SaaS · head to head
Canny vs Heap
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Canny tracked user pricing model causes costs to balloon as product grows and engagement increases, creating perverse incentive where more successful feedback gathering means higher costs; Heap no built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
- They diverge on capability: Canny covers Feedback boards, Heap covers Autocapture.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Canny and Heap actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (SaaS).
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 Canny
- Feedback boards
- Voting system
- Roadmap planning
- Changelog
- Status updates
- Admin moderation
- Analytics
- Slack
Only in Heap
- Autocapture
- Retroactive analytics
- Session replay
- Funnel analysis
- Path analysis
- Data science
- Virtual events
- Marketo
Both cover
- User segmentation
- Zapier
- Salesforce
- SOC2
- GDPR
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Canny
- Feature request managementnot Heap
- Product roadmappingnot Heap
- Customer feedback collectionnot Heap
- Changelog communicationnot Heap
- User engagementnot Heap
Heap
- User behavior analysisnot Canny
- Conversion optimizationnot Canny
- Product adoptionnot Canny
- Customer journey mappingnot Canny
- A/B testing analysisnot Canny
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Canny
- Tracked user pricing model causes costs to balloon as product grows and engagement increases, creating perverse incentive where more successful feedback gathering means higher costs
- Limited integrations on Core plan; must upgrade to Pro to connect with Jira and Linear
- Lacks built-in analytics for identifying themes and patterns across hundreds of feedback requests without manual tagging
- Customizations limited for public-facing interfaces regarding branding and information presentation
- Autopilot AI cannot be linked to product knowledge bases to better understand products and improve function
- Slow response times reported by users, affecting feedback management efficiency
- Limited custom user fields and manual data updates require API access
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
Canny
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 100 tracked users
- Unlimited feedback
- 1 board
- Starter$400/month
- 1,000 tracked users
- Unlimited boards
- Private boards
- Growth$900/month
- 5,000 tracked users
- API access
- SSO
- Business$undefined/month
- Unlimited tracked users
- White label
- SLA
Heap
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 10,000 monthly sessions
- Basic charts
- 6 months data history
- Growth$null/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Sense AI assistant
- 12 months data history
- Pro$null/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Account analytics
- Engagement matrix
- Premier$null/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Data warehouse integration
- Unlimited projects
Which should you pick?
Choose Canny if
- You need feedback boards.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Claude AI (MCP).
- You also want voting system.
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 Canny or Heap better?
- Neither clearly leads. Canny starts at Free and Heap at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Canny or Heap?
- Canny starts at Free and Heap at Free.
- Does Canny or Heap run on more platforms?
- Canny runs on Web, Claude AI (MCP). Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Canny for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Canny best used for?
- Canny is most often used for feature request management, product roadmapping, customer feedback collection, changelog communication. Of those, feature request management and product roadmapping are not what Heap is typically brought in for.
- What can Canny do that Heap cannot?
- Canny covers Feedback boards, Voting system, Roadmap planning, Changelog. Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis. Both handle User segmentation, Zapier, Salesforce, SOC2.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Canny: Does Canny offer a free plan?
Yes. Canny offers a free plan that allows collecting up to 100 feedback ideas. Free users get basic features without roadmap, changelog, or integrations.
SourceHeap: 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.
SourceCanny: How is Canny priced?
Canny pricing scales based on tracked users. Core starts at $19/month (100 users, annual), Pro starts at $79/month (100 users, annual). Prices increase as tracked users grow.
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.
SourceCanny: What is a tracked user in Canny?
A tracked user is anyone who posts, votes, or comments on your Canny board or embedded widget. Each unique end user counts once and the count accumulates.
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.
SourceCanny: What is Canny Autopilot?
Canny Autopilot is an AI feature that automatically captures feature requests from communication tools like Gong, Intercom, Slack, and Zendesk. It prioritizes requests by revenue impact.
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.
SourceCanny: Does Canny have a public roadmap feature?
Yes. Canny provides a public roadmap where customers can see what is planned, building, and shipped. Customers can vote on features and watch their feedback progress.
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.
Source