Softwr

Technology · head to head

Heap vs UserGuiding

Heap logo

Heap

Technology

Product analytics for the modern product team

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
UserGuiding logo

UserGuiding

Customer Success

No-code product adoption tooling priced on monthly active users rather than per seat

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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; UserGuiding pricing is by monthly active user, so a freemium product pays for a large population of users who will never convert, and a strong growth quarter produces a bill increase rather than a saving.
  • They diverge on capability: Heap covers Autocapture, UserGuiding covers No-code flow builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Heap and UserGuiding actually diverge.

Attributes where Heap and UserGuiding differ
AttributeHeapUserGuiding
Pricing modelUnknownPer month by monthly active users
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Chrome extension
CategoryTechnologyCustomer Success
Founded2013Unknown

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
  • Funnel analysis
  • User segmentation
  • Path analysis
  • Data science
  • Virtual events
  • Salesforce

Only in UserGuiding

  • No-code flow builder
  • Onboarding checklists
  • Resource centre
  • In-app surveys and NPS
  • AI assistant
  • Feature requests and roadmap
  • Segmentation

Both cover

  • Session replay

What people use each for

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

Heap

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

UserGuiding

  • A software company that needs onboarding flows shipped this month without taking engineering off the roadmapnot Heap
  • A product team replacing a stale help centre with in-app guidance where users actually get stucknot Heap
  • A team wanting to test whether a checklist raises first-week activation before investing engineering time in a real onboarding experiencenot Heap
  • A support organisation deflecting repetitive tickets with a resource centre and AI assistant inside the productnot 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

UserGuiding

  • Pricing is by monthly active user, so a freemium product pays for a large population of users who will never convert, and a strong growth quarter produces a bill increase rather than a saving.
  • Flows are built as an overlay on your interface and break when the underlying markup changes, so every significant front-end release carries a maintenance task nobody owns.
  • Session replay and the AI assistant are gated to the Growth tier at double the Starter price, so the feature list that sold the product is not what the entry plan delivers.
  • Analytics are adequate for guidance performance but shallower than a dedicated product analytics tool, so most teams end up running it alongside Amplitude or Mixpanel rather than instead of them.
  • Complex single page applications and heavily componentised interfaces need careful element targeting, and teams report brittle selectors that fail silently rather than raising an error.

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

UserGuiding

Free
  • Support EssentialsFree
    • Entry support-oriented tier
    • Limited monthly active users
    • Core in-app guidance
  • Starter$174/month
    • Billed yearly
    • Product tours, tooltips, hotspots and checklists
    • In-app surveys and NPS
  • Growth$349/month
    • Billed yearly
    • Higher monthly active user allowance
    • Session replay
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom monthly active user volumes
    • Security review and single sign-on
    • Dedicated support and onboarding

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 UserGuiding if

  • You need no-code flow builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome extension.
  • You also want onboarding checklists.
UserGuiding review

Questions people ask

Is Heap or UserGuiding better?
Neither clearly leads. Heap starts at Free and UserGuiding at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Heap or UserGuiding?
Heap starts at Free and UserGuiding at Free.
Does Heap or UserGuiding run on more platforms?
Heap runs on Web, iOS, Android. UserGuiding runs on Web, Chrome extension.
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 UserGuiding is typically brought in for.
What can Heap do that UserGuiding cannot?
Heap covers Autocapture, Retroactive analytics, Funnel analysis, User segmentation. UserGuiding covers No-code flow builder, Onboarding checklists, Resource centre, In-app surveys and NPS. Both handle Session replay.

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
UserGuiding: How is UserGuiding priced?

By monthly active users, not by internal seat. Starter is around one hundred and seventy four dollars a month billed yearly and Growth around three hundred and forty nine dollars, with a free tier and a quoted Enterprise plan.

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
UserGuiding: Does it need engineering?

A one-time snippet install, then flows are built visually. Ongoing engineering involvement is usually needed only when interface changes break element targeting.

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
UserGuiding: How does it compare on cost to Pendo?

Materially cheaper at the published tiers, but the comparison changes if your monthly active user count is large relative to your revenue.

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
UserGuiding: Is session replay included?

Only from the Growth tier upward, not on Starter.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Heap

More on UserGuiding

Keep looking

Other head to heads