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Marketing · head to head

CleverTap vs Kissmetrics

CleverTap logo

CleverTap

Marketing

Mobile-first engagement and retention analytics billed on monthly active users

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kissmetrics logo

Kissmetrics

Marketing

Customer analytics and behavioral data

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Kissmetrics has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CleverTap the platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.; Kissmetrics overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point
  • They diverge on capability: CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CleverTap and Kissmetrics actually diverge.

Attributes where CleverTap and Kissmetrics differ
AttributeCleverTapKissmetrics
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotefreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, REST APIWeb
FoundedUnknown2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).

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 CleverTap

  • Cross-channel journeys
  • Product analytics
  • TesseractDB
  • Clever.AI
  • Experiments
  • Web and app personalisation

Only in Kissmetrics

  • Customer analytics
  • Behavioral tracking
  • Cohort analysis
  • Funnel analysis
  • Salesforce
  • GDPR
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

CleverTap

  • A consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profilesnot Kissmetrics
  • Reactivating lapsed users with push and WhatsApp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membershipnot Kissmetrics
  • Running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with itnot Kissmetrics
  • Consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipelinenot Kissmetrics

Kissmetrics

  • Product analytics and user behavior trackingnot CleverTap
  • Event-based analyticsnot CleverTap
  • Data integration and reportingnot CleverTap

Where each one falls short

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

CleverTap

  • The platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.
  • Billing on monthly active users is cheaper for dormant-heavy bases but more expensive for products with high activity rates, and the definition of an active user is set in the contract rather than by you.
  • Event volume caps sit alongside the user caps, so a chatty instrumentation plan can trigger overage charges that are negotiated rather than published.
  • Deliverability support for email is thinner than at dedicated email providers, and teams sending high email volumes often keep a separate ESP for the largest campaigns.
  • Segmentation quality depends entirely on the event taxonomy, so without an owner who governs event naming the reports and segments diverge from reality within a couple of releases.

Kissmetrics

  • Overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point
  • The free plan allows 100,000 events a month
  • Per event rates fall with volume, from $0.20 per 1,000 events on Growth to $0.10 on Gold, so smaller customers pay double per event
  • The vendor states Growth, Silver and Gold are the identical product, so the paid tiers differ only in unit price and volume
  • Anything above 5 million events is custom priced

Pricing, plan by plan

CleverTap

On request
  • Essentials$undefined/year
    • Billed on monthly active users rather than stored profiles
    • Push, in-app and web messaging
    • Standard segmentation and analytics
  • Advanced$undefined/year
    • Adds email, SMS and WhatsApp channels
    • Journey orchestration and experiments
    • Higher event and MAU allowances
  • Cutting Edge$undefined/year
    • Full AI and personalisation modules
    • Extended data retention
    • Dedicated technical account management

Kissmetrics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100,000 events/month
    • Autocapture tracking
    • AI chat
  • Growth$99/month
    • Starting at 500k events
    • $0.20 per 1k events
    • Populations
  • Silver$null/month
    • $0.15 per 1k events
    • All Growth features
  • Gold$null/month
    • $0.10 per 1k events (at 5M+ events)
    • All Growth features

Which should you pick?

Choose CleverTap if

  • You need cross-channel journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want product analytics.
CleverTap review

Choose Kissmetrics if

  • You need customer analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want behavioral tracking.
Kissmetrics review

Questions people ask

Is CleverTap or Kissmetrics better?
Neither clearly leads. CleverTap starts at On request and Kissmetrics at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CleverTap or Kissmetrics?
Kissmetrics has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CleverTap and Free for Kissmetrics.
Does CleverTap or Kissmetrics run on more platforms?
CleverTap runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API. Kissmetrics runs on Web.
Can I use Kissmetrics for free?
Yes. Kissmetrics has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CleverTap starts at On request.
What is CleverTap best used for?
CleverTap is most often used for a consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profiles, reactivating lapsed users with push and whatsapp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membership, running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with it, consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipeline. Of those, a consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profiles and reactivating lapsed users with push and whatsapp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membership are not what Kissmetrics is typically brought in for.
What can CleverTap do that Kissmetrics cannot?
CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Product analytics, TesseractDB, Clever.AI. Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, Behavioral tracking, Cohort analysis, Funnel analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CleverTap: Does CleverTap charge for users who stopped opening the app?

No. Billing is on monthly active users, so a dormant account stops counting without you deleting anything, which is the opposite of contact-based email pricing.

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics have a free plan?

Yes, KISSmetrics offers a free plan with 100,000 events/month including autocapture tracking, dashboards, and core reports. No card required.

Source
CleverTap: Can it replace a product analytics tool?

For funnels, cohorts and retention it usually can. For exploratory analysis across many custom properties, teams tend to keep a warehouse copy and query it directly.

Kissmetrics: What does KISSmetrics charge for paid plans?

Growth plan starts at $99/month for 500k events, charging $0.20 per additional 1k events. Silver and Gold tiers offer lower per-event rates at higher volumes.

Source
CleverTap: What happened to Leanplum customers?

CleverTap acquired Leanplum in 2022 and migrated customers onto its own platform, so Leanplum contracts are not a live option.

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics offer annual discounts?

Yes, annual plans receive 20% off monthly rates. Overage charges are automatically added to the next invoice.

Source
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