start at $20/month for the Growth plan, which includes unlimited reports and data pipeline add-ons. The Enterprise plan starts at a heavy $833/ month and includes advanced machine learning and predictive analytics features.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of business is FullStory?
A customer experience analytics platform, FullStory, offers information on how users behave and interact with websites and mobile apps. It enables companies to understand better how customers interact with their digital products and enhance customer satisfaction.
Which types of businesses use of FullStory?
Many organizations from many sectors and industries use FullStory. FullStory is used by several well-known businesses, including StackShare, Yousign, Superchat, TravelPerk, and Productboard. These businesses use FullStory's analytics tools to acquire insightful information and improve user experiences.
Is FullStory better than Simple Analytics?
It depends on your needs. If you are looking for a straightforward analytics tool that is also 100% GDPR-compliant, you might want to go for Simple 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.