Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

FullStory vs OpenSearch

FullStory logo

FullStory

E-Commerce

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
OpenSearch logo

OpenSearch

Databases

Open-source search and analytics suite forked from Elasticsearch

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; OpenSearch diverged from Elasticsearch since 7.10, so clients, plugins and features no longer map one to one
  • They diverge on capability: FullStory covers Session replay, OpenSearch covers Full-text search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FullStory and OpenSearch actually diverge.

Attributes where FullStory and OpenSearch differ
AttributeFullStoryOpenSearch
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, no licence fee; managed services billed separately
PlatformsWeb, MobileLinux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted
CategoryE-CommerceDatabases
Founded2014Unknown

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 OpenSearch

  • Full-text search
  • OpenSearch Dashboards
  • Log analytics
  • Vector search

What people use each for

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

FullStory

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

OpenSearch

  • Log and observability storage where an Apache-2.0 licence is a requirementnot FullStory
  • Replacing Elasticsearch after the licence change without changing architecturenot FullStory
  • Search plus analytics on one cluster rather than two systemsnot 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

OpenSearch

  • Diverged from Elasticsearch since 7.10, so clients, plugins and features no longer map one to one
  • Operationally heavy in the way Elasticsearch is: cluster sizing, shard strategy and JVM tuning are ongoing work
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party tooling than Elasticsearch, which most integrations still target first
  • Overkill for plain application search, where a dedicated search engine is far simpler

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

OpenSearch

Free
  • OpenSearchFree
    • Full functionality
    • Self-hosted
    • No usage limits

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 OpenSearch if

  • You need full-text search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
  • You also want opensearch dashboards.
OpenSearch review

Questions people ask

Is FullStory or OpenSearch better?
Neither clearly leads. FullStory starts at Free and OpenSearch at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FullStory or OpenSearch?
FullStory starts at Free and OpenSearch at Free.
Does FullStory or OpenSearch run on more platforms?
FullStory runs on Web, Mobile. OpenSearch runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Self-hosted.
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 OpenSearch is typically brought in for.
What can FullStory do that OpenSearch cannot?
FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping. OpenSearch covers Full-text search, OpenSearch Dashboards, Log analytics, Vector search.

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
OpenSearch: Is OpenSearch free?

Yes, Apache 2.0 licensed under the Linux Foundation. Amazon OpenSearch Service is a paid managed option.

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
OpenSearch: Why does OpenSearch exist?

Elastic moved Elasticsearch off the Apache 2.0 licence in 2021. AWS forked the last Apache-licensed version, and the project now sits under the Linux Foundation.

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
OpenSearch: Is OpenSearch compatible with Elasticsearch?

It was at the 7.10 fork point. Both have developed independently since, so compatibility weakens with every release and should be verified for the features you use.

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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