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Amplitude vs Heatmaps.io: What are the differences?
Key Differences between Amplitude and Heatmaps.io
Amplitude and Heatmaps.io are both analytics tools used for understanding user behavior and improving website performance. However, they differ in several key aspects.
1. Data Collection Methodology: Amplitude primarily uses event-based tracking, storing and analyzing discrete user interactions, such as button clicks or screen views. On the other hand, Heatmaps.io uses session-based tracking, capturing continuous user sessions and generating visual heatmaps showcasing the most and least clicked areas on a web page.
2. Visualization Capabilities: Amplitude focuses on generating insights through charts, graphs, and reports, which provide a detailed breakdown of user actions and behavior. In contrast, Heatmaps.io's primary feature is its heatmaps, which visually represent user interaction patterns using colors, allowing quick identification of areas with high or low engagement.
3. Data Analysis Flexibility: Amplitude offers a wide range of analysis options, including cohort analysis, funnel analysis, and user segmentation. Additionally, it provides advanced querying capabilities, allowing users to create custom metrics and perform complex data analysis. In contrast, Heatmaps.io focuses solely on visualizing user interactions and does not provide extensive analysis tools.
4. Real-time Reporting: Amplitude provides real-time reporting, allowing users to monitor user interactions as they occur and make data-driven decisions in real time. This real-time functionality is especially useful for businesses that require immediate insights for time-sensitive campaigns or website optimizations. Heatmaps.io, however, is not designed for real-time reporting and provides session-based data analysis instead.
5. Pricing Model: Amplitude follows a tiered pricing model, offering different plans based on the required features and volume of tracked events. This pricing approach allows businesses to choose a plan that aligns with their specific needs and budget. In contrast, Heatmaps.io offers a fixed monthly cost for unlimited sessions and heatmaps, providing greater affordability for businesses with high traffic websites.
6. Integration Options: Amplitude offers integrations with various third-party tools and platforms, such as Salesforce, Google Analytics, and Zendesk, allowing businesses to integrate their analytics data with other systems. Heatmaps.io, on the other hand, provides limited integration options, restricting data sharing and cross-platform analysis capabilities.
In summary, the key differences between Amplitude and Heatmaps.io lie in their data collection methodology, visualization capabilities, data analysis flexibility, real-time reporting, pricing model, and integration options. While Amplitude provides detailed event-based tracking and advanced analysis features, Heatmaps.io focuses on visualizing user interactions through heatmaps, offering a more cost-effective solution for businesses looking for session-based insights.
I am trying to decide on a solution to better track our user data. We need to track which google ads are leading to signups, and which signups are performing various actions on the site. We then need to visualize this data in various ways. We also need to run A/B tests on features and content, to track which ones lead to the most paid conversions.
Functionally, Amplitude and Mixpanel are incredibly similar. They both offer almost all the same functionality around tracking and visualizing user actions for analytics. You can track A/B test results in both. We ended up going with Amplitude at BaseDash because it has a more generous free tier for our uses (10 million actions per month, versus Mixpanel's 1000 monthly tracked users).
Segment isn't meant to compete with these tools, but instead acts as an API to send actions to them, and other analytics tools. If you're just sending event data to one of these tools, you probably don't need Segment. If you're using other analytics tools like Google Analytics and FullStory, Segment makes it easy to send events to all your tools at once.
Another option you might consider is Google Analytics App+Web.
It is a new type of Google Analytics property which is event-based (like Amplitude and Mixpanel). In App+Web you can collect exactly the same data and in the same format as the other 2 tools mentioned.
The great things about it are: - it is free - there is a free integration with BigQuery (though you'll need to pay for BigQuery, but for most SmB's it is peanuts - $5-30 a month)
Not so great: - reporting side is pretty buggy (App+Web is very new).
So if you are ok building your reporting in something like Google Data Studio, App+Web will be a great option. Your data analyst will especially be happy to have all the data in SQL format (BigQuery).
If you choose App+Web, then you can use Google Optimize (also free) as an A/B testing solution.
Hello Ben,
I have been using Mixpanel and Amplitude and both of them are good solutions in order to track events on your product; events, funnel analysis, retention and so on. The most important thing is that you set up properly the taxonomy and naming convention of your events' structure. I don't have anything against Segment I tried once but I didn't work with that tool but it for sure is a good one based on other workmates' opinions. ¡Important! When tracking distribution channels, take into consideration the attribution channel and all the touches that the users do in all the channels before your conversions. Some of them are good to open a path and other ones good to close.
Besides that, for A/B testing there are several options in the market but VWO is a good one that with a lot of features to get good insights into the A/B testing. Another one could be Optimizely or Google Optimize. ¡Important! Some teams instead run A/B testing because sometimes that could be a technological issue, they run cohort tests, where basically they change features on the product and they analyse this performance with the new users and compare. That could have another issue like seasonality but it is another option.
Overview, I recommend Amplitude and VWO but just to make simple the answer, because Mixpanel, Segment and the other options that the other users wrote here are good too.
All the best, and let me know how your experience was with all these tools. :)
Cheers,
Pros of Amplitude
- Great for product managers11
- Easy setup8
- Efficient analysis6
- Behavioral cohorts2
- Event streams for individual users2
- Chart edits get their own URLs2
- Free for up to 10M user actions per month2
- Fast1
- Great UI1
- Engagement Matrix is super helpful1
Pros of Heatmaps.io
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Cons of Amplitude
- Super expensive once you're past the free plan4