7 Best User Behavior Analytics Tools (2023): Get To Know Your Audience

By now, we know that behavior analytics tools are vital for improving customer experience. There are a lot of options available out there, but not all work for everyone. Many users of behavior analytics tools encounter the following issues:

• No over-the-shoulder perspective of user behavior: Most behavior analytics tools collect aggregate data that tells you what a large group of users are doing. However, this doesn’t paint the full picture of how users interact with your products.

• Making sense of the session recording data: User data is only useful if you can extract insights from it. Large corporations utilize data centers to process the data, but smaller businesses need affordable tools that do the processing for them. 

To give you the best experience with otherwise very useful tools, we’ve identified the 7 best user behavior analytics tools that work around the mentioned issues.

Best User Behavior Analytics Tools at a Glance

• SessionStack — Best for over-the-shoulder user behavior analysis.
• Amplitude — Best for enterprise-grade customer analytics.
• Tableau — Best for visualizing user behavior data.

Best Overall		Runner-Up	Third-Best Alternative
SessionStack		Amplitude	Tableau
Best for session recordings and user session analysis.		Best for large-scale enterprises that need advanced testing and experimentation tools.	Best for visualizing and enriching user behavior data on a cloud-hosted platform.
Visit SessionStack		Visit Amplitude	Visit Tableau

Best User Behavior Analytics Tools: Executive Summary

Before exploring each tool in-depth, here’s an overview of all of their features, strengths, limitations, and ratings.

	SessionStack Best for pixel-perfect session recordings that provide an over-the-shoulder perspective of user behavior.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
	Amplitude Best for enterprise-grade customer analytics. Offers powerful testing and experimentation tools for finding out which marketing strategies work best.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable: ⭐⭐⭐
	Tableau Best for visualizing behavior data. The desktop version provides powerful real-time insights and data exploration.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
	Google Analytics Best for analyzing aggregate website interaction trends. Offers powerful AI and ML-driven analytics tools.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
	Heap Best for analyzing complete customer journeys. Specializes in data collection and capturing user interactions.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable: ⭐⭐⭐
	CleverTap Best for customer engagement analytics. Offers AI tools for creating personalized marketing strategies.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization:⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable: ⭐⭐⭐
	UserPilot Best for collecting online product interaction data. Great for tracking individual user behavior data.
	Ease of Use: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Features: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Data Visualization: ⭐⭐⭐⭐	Affordable: ⭐⭐

1. SessionStack — Best for user session analysis

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alexander Zlatkov was a software engineer building apps and providing customer support at Progress. While working there, he noticed a lack of good tools to help developers understand how users interact with online apps. So, he created SessionStack in 2016.

Top SessionStack Features:

SessionStacks’s top feature is its low-latency, pixel-perfect session replays that give you a first-person perspective of how users interact with your digital products. It allows you to zoom in on the individual user’s experience but also supports aggregate views of user behavior:

• User journey analysis with funnel tracking features.
• User segmentation with filters that let you analyze specific user groups. 
• And analytics that allows you to quickly spot low-hanging usability improvements.

SessionStack offers several other advanced analytics tools, such as developer tools and SessionStack AI. That’s why it’s the most well-rounded and versatile tool for gaining insights from behavior data, catering to product managers, developers, and customer support teams alike.

SessionStack Pros	SessionStack Cons
✅ Pixel-perfect session replays	❌ No chat features
✅ Advanced developer tools	❌ No mobile app support
✅ User segmentation and user journey funnels	❌ No surveys and user feedback forms
✅ SessionStack AI recommendations

Session Replay: Get an over-the-shoulder perspective of user behavior

Most behavior analytics tools collect data on user actions and events while interacting with your products and store it as aggregate data. But what better way to understand user behavior than seeing it yourself?

That’s where SessionStack’s session replays kick in. They give you a 1:1 replication of the website, showing all actions, events, and network requests that occur when users browse your apps.

These recordings are pixel-perfect with near-zero latency when watching live or on replay.

Unlike most competing platforms that only collect random samples from web traffic data, SessionStack records all user sessions. This has the side effect of generating a lot of information, which is why SessionStack supports generative AI that creates short summaries from hours of session replays.

Not only does it help you understand user behavior, but this tool also provides recommendations and actionable insights on how to improve user experiences. 

User Segmentation: Understand user behavior at any scale

From a single sample of session recording data, SessionStack can generate user profiles as well as aggregate trends and patterns with its user segmentation & funnel tools. This way, you can understand user behavior on the individual level or as a group.

