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UserExplorer

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Heap alternative for session replay and heatmaps with prices you can see before you talk to sales

Heap is a product analytics tool that autocaptures events, and its session replay and heatmaps are add-ons on the Pro and Premier plans, priced by quote. UserExplorer is a Heap alternative for product, growth and UX teams that want replay, heatmaps, funnels and field level form analytics included on every plan, an AI researcher that explains why users drop off, and a published price from $49 a month billed yearly. If your analysts live in Heap charts and need deep event analysis, keep Heap and add UserExplorer for the why.

See a sample report
  • Replay and heatmaps in every plan, not an add-on
  • Published prices, no custom quote
  • AI researcher reads sessions and links the proof
  • Form analytics and funnels ready on day one
Growth analyst reviewing a conversion funnel on a laptop at a desk
app.userexplorer.com/insights
This week's findings15,862 sessions read
  1. 1 Phone verification fails on mobile signup 31% of mobile signups 42 replays
  2. 2 Yearly toggle below the fold on /pricing 58% of paid search visitors 27 replays
  3. 3 Coupon field takes focus before Pay 18% of checkouts 19 replays
  4. 4 Export used in 24 h predicts retention 2.4x better week 4 33 replays

Sample data

Why teams look

The Heap trade offs that start the search for an alternative

Heap is strong at retroactive event analysis. Teams look elsewhere when the question is why a visitor left, not how many did.

  • What it answers best

    Heap
    How many users did what, with autocaptured events you can define after the fact
    UserExplorer
    Why users stalled, shown in recordings, heatmaps and an AI summary

  • Session replay

    Heap
    Not in Free or Growth, an add-on on Pro and Premier
    UserExplorer
    Every session up to the plan limit, every plan

  • Heatmaps

    Heap
    Not in Free or Growth, an add-on on Pro and Premier
    UserExplorer
    Click and scroll heatmaps on every plan

  • Pricing

    Heap
    Free up to 10,000 sessions a month, other plans priced by session volume and not listed on the page
    UserExplorer
    $99 a month, or $49 billed yearly, then $249, $749 and $1,999 yearly rates listed on the pricing page

  • Data history

    Heap
    6 months on Free, 12 months on Growth, 1 year on Pro and Premier with more as an add-on
    UserExplorer
    Replay kept 3, 6, 12 or 24 months by plan

Heap details from heap.io/pricing, read in October 2026. Heap does not publish list prices for paid plans, so confirm cost with Heap before you compare. UserExplorer limits are on the pricing page.

The missing why

A funnel chart tells you where people leave, not what they saw

A common Heap story: the funnel shows a 40 percent drop between cart and payment, everyone agrees it is a problem, and nobody knows what to change. Without recordings the team guesses, ships a tweak and waits two weeks to see if the number moved.

UserExplorer closes that gap. Ask why checkout completion fell on mobile and the AI researcher scans the sessions, groups what it finds, ranks the causes by how many visitors each one hit and links the session replays that show it, such as a hidden coupon field or a button that does not respond.

You still get funnel analysis where every step opens the recordings of the people who left at that step, so the chart and the evidence live in one place.

UX researcher watching a recorded user session and taking notes

Side by side

UserExplorer and Heap compared feature by feature

An honest view, including where Heap is the stronger product.

  • Entry price

    UserExplorer
    $99 a month, or $49 billed yearly, for 10,000 sessions
    Heap
    Free for up to 10,000 sessions a month, paid plans by estimate or quote

  • Session replay

    UserExplorer
    Included, filters for page, device, source, event and frustration signals
    Heap
    Add-on on Pro and Premier

  • Heatmaps

    UserExplorer
    Click and scroll, split by device, source and behavior
    Heap
    Add-on on Pro and Premier

  • Event analytics and autocapture

    UserExplorer
    Funnels and journeys, no retroactive event library
    Heap
    Core strength, autocapture with events defined after the fact

  • Form analytics

    UserExplorer
    Field level hesitation, refills and abandonment on every plan
    Heap
    Build from captured form events

  • AI analysis of sessions

    UserExplorer
    AI researcher answers questions with evidence replays
    Heap
    Analytics focused, replay analysis is manual

  • Surveys and NPS

    UserExplorer
    Included from Growth, with AI follow up interviews
    Heap
    Not part of the pricing page plans

  • API

    UserExplorer
    From the Scale plan
    Heap
    Included on every plan

  • Warehouse and data integrations

    UserExplorer
    Limited, focused on research
    Heap
    Broad, built for analysts and data teams

Heap capabilities from heap.io/pricing in October 2026. UserExplorer plans and limits are on the pricing page.

