Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

FullStory vs Pendo

FullStory logo

FullStory

E-Commerce

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pendo logo

Pendo

Technology

Product analytics and digital adoption platform

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; Pendo pricing is not publicly available and requires a custom quote
  • They diverge on capability: FullStory covers Heatmaps, Pendo covers Product analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FullStory and Pendo actually diverge.

Attributes where FullStory and Pendo differ
AttributeFullStoryPendo
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, Mobile, Desktop
CategoryE-CommerceTechnology
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

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

Only in Pendo

  • Product analytics
  • In-app messaging
  • User onboarding
  • Feature adoption tracking
  • User feedback
  • NPS surveys
  • Mobile analytics
  • HubSpot

Both cover

  • Session replay
  • Slack
  • Jira
  • Google Analytics
  • Segment
  • Salesforce
  • Zendesk
  • Zapier
  • SOC2
  • GDPR
  • HIPAA

What people use each for

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

FullStory

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

Pendo

  • User onboardingnot FullStory
  • Feature adoptionnot FullStory
  • Product analyticsnot FullStory
  • User feedback collectionnot FullStory
  • Digital adoptionnot 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

Pendo

  • Pricing is not publicly available and requires a custom quote
  • Free tier limited to 500 monthly active users

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

Pendo

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 500 MAU
    • Core analytics
    • In-app guides

Which should you pick?

Choose FullStory if

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

Choose Pendo if

  • You need product analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Desktop.
  • You also want in-app messaging.
Pendo review

Questions people ask

Is FullStory or Pendo better?
Neither clearly leads. FullStory starts at Free and Pendo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FullStory or Pendo?
FullStory starts at Free and Pendo at Free.
Does FullStory or Pendo run on more platforms?
FullStory runs on Web, Mobile. Pendo runs on Web, Mobile, Desktop.
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 Pendo is typically brought in for.
What can FullStory do that Pendo cannot?
FullStory covers Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping, Error tracking. Pendo covers Product analytics, In-app messaging, User onboarding, Feature adoption tracking. Both handle Session replay, Slack, Jira, 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
Pendo: Does Pendo have a free tier?

Yes, Pendo Free supports up to 500 monthly active users and includes core product analytics, in-app guides, Pendo-branded roadmaps, and Pendo-branded NPS surveys.

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
Pendo: What is Pendo's core functionality?

Pendo combines product analytics, in-app guides, session replay, NPS surveys, product discovery, roadmaps, and cross-channel orchestration to measure and improve product adoption.

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
Pendo: What CRM systems does Pendo integrate with?

Pendo offers two-way integrations with Salesforce, mapping Pendo product usage and sentiment data with Salesforce records, and with HubSpot for contact mapping and campaign orchestration.

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
Pendo: What impact does Pendo have on customer retention?

Companies using Pendo for product analytics see on average a 5% reduction in customer churn and report an average 15% increase in net revenue retention.

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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