Heap
Autocaptured product analytics - no manual event tagging required, everything is tracked by default
What it does
Heap is a product analytics platform whose defining feature is autocapture: install one script and it retroactively records every click, form submission, page view, and DOM interaction, then lets you define events after the fact from that historical data. Compare to Mixpanel and Amplitude, where you must instrument each event in code before it starts recording. Heap trades some precision for reduced engineering time. Now owned by Contentsquare (acquired 2024).
Free tier
Yes
Setup
medium
Key features
Integrates with
Segment, Salesforce, Slack, Amplitude
Who this fits
- Product teams that want analytics without engineering-heavy event instrumentation
- E-commerce and B2C sites where "what did users click on the checkout page" changes weekly
- Growth teams who want to define new funnels retroactively without waiting for a code deploy
- SaaS teams whose engineering bandwidth is thin
- PMs and analysts who want to explore behavior data self-serve
Who it does NOT fit
- Teams with strict data governance and PII requirements (autocapture captures more than you want by default)
- Mobile-first apps (Heap's autocapture is web-native; mobile requires more instrumentation)
- Simple content sites (autocapture is overkill; Plausible or Fathom fit)
- Solo founders pre-PMF
Pricing
Real gotchas
- Autocapture captures every DOM click, which means it captures a lot of noise. Cleaning up (excluding low-value events, virtual events for grouping) is real work [source: help.heap.io/hc/en-us/articles/360043354091].
- Autocapture depends on stable DOM selectors. Redesigning your app breaks historical event definitions unless the selectors are unchanged.
- The 2024 Contentsquare acquisition consolidated Heap into the CX ecosystem. Session replay and heatmaps now come from Contentsquare rather than pure Heap; pricing and product roadmap have shifted.
- Heap's free tier gives 6-month retention. If you need to look back further to compare year-over-year, you must upgrade.
- Autocapture PII risk: form inputs can be captured accidentally. Configure the PII redaction rules explicitly.
Integrations that matter
Otto’s take on this tool
Recommend Heap when the client has an e-commerce or SaaS product but limited engineering bandwidth to instrument events, and wants to explore data retroactively. Recommend Mixpanel or Amplitude when the client has engineering discipline and wants precise, intentional tracking. Do NOT recommend for local service businesses, trades, or simple websites.
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