It lets you group users into segments based on user attributes, session duration, events, and other session details. You can save your segments for later since SessionStack automatically populates them with matching users from past and future data sets. 

Trends Dashboard: Visualize aggregate data and spot user behavior patterns

SessionStack provides charts and graphs to help you visualize user behaviors at scale. This way you can easily identify important user trends and conversion opportunities.

The Trends Dashboard displays four important data sets:

• The number of unique users who match the segment filters,
• The number of sessions that match the segment filters,
• The average session length,
• The average session length per use.

It also shows the most clicked UI elements, rage clicks, and dead clicks on your website. You can also download the charts as image files or CSV tables.

Conversion Funnels: Use user behavior insights to optimize conversion and retention rates

SessionStack’s conversion funnels are sets of ordered events that you expect users to follow from beginning to end. They are instrumentation-free, so you don’t need any coding or technical expertise to set them up.

These funnels automatically calculate the success and drop-off rates, showing you where and how users leave the funnel. They also help you answer two important questions:

• How many users haven’t converted?
• Why have they left the desired user journey? 

SessionStack lets you refine funnels with subfilters and exclusion filters so you can create the best possible user journey for conversion.

Use SessionStack if:

• You want an over-the-shoulder perspective of user behavior.
• You want to analyze user behavior at any level of detail.
• You need an AI tool to help you simplify large data sets.

2. Amplitude — Best for enterprise-grade customer analytics

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐

Amplitude’s founder Spenser Skates experienced the need for a better product analytics tool while developing Sonalight, a text-to-voice app. As a result, he created Amplitude in 2012 to help product teams learn from user behavior to build better products.

Top Amplitude Features:

• Chart templates and automated reports,
• A/B testing,
• Amplitude AI,
• Data management,
• Product and marketing dashboard.

Amplitude is best for large-scale businesses that handle large amounts of user data. Its AI tools also make it a great support for data science teams.

Amplitude Pros	Amplitude Cons
✅ Built-in testing and experimentation	❌ No built-in data collection tools
✅ Automated analytics and data management	❌ Complicated to set up and use
✅ Unified customer data platform	❌ Pricing plans are not transparent

Amplitude Overview:

Amplitude can analyze any combination of metrics, user attributes, and user behaviors to help you identify which features and marketing campaigns have the most impact on product growth. That’s because its analytics feature suite includes:

• funnel analysis, 
• retention analysis, 
• event segmentation, 
• data tables, 
• and user sessions.

These tools are natively integrated with Amplitude Experiment, allowing you to perform segmentation and A/B testing on behavior data. 

Amplitude also provides a powerful AI that can do everything from answering questions and generating recommendations to automatically building charts and funnels. It automates data cleanup, enrichment, and management using the industry’s best practices.

Amplitude Pricing:

Amplitude offers its features in separate pricing packages but it doesn’t list their exact costs. As a result, you have to contact the sales team to get a price quote.

The Amplitude Analytics package includes a Starter plan, which is free to use. This plan provides the core analytics charts, advanced collaboration, and data planning tools. It also lets you track up to 50,000 users per month.

Use Amplitude if:

• You need enterprise-grade behavior analytics software.
• You have a medium to large-sized product team.
• You want to seamlessly integrate with your existing tech stack.

3. Tableau — Best for visualizing behavior data

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tableau was the result of a computer science project at Stanford that aimed to improve analytics and data accessibility through visualization. Its query engine, VizQL, was developed by co-founders Chris Stolte, Pat Hanrahan, and Christian Chabot in 2003. 

Top Tableau Features:

• Tableau Einstein AI for insights and task automation,
• Dashboard accelerators, extensions, and connectors,
• Data governance and management,
• Real-time data exploration.

Tableau is best for data scientists who need advanced data visualization and enrichment tools.

Tableau Pros	Tableau Cons
✅ Excellent data visualization tools	❌ Complicated pricing and licensing
✅ Lots of integrations	❌ Limited data collection tools
✅ Desktop app for offline analysis

Tableau Overview:

Tableau provides several AI tools to help you make the most of your data. For example, Data Stories enriches your dashboards with automated narratives, while Ask Data provides answers to critical business questions.

In addition, Tableau’s Explain Data provides AI-driven insights that explain why users behave in certain ways.

With Tableau Cloud, you can connect to data sources that most competitors don’t support. And, you don’t need any programming knowledge to set it up. Simply install accelerators and extensions to create industry-specific dashboards.

