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E-commerce · head to head

FullStory vs Swagger/OpenAPI

FullStory logo

FullStory

E-commerce

Digital experience intelligence platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
S

Swagger/OpenAPI

API Management

API specification and documentation framework using OpenAPI standard

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; Swagger/OpenAPI the OpenAPI Specification itself is licensed under Apache License 2.0 and free to use; SwaggerHub is a separate paid tool built on top of it
  • They diverge on capability: FullStory covers Session replay, Swagger/OpenAPI covers OpenAPI Specification.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FullStory and Swagger/OpenAPI actually diverge.

Attributes where FullStory and Swagger/OpenAPI differ
AttributeFullStorySwagger/OpenAPI
Pricing modelquotefreemium
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb, CLI, Desktop
CategoryE-commerceAPI Management
Founded20142001

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 Swagger/OpenAPI

  • OpenAPI Specification
  • Interactive Documentation
  • Code Generation
  • GitHub
  • GitLab
  • Jenkins
  • IDE plugins
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

FullStory

  • User experience analysisnot Swagger/OpenAPI
  • Bug reproductionnot Swagger/OpenAPI
  • Conversion optimizationnot Swagger/OpenAPI
  • Customer supportnot Swagger/OpenAPI
  • Product developmentnot Swagger/OpenAPI

Swagger/OpenAPI

  • API Developmentnot FullStory
  • API Gatewaynot FullStory
  • API Testingnot FullStory
  • API Documentationnot FullStory
  • Microservicesnot 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

Swagger/OpenAPI

  • The OpenAPI Specification itself is licensed under Apache License 2.0 and free to use; SwaggerHub is a separate paid tool built on top of it

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

Swagger/OpenAPI

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • OpenAPI specification
    • Community tools
  • SwaggerHub FreeFree
    • Cloud editor
    • API mocking
    • API testing
  • SwaggerHub Pro$75/monthly
    • Team collaboration
    • Advanced mocking
    • Analytics

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 Swagger/OpenAPI if

  • You need openapi specification.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, CLI, Desktop.
  • You also want interactive documentation.
Swagger/OpenAPI review

Questions people ask

Is FullStory or Swagger/OpenAPI better?
Neither clearly leads. FullStory starts at Free and Swagger/OpenAPI at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FullStory or Swagger/OpenAPI?
FullStory starts at Free and Swagger/OpenAPI at Free.
Does FullStory or Swagger/OpenAPI run on more platforms?
FullStory runs on Web, Mobile. Swagger/OpenAPI runs on Web, CLI, 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 Swagger/OpenAPI is typically brought in for.
What can FullStory do that Swagger/OpenAPI cannot?
FullStory covers Session replay, Heatmaps, Conversion funnels, User journey mapping. Swagger/OpenAPI covers OpenAPI Specification, Interactive Documentation, Code Generation, GitHub.

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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