Is Heap or Helm better?

Neither clearly leads. Heap starts at Free and Helm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Heap or Helm?

Heap starts at Free and Helm at Free.

Does Heap or Helm run on more platforms?

Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android. Helm runs on Web.

Can I use Heap for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Heap best used for?

Heap is most often used for user behavior analysis, conversion optimization, product adoption, customer journey mapping. Of those, user behavior analysis and conversion optimization are not what Helm is typically brought in for.

What can Heap do that Helm cannot?

Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis.

Technology · head to head

Heap vs Helm

Heap

Technology

Product analytics for the modern product team

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Helm

Developer Tools

The package manager for Kubernetes

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Heap no built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation; Helm licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (helm/helm LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heap and Helm actually diverge.

Attributes where Heap and Helm differ
Attribute	Heap	Helm
Pricing model	Unknown	open-source
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Category	Technology	Developer Tools
Founded	2013	Unknown

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 Heap

Autocapture
Retroactive analytics
Session replay
Funnel analysis
User segmentation
Path analysis
Data science
Virtual events

Only in Helm

Nothing recorded that Heap does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Heap

User behavior analysisnot Helm
Conversion optimizationnot Helm
Product adoptionnot Helm
Customer journey mappingnot Helm
A/B testing analysisnot Helm

Helm

Kubernetes package manager and deployment toolnot Heap

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Heap

No built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation
Group analytics and advanced features require a sales conversation, not self-serve
Cloud-only deployment; no self-hosted option for data security or compliance requirements
Session replay lacks developer debugging tools compared to PostHog
Pricing for Growth and Pro plans requires direct sales contact; no transparency on how pricing scales

Helm

Licensed under Apache License 2.0 per the project's GitHub repository (helm/helm LICENSE); as open source software it has no paid tier or vendor price to compare
Contributors must sign commits under the Developer Certificate of Origin to have them accepted, per helm.sh, a process requirement not all Kubernetes tools impose

Pricing, plan by plan

Heap

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 10,000 monthly sessions
- Basic charts
- 6 months data history
Growth$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Sense AI assistant
- 12 months data history
Pro$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Account analytics
- Engagement matrix
Premier$undefined/custom
- Custom session pricing
- Data warehouse integration
- Unlimited projects

Helm

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Helm review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Heap if

You need autocapture.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, iOS, Android.
You also want retroactive analytics.

Heap review

Choose Helm if

You want to start without paying.

Helm review

Questions people ask

Is Heap or Helm better?: Neither clearly leads. Heap starts at Free and Helm at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heap or Helm?: Heap starts at Free and Helm at Free.
Does Heap or Helm run on more platforms?: Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android. Helm runs on Web.
Can I use Heap for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Heap best used for?: Heap is most often used for user behavior analysis, conversion optimization, product adoption, customer journey mapping. Of those, user behavior analysis and conversion optimization are not what Helm is typically brought in for.
What can Heap do that Helm cannot?: Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Heap: What does Heap's autocapture feature do?

Heap's autocapture is a single code snippet that automatically captures every click, swipe, tap, pageview, and form fill on your website and apps without requiring manual event setup. Once installed, Heap captures the entire digital experience of every user on every platform with no ongoing engineering maintenance needed.

Source

Helm: How much does Helm cost?

Helm is free and open-source. It is a graduated project in the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) with no commercial pricing model.

Source

Heap: What are Heap's pricing plans and how much do they cost?

Heap offers a Free plan for up to 10,000 monthly sessions. Growth, Pro, and Premier plans use custom session-based pricing that requires contacting sales for a quote. Free includes basic charts and 6 months data history. Growth adds the Sense AI assistant. Pro adds account analytics. Premier adds data warehouse integration and dedicated customer success management.

Source

Heap: Does Heap include session replay and A/B testing?

Heap includes integrated session replay showing exactly what users did on your site. However, Heap does not include built-in A/B testing or feature flags. Teams requiring these capabilities must use separate tools or integrate with third-party platforms.

Source

Heap: What integrations does Heap support?

Heap supports over 100 integrations connecting to business tools including marketing platforms, CRMs, and data warehouses. This allows insights to reach relevant teams and ensures data flows to other business systems automatically.

Source

Heap: Does Heap offer self-hosting or is it cloud-only?

Heap is cloud-only and does not offer self-hosted options. Organizations requiring on-premises deployment should consider alternatives like PostHog which supports self-hosting alongside its cloud product.

Source

Heap: What is Sense and how does it help with analytics?

Sense Chat is Heap's AI assistant that enables users to access analytics without extensive technical knowledge. It allows teams to ask questions about user behavior and get answers directly without lengthy onboarding or technical expertise, making insights more accessible to non-technical stakeholders.

Source

Heap vs Helm

Heap

Helm

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Heap

Only in Helm

What people use each for

Heap

Helm

Where each one falls short

Heap

Helm

Pricing, plan by plan

Heap

Helm

Which should you pick?

Choose Heap if

Choose Helm if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Heap

More on Helm

Keep looking

Other head to heads