Unlike most competitors, Tableau allows you to embed analytics tools directly into your products. This way, you can increase user engagement and satisfaction by getting them directly involved in your business operations.

Tableau Pricing:

The pricing plans start at $15/month for basic dashboard visualization and interaction. Tableau Explorer costs $42/month and unlocks self-service analytics tools, such as data-driven alerts, custom workbooks, and data quality warnings. 

To unlock the full range of Tableau’s features, you’ll have to subscribe to the Creator plan which costs $75/month/creator.

Use Tableau if:

• You want to involve your customers directly in your decision-making process.
• You need the best data visualization tools on the market.
• You prefer an analytics desktop app for offline work.

4. Google Analytics — Best for aggregate website interaction trends

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Google Analytics is the most popular analytics platform for individuals and small businesses. It’s offered under the Google Marketing Platform and has first-class support for mobile and web applications.

Top Google Analytics Features:

• Built-in automation,
• Real-time website and app reporting,
• Conversion funnels and user segmentation,
• Data collection APIs,
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning powered search engine.

Google Analytics is best for small businesses that need an affordable and reliable platform for processing web traffic. 

Google Analytics Pros	Google Analytics Cons
✅ Completely free with no limits	❌ Can only process aggregate data
✅ Native integration with Google ecosystem	❌ No data collection tools
✅ AI-generated insights	❌ Requires manual event tracking

Google Analytics Overview:

Google Analytics doesn’t offer data collection tools. Instead, it allows you to use any data collection API on your apps and websites and send the results for analysis. 

It also offers built-in automation to help you make sense of behavior data, predict user actions, and create customer journey models. This tool is built on language models, allowing you to find insights, metrics, and reports using natural language.

Furthermore, Google Analytics offers real-time reporting so you can monitor real user actions and behavior as they happen. It generates acquisition, engagement, and monetization reports. And, with the Analytics 360 expansion, you get even more types of reports.

Google Analytics Pricing:

Google Analytics is completely free to use on all your websites. All features are unlocked and there are no limits or restrictions on the amount of data you can process.

Google Analytics 360 costs $150,000 per year, making it expensive for small to medium-sized businesses. However, it provides premium tools and enterprise support.

Use Google Analytics if:

• Your tech stack is based on the Google ecosystem.
• You want to process large amounts of website traffic data for the lowest cost possible.
• You want AI-powered insights and predictive analysis.

5. Heap — Best for analyzing complete customer journeys

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐

Matin Movasste was a project manager at Facebook where he experienced frustration with the amount of time it took to get the right data. So, he co-founded Heap with Ravi Parikh to accelerate the data capture process and eliminate bottlenecks.

Top Heap Features:

• Behavior-driven user segmentation,
• Plug-and-play dashboard templates,
• Session replays,
• Automatic event tracking,
• Visualization dashboards.

Heap is best for teams that need to collect as much data as possible to analyze the entire customer journey through their products.

Heap Pros	Heap Cons
✅ Session recording and replay	❌ Limited user personalization tools
✅ Excellent data collection tools	❌ No custom events and event filtering
✅ Heatmaps and user journeys	❌ Limited reporting functionalities

Heap Overview:

Heap records every click, scroll, mouse movement, and other UI interaction on your web pages. And, unlike most competing platforms where you have to manually set up event capture, it automatically captures all user actions.

This platform isn’t great just at data collection; it also provides analytics tools like user segments, visualization dashboards, and charts. In addition to these, Heap includes built-in performance monitoring that automatically alerts you about shifts in your metrics.

One advantage of using Heap is that you get access to curated dashboards and analytics templates. These playbooks, which are customized by industry, let you generate charts and actionable insights quickly.

Heap Pricing:

Heap’s free plan provides core analytics charts, 6 months of data retention, and up to 10,000 monthly sessions. You can also add unlimited sources of data enrichment.

If you need premium customer support, advanced analytics, unlimited reports, behavioral targeting, and other premium tools, you can opt for one of the paid plans. However, Heap does not publicly list their pricing information — you’ll have to negotiate a custom pricing plan.

Use Heap if:

• You need data collection and analytics tools on the same platform.
• You need enrichment tools to add more context to your data.
• You want to use templates to save time building analytics dashboards.

6. CleverTap — Best for customer engagement analysis

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐

CleverTap was founded in 2013 by Sunil Thomas, Suresh Kondamudi, and Anand Jain who worked together at Network 18, a Mumbai-based mass media company. They created this platform to help brands build personalized marketing strategies.

