Softwr

Software · head to head

Algolia vs FullStory

Algolia logo

Algolia

Software

The best Search and Discovery Platform for your business

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
FullStory logo

FullStory

Software

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Algolia the free tier allows 10,000 search requests and 50,000 records a month; FullStory free tier limited to 30,000 sessions per month, no 5,000+ monthly active user sites
  • They diverge on capability: Algolia covers Instant search, FullStory covers Session replay.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Algolia and FullStory actually diverge.

Attributes where Algolia and FullStory differ
AttributeAlgoliaFullStory
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile
Founded20122014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Algolia

  • Instant search
  • Typo tolerance
  • Faceted search
  • Geo search
  • AI recommendations
  • Analytics
  • A/B testing
  • Multi-language

Only in FullStory

  • Session replay
  • Heatmaps
  • Conversion funnels
  • User journey mapping
  • Error tracking
  • Frustration signals
  • Search functionality
  • Custom events

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • CCPA
  • HIPAA

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Algolia

  • Site searchnot FullStory
  • Mobile app searchnot FullStory
  • Voice searchnot FullStory
  • Product discoverynot FullStory
  • Federated searchnot FullStory

FullStory

  • User experience analysisnot Algolia
  • Bug reproductionnot Algolia
  • Conversion optimizationnot Algolia
  • Customer supportnot Algolia
  • Product developmentnot Algolia

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Algolia

  • The free tier allows 10,000 search requests and 50,000 records a month
  • Billing is metered on two axes at once, search requests and indexed records, so a large catalogue with light traffic still costs
  • AI features require Grow Plus, where additional searches cost $1.75 per 1,000 against $0.50 on Grow
  • The Elevate tier requires an annual contract and is quote-only

FullStory

  • Free tier limited to 30,000 sessions per month, no 5,000+ monthly active user sites
  • Personal email addresses cannot be used for signup; business email domain required
  • Paid plan pricing not publicly listed, requires sales contact for quotes
  • Free plan has no email support, only community-based assistance
  • Mobile app analytics requires a separate add-on purchase

Pricing, plan by plan

Algolia

Free
  • BuildFree
    • Free tier
  • Grow$0.5/month minimum
    • 10k searches and 100k records included
    • Usage-based overage pricing
  • Grow Plus$null/mo
    • AI features
    • 10k searches per month
    • $1.75 per 1k search overages
  • Elevate$50000/year
    • Enterprise tier
    • Annual commitment

FullStory

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 sessions/month
    • 14-day data retention
    • Basic analytics
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Custom sessions
    • 3-month retention
    • Advanced analytics
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Unlimited sessions
    • Custom retention
    • Advanced privacy controls

Which should you pick?

Choose Algolia if

  • You need instant search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want typo tolerance.
Algolia review

Choose FullStory if

  • You need session replay.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want heatmaps.
FullStory review

Questions people ask

Is Algolia or FullStory better?
Neither clearly leads. Algolia starts at Free and FullStory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Algolia or FullStory?
Algolia starts at Free and FullStory at Free.
Does Algolia or FullStory run on more platforms?
Algolia runs on Web. FullStory runs on Web, Mobile.
Can I use Algolia for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Algolia best used for?
Algolia is most often used for site search, mobile app search, voice search, product discovery. Of those, site search and mobile app search are not what FullStory is typically brought in for.
What can Algolia do that FullStory cannot?
Algolia covers Instant search, Typo tolerance, Faceted search, Geo search. FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping. Both handle SOC2, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Algolia: What are Algolia's pricing tiers?

Algolia offers a free Build plan, Grow starts at $0.50/month with usage-based pricing, Grow Plus adds AI features at higher cost, and Enterprise (Elevate) requires annual commitments starting around $50k/year.

Source
FullStory: What does FullStory's free tier include?

30,000 sessions per month, 10 user seats, 5,000 server-side events per month, 1 year of session replay retention, and 1 year of product analytics retention. Session capture pauses when you exceed the monthly limit, though existing sessions remain accessible.

Source
Algolia: Does Algolia include AI-powered search features?

Yes. Algolia's AI mode enables natural language search queries where customers can type conversational questions and AI recognizes intent. Premium plans include AI Synonyms, AI Ranking, and Advanced Personalization.

Source
FullStory: What features are excluded from the free plan?

Dashboards, configurable form privacy, Go-Live functionality, Streams, client-side rate hooks, mobile app analytics, and StoryAI are not available on the free tier. Email support is also unavailable; only community-based help is provided.

Source
Algolia: What platforms and services integrate with Algolia?

Algolia integrates with Shopify, Contentful, WordPress, Adobe Commerce/Magento, BigCommerce, commercetools, and Salesforce. Direct payment integrations like Stripe are limited.

Source
FullStory: Can I use a personal email to sign up for FullStory's free plan?

No. FullStory requires a business email domain for signup; personal email services like Gmail cannot be used for free plan registration.

Source
Algolia: How many customers does Algolia serve?

Algolia serves more than 18,000 customers across 150+ countries, processing over 50 billion monthly search queries.

Source
FullStory: How does FullStory integrate with Slack?

FullStory's Slack integration allows individual users to send noteworthy sessions to Slack channels. Advanced and Enterprise plans can configure Alerts to receive notifications in Slack when user metrics exceed defined thresholds.

Source
Algolia: What are Algolia's rate limiting policies?

Algolia has a limit of 10,000 indexing operations per unit. Exceeding limits returns HTTP 429 errors. Backend implementations must handle their own rate limiting as Algolia cannot provide per-user rate limiting.

Source
FullStory: What analytics platforms does FullStory integrate with?

FullStory integrates with Segment, Mixpanel, Adobe Analytics, Google Analytics, Salesforce, HubSpot, and others. These integrations allow you to attach FullStory session URLs to events in your analytics platform for cross-platform correlation.

Source
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Algolia

More on FullStory

Keep looking

Other head to heads