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Software · head to head

Fathom Analytics vs FullStory

Fathom Analytics logo

Fathom Analytics

Software

Website analytics made simple

From
$14/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
FullStory logo

FullStory

Software

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only FullStory has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fathom Analytics there is no free tier, only a 7 day trial; FullStory free tier limited to 30,000 sessions per month, no 5,000+ monthly active user sites
  • They diverge on capability: Fathom Analytics covers Page view tracking, FullStory covers Session replay.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fathom Analytics and FullStory actually diverge.

Attributes where Fathom Analytics and FullStory differ
AttributeFathom AnalyticsFullStory
Starting price$14/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown), founded (2014).

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 Fathom Analytics

  • Page view tracking
  • Goal tracking
  • Real-time analytics
  • Referrer tracking
  • Privacy-focused
  • GDPR compliant
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

Only in FullStory

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

What people use each for

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

Fathom Analytics

  • Privacy-focused web analytics without cookie bannersnot FullStory
  • A lightweight Google Analytics replacementnot FullStory
  • Tracking many sites from one accountnot FullStory
  • Long-term historical reporting while subscribednot FullStory

FullStory

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

Where each one falls short

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

Fathom Analytics

  • There is no free tier, only a 7 day trial
  • Priced on pageviews, from $45 a month at the 500,000 pageview level
  • Custom events count against the pageview allowance rather than being tracked separately
  • Site allowances come in packs, with additional 50-site packs at $10 a month
  • Data is retained forever only while the subscription is active

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

Fathom Analytics

$14/month
  • Starter$14/month
    • Unlimited page views
    • 1 site
    • Real-time analytics

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 Fathom Analytics if

  • You need page view tracking.
  • You also want goal tracking.
Fathom Analytics 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 Fathom Analytics or FullStory better?
Neither clearly leads. Fathom Analytics starts at $14/month and FullStory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fathom Analytics or FullStory?
FullStory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $14/month for Fathom Analytics and Free for FullStory.
Does Fathom Analytics or FullStory run on more platforms?
Fathom Analytics runs on Web. FullStory runs on Web, Mobile.
Can I use FullStory for free?
Yes. FullStory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Fathom Analytics starts at $14/month.
What is Fathom Analytics best used for?
Fathom Analytics is most often used for privacy-focused web analytics without cookie banners, a lightweight google analytics replacement, tracking many sites from one account, long-term historical reporting while subscribed. Of those, privacy-focused web analytics without cookie banners and a lightweight google analytics replacement are not what FullStory is typically brought in for.
What can Fathom Analytics do that FullStory cannot?
Fathom Analytics covers Page view tracking, Goal tracking, Real-time analytics, Referrer tracking. FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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
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
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
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
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Related pages

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