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Technology · head to head

Heap vs Plausible

Heap logo

Heap

Technology

Product analytics for the modern product team

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plausible logo

Plausible

Marketing

Simple, privacy-friendly analytics

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Heap has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Heap no built-in A/B testing or feature flags; requires integration with separate tools for experimentation; Plausible there is no free tier, only a 30 day trial
  • They diverge on capability: Heap covers Autocapture, Plausible covers Page view tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heap and Plausible actually diverge.

Attributes where Heap and Plausible differ
AttributeHeapPlausible
Starting priceFree$9/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryTechnologyMarketing
Founded20132018

Identical on both: 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 Plausible

  • Page view tracking
  • Goal tracking
  • Real-time analytics
  • Outbound link click tracking
  • Privacy-focused
  • No cookies
  • Web support
  • 20+ languages language support

Both cover

  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Heap

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

Plausible

  • Privacy-focused web analytics without cookies or personal datanot Heap
  • A Google Analytics replacement that needs no consent bannernot Heap
  • Self-hosted analytics on your own infrastructurenot Heap
  • EU-hosted measurement for data residency requirementsnot 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

Plausible

  • There is no free tier, only a 30 day trial
  • Paid plans are metered on monthly pageviews, so a traffic spike moves you up a plan
  • Self-hosting is possible but means running and updating the service yourself
  • Deliberately simple, so there are no user-level profiles or funnel-by-individual reports the way a cookie-based analytics tool provides

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

Plausible

$9/month
  • Starter$9/month
    • Up to 10k monthly pageviews
    • 1 site
    • 3 years data retention
  • Growth$14/month
    • Up to 3 sites
    • Up to 3 team members
  • Business$19/month
    • Up to 10 sites
    • Up to 10 team members
    • 5 years data retention
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • 10+ sites
    • Custom pricing

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 Plausible if

  • You need page view tracking.
  • You also want goal tracking.
Plausible review

Questions people ask

Is Heap or Plausible better?
Neither clearly leads. Heap starts at Free and Plausible at $9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heap or Plausible?
Heap has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Heap and $9/month for Plausible.
Does Heap or Plausible run on more platforms?
Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android. Plausible runs on Web.
Can I use Heap for free?
Yes. Heap has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plausible starts at $9/month.
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 Plausible is typically brought in for.
What can Heap do that Plausible cannot?
Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Session replay, Funnel analysis. Plausible covers Page view tracking, Goal tracking, Real-time analytics, Outbound link click tracking. Both handle Cloud deployment.

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
Plausible: How much does Plausible Analytics cost?

Plausible offers plans starting at $9/month for the Starter tier, $14/month for Growth, and $19/month for Business. Enterprise pricing is custom. All plans include a 30-day free trial without requiring a credit card.

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
Plausible: Is there a free version of Plausible?

Plausible does not offer a free plan; however, all paid plans include a 30-day free trial with full access to features.

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
Plausible: What is the difference between Plausible's pricing tiers?

The Starter plan covers up to 10k monthly pageviews for 1 site. Growth adds up to 3 sites and 3 team members. Business expands to 10 sites, 10 team members, and includes advanced features like API access and 5 years data retention.

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
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