Software: Heap

Category: Product & Behavioral Analytics Platform

Primary Use: Automatic event tracking, funnel analysis, and user journey insights

Developer: Heap, Inc.

Starting Price: Free plan available; paid plans with custom pricing (based on data volume and features)

Free Trial/Plan: Free plan available

Platform: Web-based (cloud)

Official Website: heap.io

Heap is a cloud-based product and behavioral analytics platform designed to help businesses understand how users interact with websites and digital products. It focuses on automatic event capture and flexible data analysis.

What Is Heap?

Heap is a SaaS analytics platform founded in 2013. It automatically tracks user interactions such as clicks, form submissions, and page views without requiring manual event tagging at setup.

The platform allows teams to define events retroactively and analyze historical data without additional code deployment.

Heap operates entirely online and integrates with digital applications via tracking scripts or SDKs.

Who Uses Heap?

Heap is commonly used by SaaS companies, product teams, ecommerce brands, growth marketers, and enterprise organizations. It is particularly suited for businesses that require flexible product analytics and user journey analysis.

Product teams use Heap to analyze feature adoption. Growth teams use it to optimize conversion funnels. Ecommerce brands use it to track customer behavior and retention.

Core Features

Heap provides automatic event tracking without manual tagging.

Retroactive event definition allows analyzing past interactions.

Funnel analysis tools track user progression through defined steps.

Cohort analysis identifies retention and engagement trends.

User journey mapping visualizes paths taken across sessions.

Behavioral segmentation enables targeting based on activity.

Data visualization dashboards present engagement metrics.

Integration with experimentation tools supports A/B testing analysis.

API access allows exporting event data.

Governance and data controls are available in enterprise plans.

Integrations and Compatibility

Heap integrates with CRM platforms such as Salesforce.

The platform supports integration with marketing automation tools and data warehouses.

API access enables exporting data to BI tools.

SDKs support web and mobile app tracking.

Heap operates as a fully cloud-based SaaS solution.

Pricing Structure

Heap offers a free plan with limited data volume and basic features.

Paid plans provide expanded data retention, advanced analytics, and enterprise governance tools.

Pricing is customized based on event volume and organizational needs.

Contracts are typically structured annually for enterprise customers.

Advantages and Limitations

Heap automatically captures user interactions, reducing setup time. Retroactive event analysis allows flexibility in reporting.

However, pricing scales with data volume. Advanced governance and reporting tools require higher-tier plans. Implementation may require coordination with development teams for SDK integration.

Alternatives to Heap

Several platforms provide similar product analytics functionality. Amplitude supports event-based analytics and experimentation. Mixpanel offers funnel and cohort tracking. Google Analytics provides web traffic reporting. Kissmetrics focuses on revenue-based customer tracking.

Each alternative differs in pricing structure, event tracking approach, and data depth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Heap do?

Heap is a product analytics platform that automatically tracks user interactions and supports funnel and cohort analysis.

Is Heap cloud-based?

Yes. Heap operates as a web-based SaaS platform.

Does Heap require manual event tagging?

No. Automatic event capture is a core feature.

Who typically uses Heap?

SaaS companies, ecommerce brands, and product teams commonly use the platform.

Key Takeaways

Heap is a cloud-based product and behavioral analytics platform designed for automatic event tracking and user journey analysis. It includes retroactive event definition, funnel and cohort reporting, segmentation tools, dashboards, and API integrations. Pricing begins with a free plan, while paid plans are custom and scale based on event volume and enterprise feature access.