What is the difference between Heap and Simple Analytics?

Heap is best for Teams wanting auto-captured analytics without tagging, while Simple Analytics is best for Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics. Heap starts at Free and Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo.

Is Heap or Simple Analytics cheaper?

Heap starts at Free with a free tier. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo.

Is there a free alternative to Simple Analytics?

Yes, Heap offers a free tier (Free up to 10K sessions/mo).

Heap vs Simple Analytics

Heap is digital analytics platform that auto-captures every user interaction without manual event tracking, while Simple Analytics is privacy-first analytics that doesn't track users or use cookies. The biggest difference up front: Heap is free, while Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. Heap is built for teams wanting auto-captured analytics without tagging, whereas Simple Analytics targets privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics.

At a glance

	Heap	Simple Analytics
Best for	Teams wanting auto-captured analytics without tagging	Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics
Starting price	Free	$9/mo
Free tier	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Auto-Capture	✓	—
Events	—	✓
Funnels	✓	—
GDPR Compliant	—	✓
Goals	—	✓
No Cookies	—	✓
Segments	✓	—
Session Replay	✓	—

Heap

Strengths

Includes Auto-Capture as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes Session Replay as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Free up to 10K sessions/mo — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 13+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Heap → Full review

Simple Analytics

Strengths

Includes No Cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes GDPR Compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Affordable at $9/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the analytics category
Includes events alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

No free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Simple Analytics → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Heap is completely free (Free up to 10K sessions/mo), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Heap offers Auto-Capture, Funnels and Segments that Simple Analytics lacks. Simple Analytics brings Events, GDPR Compliant and Goals that Heap does not have.

Team fit: Heap is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Simple Analytics is aimed at small teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Where each tool shines: Heap's biggest strengths are: includes auto-capture as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes session replay as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. Simple Analytics's biggest strengths are: includes no cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows.

Watch out for: With Heap, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Simple Analytics, the main complaint is that no free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it.

Choose Heap if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting auto-captured analytics without tagging
Budget is a hard constraint — Heap is free, Simple Analytics is not
You specifically need Auto-Capture and Funnels
You care about includes session replay as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Heap is designed for

Choose Simple Analytics if...

You need a tool built for privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics
You specifically need Events and GDPR Compliant
You care about includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Simple Analytics is designed for