Top CleverTap Features:

• Individual user profiles,
• Uninstall tracking,
• Omnichannel customer engagement,
• Reporting dashboard.

CleverTap is best for marketing teams that need to create customer engagement strategies at scale. That’s because it provides AI-driven tools for automating user segmentation, personalized campaigns, and funnel analytics.

CleverTap Pros	CleverTap Cons
✅ Campaigns across multiple channels	❌ Slow processing of large data sets
✅ AI-powered personalized journeys	❌ No built-in data collection tools
✅ Experimentation and optimization tools	❌ Complicated pricing model

CleverTap Overview:

CleverTap’s analytics tools help you measure the impact of your marketing campaigns and give you insight into visitor behavior. It includes a trends dashboard that shows you:

• daily active users, 
• campaign activity,
• retention rates,
• and average push notifications.

It also provides funnels, cohorts, pivots, and flows to help you understand user journeys and analyze hidden patterns in your data.

CleverTap’s stand-out feature is Clever.AI which can automatically create user segments, generate personalized recommendations, and experiment with customer journeys. This tool combines analytics, segmentation, and customer engagement into a single automated platform.

CleverTap Pricing:

CleverTap’s pricing starts at $75/month for the Essentials plan. This plan gets you omnichannel engagement, customer segmentation, and basic experimentation tools. It also allows you to track up to 5000 monthly active users (MAU).

If you need to track more MAUs, you can increase the limits on the Essentials plan for a price. Alternatively, you can opt for one of the higher-pricing plans.

CleverTap does not publicly list the pricing information for these plans. However, they unlock advanced analytics tools, automated segmentation, and premium engagement channels. 

Use CleverTap if:

• You want to run personalized campaigns on a large customer base.
• You want to automate testing and experimentation on behavior data.

7. UserPilot — Best for collecting online product interaction data

Ease of Use	Features	Data Visualization	Affordability
⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐

Yazaha Sehwail created his first company, InnerChip, in 2013 to develop enterprise software for other companies. After being frustrated with the amount of time it took to implement minor changes to a product’s UI, he founded UserPilot in 2017. 

Top UserPilot Features:

• Automatic capture of user activities,
• Funnel analysis,
• Trends dashboard,
• User segments,
• Surveys and feedback forms.

UserPilot is best for UI/UX engineers who want to understand and improve user experiences through product interaction data.

UserPilot Pros	UserPilot Cons
✅ User-friendly interface	❌ Expensive pricing plans
✅ Excellent individual behavior tracking	❌ Software glitches often affect performance
✅ Personalized in-app user experiences	❌ Sub-par data collection tools

UserPilot Overview:

UserPilot is specifically designed for improving product growth and adoption. That’s why its primary feature is the automatic capture of user actions in your product. 

With this tool, all you need to do is tag which UI elements you want to monitor and it automatically identifies usage trends among website visitors. And, it helps you find which product features are most popular based on segment filters. 

UserPilot also includes funnel analysis, personalized experiences, and user segmentation to help you drive engagement and understand why users drop off from your product.

UserPilot Pricing:

With a starting price of $299/month, UserPilot is quite expensive compared to competing platforms. It doesn’t offer a free plan but you can sign up for the 14-day free trial to test its features.

The Starter plan lets you create up to 10 user segments, and 15 feature tags, and receive up to 250 monthly responses on your surveys. 

If you need advanced features like language localization, custom domain hosting, and A/B testing, you can opt for the $499/month Growth plan. 

Use UserPilot if:

• You want to drive product adoption with personalized digital experiences.
• You want to monitor the usage of specific features in your product.

The Final Verdict

Behavioral analytics tools have become indispensable, not only for understanding user experiences but also for making decisions about improving online products.

These tools specialize in different niches and offer multiple approaches for analyzing behavior data. But, they ultimately aim for the same goal — increasing customer engagement and conversion rates. 

After testing these tools and reading through user reviews, we’ve arrived at a verdict on the best user behavior analytics tools:

• SessionStack for teams that need an over-the-shoulder perspective of user actions and events on their website.
• Amplitude for data scientists and large enterprises that need powerful testing and experimentation tools.
• Tableau for teams that need advanced data visualization and enrichment tools.

Note: We’ve tested and compared many other popular user behavior analytics tools. If you’re looking for more, check out our comparisons of CrazyEgg vs SessionStack, Hotjar vs FullStory, and Smartlook vs SessionStack, or deep dive into the comparison category on our blog.