Technology · head to head
Amplitude vs Firebolt

Amplitude
Technology
The digital analytics platform to understand your users
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -

Firebolt
Databases
Sub-second analytics at cloud data warehouse scale
- From
- $1.84/hour
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Amplitude has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Amplitude metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow; Firebolt compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
- They diverge on capability: Amplitude covers Event tracking, Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Amplitude and Firebolt actually diverge.
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 Amplitude
- Event tracking
- User segmentation
- Funnel analysis
- Retention analysis
- Cohort analysis
- A/B testing
- Revenue analytics
- Predictive analytics
Only in Firebolt
- Sub-second Queries
- Sparse Indexes
- Data Pruning
- Decoupled Storage/Compute
- SQL Support
- Semi-structured Data
- Workload Isolation
- Airflow
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Amplitude
- User behavior analysisnot Firebolt
- Feature adoption trackingnot Firebolt
- Conversion rate optimizationnot Firebolt
- Customer journey mappingnot Firebolt
- Retention improvementnot Firebolt
Firebolt
- Data analytics teams running gigabyte-to-petabyte datasets with sub-second query requirementsnot Amplitude
- Real-time business intelligence platforms requiring ACID transactions and snapshot isolationnot Amplitude
- Applications needing vector search on analytical data for similarity queriesnot Amplitude
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Amplitude
- Metered on event volume, so instrumenting more of a product raises the bill even if the audience does not grow
- The free plan covers 2M events a month
- The Plus plan scales to 70M events, above which pricing is custom
- Growth and Enterprise pricing is not published
Firebolt
- Compute billed per second on Arm-based processors; small instances still incur measurable costs during idle periods despite auto-stop
- Storage pass-through charged at $0.0264/GB monthly on compressed data; uncompressed storage could exceed this
- Azure deployment currently in Preview status; production recommendations unclear
- Vector indexes limited to float arrays; other data types require alternative indexing strategies
- Free tier credits ($200) limited; no perpetual free tier for production use
Pricing, plan by plan
Amplitude
Free- StarterFree
- 2 million events per month
- Plus$49/month
- $0.049 per MTU
- Up to 300k MTUs
- Advanced analytics
- GrowthFree
- Causal insights
- Feature experimentation
- Real-time streaming
- EnterpriseFree
- Cross-product analysis
- Advanced permissions
- Dedicated account manager
Firebolt
$1.84/hourNo published plan breakdown. See the Firebolt review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Amplitude if
- You need event tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want user segmentation.
Choose Firebolt if
- You need sub-second queries.
- You work on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
- You also want sparse indexes.
Questions people ask
- Is Amplitude or Firebolt better?
- Neither clearly leads. Amplitude starts at Free and Firebolt at $1.84/hour, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Amplitude or Firebolt?
- Amplitude has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Amplitude and $1.84/hour for Firebolt.
- Does Amplitude or Firebolt run on more platforms?
- Amplitude runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Firebolt runs on Cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure preview), Docker, Kubernetes.
- Can I use Amplitude for free?
- Yes. Amplitude has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Firebolt starts at $1.84/hour.
- What is Amplitude best used for?
- Amplitude is most often used for user behavior analysis, feature adoption tracking, conversion rate optimization, customer journey mapping. Of those, user behavior analysis and feature adoption tracking are not what Firebolt is typically brought in for.
- What can Amplitude do that Firebolt cannot?
- Amplitude covers Event tracking, User segmentation, Funnel analysis, Retention analysis. Firebolt covers Sub-second Queries, Sparse Indexes, Data Pruning, Decoupled Storage/Compute.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Amplitude: Does Amplitude have a free plan?
Yes, Amplitude offers a free Starter plan with 2 million events per month and access to the entire platform including analytics, session replay, and experimentation features.
SourceFirebolt: How does Firebolt's compute billing model work?
Firebolt uses per-second billing with scale-to-zero capability. The smallest S tier costs $1.84 per hour with 8 vCPU and 64GB memory, while the largest 4XL tier costs $58.88 per hour with 256 vCPU. Users only pay when compute is running.
SourceAmplitude: What is Amplitude's pricing based on?
Amplitude's pricing is based on the number of monthly tracked users (MTUs), data volume, and advanced features selected. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month with a rate of $0.049 per MTU.
SourceFirebolt: What is the cost for data storage on Firebolt?
Storage costs $0.0264 per GB per month on object storage, billed as pass-through cost at cloud provider rates.
SourceAmplitude: What analytics features does every Amplitude plan include?
Every plan includes access to the full platform: analytics, session replay, feature experimentation, web experimentation, guides and surveys, activation, and AI tools like AI Feedback and AI Assistant.
SourceFirebolt: What free credits or trial does Firebolt offer new users?
New users receive $200 free credits to get started with the platform.
SourceFirebolt: Does Firebolt publish pricing for commitment-based discounts?
The pricing FAQ lists a question about commitment-based discounts but does not provide published answers on the pricing page. This requires direct inquiry with sales.
SourceFirebolt: What deployment options does Firebolt offer besides managed service?
Firebolt offers self-hosted open source deployment (unlimited) and Bring Your Own Cloud (BYOC) options in addition to managed service.
SourceRelated pages
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- Firebolt vs PostgreSQL
- Firebolt vs Apache Druid
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- Firebolt vs QuestDB
- Firebolt vs MotherDuck
- Firebolt vs ClickHouse
- Firebolt vs dbt
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- Firebolt vs Memcached
- Firebolt vs Amazon Aurora
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