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Research · head to head

Mouseflow vs REDCap

Mouseflow logo

Mouseflow

Research

Session replay and heatmaps

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REDCap logo

REDCap

Research

Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mouseflow has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Mouseflow the free plan is 500 sessions a month, one website and one month of data retention; REDCap a for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Mouseflow covers Session Replay, REDCap covers Form and survey designer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mouseflow and REDCap actually diverge.

Attributes where Mouseflow and REDCap differ
AttributeMouseflowREDCap
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Linux, Windows
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Research).

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 Mouseflow

  • Session Replay
  • 6 Types of Heatmaps
  • Funnels
  • Form Analytics
  • User Feedback
  • Google Analytics
  • Segment
  • HubSpot

Only in REDCap

  • Form and survey designer
  • Longitudinal projects
  • Data quality rules
  • Randomisation
  • Audit trail and e-signature
  • API and exports

What people use each for

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

Mouseflow

  • Session replay to watch how visitors use a pagenot REDCap
  • Click, scroll and geographic heatmapsnot REDCap
  • Conversion funnel and form analyticsnot REDCap
  • Friction detection on problem pagesnot REDCap
  • On-site feedback surveysnot REDCap

REDCap

  • An academic research group at an institution that already runs REDCap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build itnot Mouseflow
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot Mouseflow
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot Mouseflow
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot Mouseflow

Where each one falls short

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

Mouseflow

  • The free plan is 500 sessions a month, one website and one month of data retention
  • Data retention is tiered, from 1 month on free to 12 months on Premium at $319 a month
  • Essential at $25 a month covers a single website project
  • SSO, custom privacy settings and priority support are on the higher tiers only
  • The 14 day money-back guarantee applies to annual subscriptions and excludes Enterprise

REDCap

  • A for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • Because each institution hosts its own instance, support, uptime, backup and version currency vary by university, and a researcher has no recourse to Vanderbilt when the local instance is two years out of date.
  • It is free of licence fee but not free of cost: the hosting institution carries server, security, patching and support staffing, which is why some institutions charge internal recharges per project.
  • Validation for regulated use is the deploying institution responsibility, so an instance is not Part 11 compliant simply because REDCap supports the features; someone locally has to produce and maintain the evidence.
  • The interface and reporting are dated compared with commercial survey and EDC tools, and complex logic is built through data dictionary spreadsheets rather than a modern visual builder, which slows non technical study teams.

Pricing, plan by plan

Mouseflow

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 500 monthly sessions
    • 1 website project
    • 1 conversion funnel
  • Essential$25/month
    • 5,000 monthly sessions
    • 1 website project
    • 1 conversion funnel
  • Advanced$109/month
    • 25,000 monthly sessions
    • 2 website projects
    • 5 conversion funnels
  • Premium$319/month
    • 100,000 monthly sessions
    • 5 website projects
    • 10 conversion funnels

REDCap

On request
  • REDCap non-profit licence$undefined/year
    • No licence fee to non-profit and government institutions that join the consortium
    • Institution must install and host it on its own infrastructure
    • For-profit organisations may not hold a licence or self-host

Which should you pick?

Choose Mouseflow if

  • You need session replay.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want 6 types of heatmaps.
Mouseflow review

Choose REDCap if

  • You need form and survey designer.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want longitudinal projects.
REDCap review

Questions people ask

Is Mouseflow or REDCap better?
Neither clearly leads. Mouseflow starts at Free and REDCap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Mouseflow or REDCap?
Mouseflow has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Mouseflow and On request for REDCap.
Does Mouseflow or REDCap run on more platforms?
Mouseflow runs on Web. REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
Can I use Mouseflow for free?
Yes. Mouseflow has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. REDCap starts at On request.
What is Mouseflow best used for?
Mouseflow is most often used for session replay to watch how visitors use a page, click, scroll and geographic heatmaps, conversion funnel and form analytics, friction detection on problem pages. Of those, session replay to watch how visitors use a page and click, scroll and geographic heatmaps are not what REDCap is typically brought in for.
What can Mouseflow do that REDCap cannot?
Mouseflow covers Session Replay, 6 Types of Heatmaps, Funnels, Form Analytics. REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Randomisation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mouseflow: Is there a free version of Mouseflow?

Yes, Mouseflow offers a free plan with up to 500 monthly sessions, 1 website project, and 1-month data retention.

Source
REDCap: Is REDCap really free?

The licence is free to non-profit institutions and government organisations that join the consortium, but they must host and support it themselves, so there is real internal cost.

Mouseflow: What is the most popular Mouseflow plan?

The Advanced plan at $109/month is marked as most popular, offering 25,000 monthly sessions and 6 months of data retention.

Source
REDCap: Can my company use REDCap?

Not by holding a licence or self-hosting. For-profit organisations must use a separately licensed commercial hosted route.

Mouseflow: Does Mouseflow offer annual billing discounts?

Yes, Mouseflow offers up to 35% savings when billed annually instead of monthly, and provides a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Source
REDCap: Is REDCap 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It has the features to support Part 11 use, but compliance depends on how the hosting institution configures, validates and documents its own instance.

REDCap: Who supports it?

Your local institutional REDCap administrator, not Vanderbilt. Support quality varies by site.

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