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E-Commerce · head to head

FullStory vs IBM Cognos Analytics

FullStory logo

FullStory

E-Commerce

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
IBM Cognos Analytics logo

IBM Cognos Analytics

Business Intelligence

AI-powered business intelligence

From
$15/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only FullStory has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: FullStory free tier limited to 30,000 sessions per month, no 5,000+ monthly active user sites; IBM Cognos Analytics listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter
  • They diverge on capability: FullStory covers Session replay, IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FullStory and IBM Cognos Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where FullStory and IBM Cognos Analytics differ
AttributeFullStoryIBM Cognos Analytics
Starting priceFree$15/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud
CategoryE-CommerceBusiness Intelligence
Founded20141911

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 FullStory

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

Only in IBM Cognos Analytics

  • AI Assistant
  • Natural Language Queries
  • Automated Insights
  • Story Telling
  • Mobile Analytics
  • IBM Db2
  • Oracle
  • SQL Server

Both cover

  • Salesforce

What people use each for

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

FullStory

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

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • 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

IBM Cognos Analytics

  • Listed on UK G-Cloud at £42.53 per user per month for IBM Cognos Analytics, via reseller Computacenter

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

IBM Cognos Analytics

$15/month
  • Standard$15/month
    • Dashboards
    • Reporting
    • AI Insights
  • Plus$35/month
    • Advanced Analytics
    • Planning
    • Premium Support

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 IBM Cognos Analytics if

  • You need ai assistant.
  • You work on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
  • You also want natural language queries.
IBM Cognos Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is FullStory or IBM Cognos Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. FullStory starts at Free and IBM Cognos Analytics at $15/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FullStory or IBM Cognos Analytics?
FullStory has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for FullStory and $15/month for IBM Cognos Analytics.
Does FullStory or IBM Cognos Analytics run on more platforms?
FullStory runs on Web, Mobile. IBM Cognos Analytics runs on Web, Desktop, Mobile, Cloud.
Can I use FullStory for free?
Yes. FullStory has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IBM Cognos Analytics starts at $15/month.
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 IBM Cognos Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can FullStory do that IBM Cognos Analytics cannot?
FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping. IBM Cognos Analytics covers AI Assistant, Natural Language Queries, Automated Insights, Story Telling. Both handle Salesforce.

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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