Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

FullStory vs Mode

FullStory logo

FullStory

E-Commerce

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mode logo

Mode

Business Intelligence

Collaborative analytics for data teams

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; Mode free tier limited to 4GB RAM and 1 CPU for SQL notebooks, insufficient for large datasets
  • They diverge on capability: FullStory covers Session replay, Mode covers SQL Editor.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FullStory and Mode actually diverge.

Attributes where FullStory and Mode differ
AttributeFullStoryMode
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb
CategoryE-CommerceBusiness Intelligence
Founded20142013

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 Mode

  • SQL Editor
  • Python/R Notebooks
  • Interactive Reports
  • Version Control
  • Scheduling
  • Snowflake
  • Redshift
  • BigQuery

Both cover

  • Slack

What people use each for

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

FullStory

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

Mode

  • 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

Mode

  • Free tier limited to 4GB RAM and 1 CPU for SQL notebooks, insufficient for large datasets
  • Requires SQL knowledge for most analysis tasks, creating dependency on technical resources
  • Paid plan pricing not publicly listed; requires sales consultation
  • Recently acquired by ThoughtSpot in 2026, creating product direction uncertainty
  • Limited customization options for visual aspects and embedded analytics

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

Mode

Free
  • FreeFree
    • SQL Editor
    • Python/R Notebooks
    • Basic Charts
  • Business$65/month
    • Advanced Visualizations
    • Collaboration
    • Integrations

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 Mode if

  • You need sql editor.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want python/r notebooks.
Mode review

Questions people ask

Is FullStory or Mode better?
Neither clearly leads. FullStory starts at Free and Mode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FullStory or Mode?
FullStory starts at Free and Mode at Free.
Does FullStory or Mode run on more platforms?
FullStory runs on Web, Mobile. Mode 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 Mode is typically brought in for.
What can FullStory do that Mode cannot?
FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping. Mode covers SQL Editor, Python/R Notebooks, Interactive Reports, Version Control. Both handle Slack.

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
Mode: What languages does Mode support for analysis?

Mode notebooks support SQL, Python (3.11 with pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, matplotlib), and R (4.2.0 with ggplot2, dplyr, tidyr). Both Python and R allow additional library installation at runtime.

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
Mode: Can I integrate Mode notebook results into reports?

Yes. Mode allows adding notebook cell results directly to reports, with synchronized scheduling so reports re-run to keep data current.

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
Mode: Does Mode support collaborative analysis?

Yes. Mode notebooks provide moveable code blocks and markdown cells enabling exploratory analysis and team collaboration on data queries and visualizations.

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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