What you get

What a growth team gets on day one without a sales cycle

An analyst that reads the replays

Ask a plain question about a drop. The AI researcher ranks causes by sessions affected and links the replays that prove each one.

Field level form analytics

See which field makes buyers hesitate, refill or quit. Details on the form analytics page.

Funnels that open the evidence

Each step opens the recordings of the visitors who left there.

Segmented heatmaps

Split a website heatmap by device, traffic source or visitors who reached checkout and left.

Frustration signals on the timeline

Rage clicks, dead clicks and JavaScript errors are marked in every recording.

A price you can approve today

One plan price with a session limit and listed features, bought by card online, so nothing waits on a quote.

Honest fit

When you should stay on Heap

Stay if your analysts build most reports from autocaptured events, define metrics retroactively and pipe data to a warehouse. UserExplorer is not an event analytics platform and does not try to replace that workflow.

Stay too if you need an API on every plan or heavy integrations with data tools. Heap, now part of Contentsquare, is built for analyst teams with a longer buying process.

Switch, or add UserExplorer next to Heap, when the people who own conversion are product managers, marketers or UX researchers who want to see what visitors did, when replay as a Heap add-on pushes the contract up, or when you want a visible plan price. Many teams keep Heap for charts and use UserExplorer for behavior research. If you are comparing the wider market, see the PostHog alternative and Contentsquare alternative pages.

Migration

How to add session replay next to Heap in one afternoon

There is nothing to export. Run both for a few weeks and decide what to keep.

  1. Step 1

    List the questions you cannot answer

    Note the funnel drops and pages your team can chart in Heap but cannot explain.

  2. Step 2

    Install the UserExplorer snippet

    Create an account, check out online and add one script to your site or tag manager. Inputs are masked in the browser by default.

  3. Step 3

    Rebuild funnels, forms and heatmaps

    Recreate signup and checkout funnels, turn on form analytics for key forms and open heatmaps for the top landing pages.

  4. Step 4

    Decide what to cancel

    If you were about to buy Heap replay as an add-on, skip it. Keep Heap only for the event analysis your analysts still use.

FAQ

Questions teams ask before replacing Heap

What is the best alternative to Heap?

It depends on what you use Heap for. For session replay, heatmaps, funnels and form analytics run by product and growth teams, UserExplorer is a strong Heap alternative with an AI researcher and plans from $49 a month billed yearly. For pure event analytics charts, look at Amplitude, Mixpanel or PostHog (see our Mixpanel alternative comparison).

Does Heap include session replay?

Not on every plan. The Heap pricing page shows session replay and heatmaps as not included in the Free and Growth plans and as an add-on on Pro and Premier. UserExplorer includes replay and heatmaps in every plan.

How much does Heap cost?

Heap offers a free plan for up to 10,000 sessions a month. Growth shows an estimate after you install the snippet, and Pro and Premier use custom session pricing, so there is no public list price for paid plans. UserExplorer lists $99 a month, or $49 billed yearly, for its first plan.

How long does Heap keep data?

Heap keeps 6 months of data history on Free, 12 months on Growth, and 1 year on Pro and Premier, with more years available as an add-on. UserExplorer keeps replays for 3, 6, 12 or 24 months depending on the plan.

Can I use UserExplorer and Heap together?

Yes. Both are a script on the page, so many teams keep Heap for event charts and use UserExplorer for recordings, heatmaps and form analytics. You can skip the Heap replay add-on and avoid paying for replay twice.

Is Heap part of Contentsquare?

Yes. Contentsquare acquired Heap in 2023 and sells it as a separate product. If Contentsquare is your actual target, our Contentsquare alternative page compares it with UserExplorer plan by plan.

Does UserExplorer autocapture events like Heap?

UserExplorer records every session and builds funnels, heatmaps and form reports from what visitors did on the page, so there is no tracking plan to write first. It does not offer Heap style retroactive event definitions or warehouse sync.

See why users leave, not just where

Install one snippet next to Heap today, rebuild your key funnels and forms, and let the AI researcher show you what visitors saw.

See pricing