Live Chat & Chatbots · head to head
Amazon Lex vs Heap

Amazon Lex
Live Chat & Chatbots
AWS conversational AI service
- From
- $0.00075/per text request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Heap has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Amazon Lex pay-as-you-go model with no standard free tier, only AWS free credits for new customers (6 months, $200 limit); Heap no built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
- They diverge on capability: Amazon Lex covers Speech recognition, Heap covers Autocapture.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Amazon Lex and Heap actually diverge.
| Attribute | Amazon Lex | Heap |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $0.00075/per text request | Free |
| Pricing model | usage-based | Unknown |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web, AWS Cloud | Web, iOS, Android |
| Category | Live Chat & Chatbots | SaaS |
| Founded | 2006 | 2013 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Amazon Lex
- Speech recognition
- Natural language understanding
- Voice and text
- Lambda integration
- AWS services
- Lambda
- DynamoDB
- SNS
Only in Heap
- Autocapture
- Retroactive analytics
- Session replay
- Funnel analysis
- User segmentation
- Path analysis
- Data science
- Virtual events
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Amazon Lex
- Building conversational chatbots leveraging Alexa deep learning enginenot Heap
- Voice and text-based NLU applications requiring automatic speech recognitionnot Heap
- Custom conversational interfaces integrated into existing applicationsnot Heap
Heap
- User behavior analysisnot Amazon Lex
- Conversion optimizationnot Amazon Lex
- Product adoptionnot Amazon Lex
- Customer journey mappingnot Amazon Lex
- A/B testing analysisnot Amazon Lex
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Amazon Lex
- Pay-as-you-go model with no standard free tier, only AWS free credits for new customers (6 months, $200 limit)
- Speech requests cost $0.004 each, text requests $0.00075 each, training costs $0.50 per minute
- Variable costs can accumulate quickly for high-volume applications
Heap
- No built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
- Group analytics and advanced features require a sales conversation, not self-serve
- Cloud-only deployment; no self-hosted option for data security or compliance requirements
- Session replay lacks developer debugging tools compared to PostHog
- Pricing for Growth and Pro plans requires direct sales contact; no transparency on how pricing scales
Pricing, plan by plan
Amazon Lex
$0.00075/per text requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Amazon Lex review.
Heap
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 10,000 monthly sessions
- Basic charts
- 6 months data history
- Growth$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Sense AI assistant
- 12 months data history
- Pro$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Account analytics
- Engagement matrix
- Premier$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Data warehouse integration
- Unlimited projects
Which should you pick?
Choose Amazon Lex if
- You need speech recognition.
- You work on Web, AWS Cloud.
- You also want natural language understanding.
Choose Heap if
- You need autocapture.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want retroactive analytics.
Questions people ask
- Is Amazon Lex or Heap better?
- Neither clearly leads. Amazon Lex starts at $0.00075/per text request and Heap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Amazon Lex or Heap?
- Heap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.00075/per text request for Amazon Lex and Free for Heap.
- Does Amazon Lex or Heap run on more platforms?
- Amazon Lex runs on Web, AWS Cloud. Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Heap for free?
- Yes. Heap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amazon Lex starts at $0.00075/per text request.
- What is Amazon Lex best used for?
- Amazon Lex is most often used for building conversational chatbots leveraging alexa deep learning engine, voice and text-based nlu applications requiring automatic speech recognition, custom conversational interfaces integrated into existing applications. Of those, building conversational chatbots leveraging alexa deep learning engine and voice and text-based nlu applications requiring automatic speech recognition are not what Heap is typically brought in for.
- What can Amazon Lex do that Heap cannot?
- Amazon Lex covers Speech recognition, Natural language understanding, Voice and text, Lambda integration. Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Heap: What does Heap's autocapture feature do?
Heap's autocapture is a single code snippet that automatically captures every click, swipe, tap, pageview, and form fill on your website and apps without requiring manual event setup. Once installed, Heap captures the entire digital experience of every user on every platform with no ongoing engineering maintenance needed.
SourceHeap: What are Heap's pricing plans and how much do they cost?
Heap offers a Free plan for up to 10,000 monthly sessions. Growth, Pro, and Premier plans use custom session-based pricing that requires contacting sales for a quote. Free includes basic charts and 6 months data history. Growth adds the Sense AI assistant. Pro adds account analytics. Premier adds data warehouse integration and dedicated customer success management.
SourceHeap: Does Heap include session replay and A/B testing?
Heap includes integrated session replay showing exactly what users did on your site. However, Heap does not include built-in A/B testing or feature flags. Teams requiring these capabilities must use separate tools or integrate with third-party platforms.
SourceHeap: What integrations does Heap support?
Heap supports over 100 integrations connecting to business tools including marketing platforms, CRMs, and data warehouses. This allows insights to reach relevant teams and ensures data flows to other business systems automatically.
SourceHeap: Does Heap offer self-hosting or is it cloud-only?
Heap is cloud-only and does not offer self-hosted options. Organizations requiring on-premises deployment should consider alternatives like PostHog which supports self-hosting alongside its cloud product.
SourceHeap: What is Sense and how does it help with analytics?
Sense Chat is Heap's AI assistant that enables users to access analytics without extensive technical knowledge. It allows teams to ask questions about user behavior and get answers directly without lengthy onboarding or technical expertise, making insights more accessible to non-technical stakeholders.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Amazon Lex vs Zendesk Sunshine Conversations
- Amazon Lex vs Botpress
- Amazon Lex vs Crisp
- Amazon Lex vs Google Dialogflow
- Amazon Lex vs Tidio
- Amazon Lex vs IBM Watson Assistant
- Amazon Lex vs Landbot
- Amazon Lex vs ManyChat
- Amazon Lex vs Bold360
- Amazon Lex vs Gorgias
- Amazon Lex vs HubSpot Live Chat
- Amazon Lex vs Kore.ai
- Amazon Lex vs LiveChat
- Amazon Lex vs Olark
- Amazon Lex vs Rasa
- Amazon Lex vs Yellow.ai
- Amazon Lex vs Zendesk Answer Bot
- Amazon Lex vs Acquire
- Amazon Lex vs Intercom
- Amazon Lex vs Mixpanel
- Amazon Lex vs Canny
- Amazon Lex vs Drift
- Amazon Lex vs Pendo
- Amazon Lex vs Close
- Amazon Lex vs Userpilot
- Heap vs Zendesk Sunshine Conversations
- Heap vs Botpress
- Heap vs Crisp
- Heap vs Google Dialogflow
- Heap vs Tidio
- Heap vs IBM Watson Assistant
- Heap vs Landbot
- Heap vs ManyChat
- Heap vs Bold360
- Heap vs Gorgias
- Heap vs HubSpot Live Chat
- Heap vs Kore.ai
- Heap vs LiveChat
- Heap vs Olark
- Heap vs Rasa
- Heap vs Yellow.ai
- Heap vs Zendesk Answer Bot
- Heap vs Acquire
- Heap vs Intercom
- Heap vs Mixpanel
- Heap vs Canny
- Heap vs Drift
- Heap vs Pendo
- Heap vs Close
- Heap vs Userpilot

