Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

FullStory vs Google Data Studio

FullStory logo

FullStory

E-Commerce

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Data Studio logo

Google Data Studio

Business Intelligence

Free data visualization by Google

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: FullStory free tier limited to 30,000 sessions per month, no 5,000+ monthly active user sites; Google Data Studio limited to free offering with no paid tiers or premium features
  • They diverge on capability: FullStory covers Session replay, Google Data Studio covers Free Platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FullStory and Google Data Studio actually diverge.

Attributes where FullStory and Google Data Studio differ
AttributeFullStoryGoogle Data Studio
Pricing modelquotefree
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb
CategoryE-CommerceBusiness Intelligence
Founded20141998

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 FullStory

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

Only in Google Data Studio

  • Free Platform
  • Real-time Collaboration
  • Custom Visualizations
  • Data Blending
  • Sharing
  • BigQuery
  • Google Sheets
  • YouTube

Both cover

  • Google Analytics

What people use each for

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

FullStory

  • User experience analysisnot Google Data Studio
  • Bug reproductionnot Google Data Studio
  • Conversion optimizationnot Google Data Studio
  • Customer supportnot Google Data Studio
  • Product developmentnot Google Data Studio

Google Data Studio

  • Self-service analyticsnot FullStory
  • Data explorationnot FullStory
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot FullStory
  • Collaborative analysisnot FullStory
  • Embedded analyticsnot FullStory

Where each one falls short

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

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

Google Data Studio

  • Limited to free offering with no paid tiers or premium features
  • Advanced integrations may require Google Workspace subscriptions

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Google Data Studio

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited Reports
    • Data Connectors
    • Collaboration

Which should you pick?

Choose FullStory if

  • You need session replay.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want heatmaps.
FullStory review

Choose Google Data Studio if

  • You need free platform.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want real-time collaboration.
Google Data Studio review

Questions people ask

Is FullStory or Google Data Studio better?
Neither clearly leads. FullStory starts at Free and Google Data Studio at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FullStory or Google Data Studio?
FullStory starts at Free and Google Data Studio at Free.
Does FullStory or Google Data Studio run on more platforms?
FullStory runs on Web, Mobile. Google Data Studio runs on Web.
Can I use FullStory for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is FullStory best used for?
FullStory is most often used for user experience analysis, bug reproduction, conversion optimization, customer support. Of those, user experience analysis and bug reproduction are not what Google Data Studio is typically brought in for.
What can FullStory do that Google Data Studio cannot?
FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping. Google Data Studio covers Free Platform, Real-time Collaboration, Custom Visualizations, Data Blending. Both handle Google Analytics.

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
Google Data Studio: Is Google Data Studio free?

Yes, Google Data Studio is completely free to use. The platform states it is easy and free to build interactive dashboards and reports.

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
Google Data Studio: Are there paid versions of Google Data Studio?

No, Google Data Studio does not offer paid tiers or premium plans. It remains free for all users.

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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