The best FullStory alternatives & competitors, compared
Contents
FullStory made its name as a digital experience intelligence platform, combining session replay with product analytics, heatmaps, and frustration signal detection to help teams understand user behavior.
But, like every tool, FullStory has limitations: it doesn't include feature flags, A/B testing, or error tracking for example. If you're an engineering-focused team, you may want more developer tools than FullStory provides.
Whether you've outgrown FullStory, need a broader platform, or just want to compare options, this guide covers the best FullStory alternatives available today.
1. PostHog
- Founded: 2020
- Similar to: FullStory, Amplitude, LogRocket
- Typical users: Engineers and product teams
- Typical customers: Mid-size B2Bs and startups

What is PostHog?
PostHog (that's us 👋) is a developer platform combining product analytics, session replay, user surveys, heatmaps, feature flags, error tracking, and more into one product. This means it's not only an alternative to FullStory, but also tools like LaunchDarkly, Hotjar, and Amplitude.
Typical PostHog users are engineers and product managers at startups and mid-size companies, particularly B2B companies. Customers include Supabase, ElevenLabs, Lovable, and more.
Key features
Product analytics: Funnels, user paths, retention analysis, custom trends, and dynamic user cohorts. Also supports SQL insights for power users.
Session replays: Including event timelines, console logs, network activity, and 90-day data retention.
Surveys: Target surveys by event or person properties. Templates for Net Promoter Score (NPS), product-market fit (PMF) surveys, and more.
A/B tests: Up to 9 test variations, primary and secondary metrics. Automatically calculate test duration, sample size, and statistical significance.
Feature flags: Safely launch features with local evaluation (for faster performance) and JSON payloads.
Error tracking: Monitor exceptions, stack traces, and crashes, all connected directly to session replays, user behavior, and feature flag changes.
How does PostHog compare to FullStory?
PostHog goes beyond the feature set of FullStory. It matches key features like single snippet installation, user segmentation, and privacy options, while also having surveys, A/B testing, error tracking, and feature flags. As a (big) bonus, it's also free, self-serve, and open source.
Getting started takes minutes with PostHog's setup wizard, which walks you through installation step by step.
Main differences between PostHog and FullStory
- PostHog includes feature flags, A/B testing, error tracking, and LLM analytics; FullStory doesn't offer any of these natively.
- PostHog's session replay includes console logs, network monitoring, DOM explorer, and performance metrics; FullStory's replay focuses on frustration signals (rage clicks, dead clicks, error clicks) but lacks developer debugging tools.
- PostHog uses transparent, usage-based pricing with a generous free tier (1M events, 5,000 replays free); FullStory's paid plan pricing requires contacting sales.
- PostHog includes a built-in data warehouse for importing and querying external data from Stripe, Hubspot, Zendesk, and more; FullStory's data export options are more limited.
- PostHog offers SQL access for custom queries; FullStory doesn't support direct SQL querying.
Main similarities between PostHog and FullStory
- Both support event autocapture that starts collecting data immediately after installation.
- Both include product analytics with funnels, user paths, and conversion tracking.
- Both offer session replay and heatmaps for understanding user behavior.
- Both provide user privacy controls and data masking options.
- Both support web and mobile app analytics.
- Both integrate with third-party tools like Segment and Slack.
Why do companies use PostHog?
According to reviews on G2, companies use PostHog because:
It replaces multiple tools: PostHog can replace FullStory (session replay and analytics), LaunchDarkly (feature flags and A/B testing), and Userpilot (feedback and surveys). This simplifies workflows and ensures all product is in one place.
Pricing is transparent and scalable: Reviewers appreciate how PostHog's pricing scales as they grow. There's a generous free tier they can use forever. Companies eligible for PostHog for Startups also get $50k in additional free credits.
They need a complete picture of users: PostHog includes every tool necessary to understand users and improve products. This means creating funnels to track conversion, watching replays to see where users get stuck, testing solutions with A/B tests, and gathering feedback with user surveys.
Bottom line
PostHog provides all the tools of FullStory and more. Being self-serve with a generous free tier makes it an ideal alternative to try out. PostHog is an especially good fit for SaaS companies needing multiple tools to build the best product possible.
Install PostHog with one command
Paste this into your terminal and make AI do all the work.

2. Smartlook
- Founded: 2016
- Most similar to: Heap, FullStory
- Typical users: Engineers, business analysts, product managers
- Typical customers: Enterprise retail and ecommerce websites and apps

What is Smartlook?
Smartlook is an analytics platform that combines session replays with product analytics, visualizations, and crash reports to generate user insights. It focuses on mobile apps with specific tools like mobile heatmaps, native rendering, and wireframe mode.
Cisco acquired Smartlook in June 2023 to strengthen its AppDynamics and Full-Stack Observability offerings, though Smartlook continues to operate as a standalone product.
Key features
Session recordings: Understand how users are actually using your app and where issues occur.
Event-based analytics: See how often users behave in the ways important to you.
Heatmaps: Figure out the most popular parts of a page users click on and scroll to.
Funnels and paths: See how users move through your app with custom visuals for key flows.
Crash reports: Learn what happens before a crash without complex debugging or reproduction.
How does Smartlook compare to FullStory?
The feature sets of Smartlook and FullStory are nearly identical. The difference is that Smartlook focuses slightly more on product analytics, is self-serve, and adds crash reports.