Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups
Register | Login

Heap VS Substack

Compare Heap VS Substack and see what are their differences

Polymemo
A multilingual content platform supporting 200+ languages. Authors, readers, and translation investors create value together. featured
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.
Contents:
  1. ยป Base Details
  2. ยป Videos
  3. ยป Reviews
  4. ยป Alternatives

Heap logo Heap

Analytics for web and iOS. Heap automatically captures every user action in your app and lets you measure it all. Clicks, taps, swipes, form submissions, page views, and more.

Substack logo Substack

With Substack, anyone can start a publication that combines a personal website, blog, and email newsletter or podcast. It's quick and simple.
  • Heap Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05
  • Substack Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-26

Heap

Website
heap.io
Pricing URL
Official Heap Pricing
Release Date
2013 January
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
City
San Francisco
Founder(s)
Matin Movassate
Employees
100 - 249
Edit details

Substack

Website
substack.com
Pricing URL
-
Release Date
-
Startup details
Country
United States
Edit details

Heap features and specs

  • Automatic Event Tracking
    Heap captures all user interactions automatically without requiring manual event setup, making it easier to get started and ensuring comprehensive data collection.
  • User-friendly Interface
    Heap provides a clean and intuitive interface, which allows non-technical users to easily create and analyze custom reports and dashboards.
  • Retroactive Analysis
    With Heap, users can define events at any time and view historical data, enabling analysis of past behaviors without prior configuration.
  • Comprehensive Data
    Heap collects a wide array of data points including clicks, form submissions, page views, and more, offering a holistic view of user interactions.
  • Integrations
    Heap offers robust integration capabilities with other analytics platforms, CRM systems, and data warehouses, facilitating seamless data flow between tools.

Possible disadvantages of Heap

  • Cost
    Heap can be expensive for smaller businesses or startups, particularly as the volume of tracked events and the number of users increases.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, some users report a steep learning curve when it comes to leveraging Heap's more advanced features and capabilities.
  • Limited Customization
    While Heap provides a lot of data out-of-the-box, some users may find the customization options for tracking and reporting somewhat limited compared to other tools that offer more flexibility.
  • Data Redundancy
    The automatic tracking feature, while comprehensive, can sometimes lead to data redundancy or capturing irrelevant events, which may require additional data cleaning.
  • Reporting Complexity
    Some users have expressed that creating complex reports and funnels can be challenging and may require a deeper understanding of the platform's capabilities.

Substack features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Substack offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for writers to publish and monetize their newsletters.
  • Built-in Monetization
    Writers can easily charge readers for subscriptions, allowing for straightforward monetization.
  • Direct Audience Connection
    Substack allows writers to build a direct relationship with their audience via email, which can lead to a more engaged readership.
  • Discovery and Community
    Features like staff picks and recommendations help writers get discovered by new readers.
  • No Upfront Costs
    Substack does not charge upfront fees; instead, it takes a percentage of subscription revenues, making it easier to start.
  • Content Ownership
    Writers retain full ownership of their content, giving them more control over their work.

Possible disadvantages of Substack

  • Revenue Share
    Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenues, which can add up for writers with a large subscriber base.
  • Limited Customization
    The platform has limited customization options compared to building a custom website or using more flexible CMS options.
  • Dependency on Platform
    Relying on Substack means depending on its policies and infrastructure, which could pose risks if the platform changes its terms or features.
  • Competition
    As more writers join Substack, it can become challenging to stand out amidst the growing competition.
  • Email Deliverability
    Writers may face issues with email deliverability, as some newsletters may end up in spam folders.
  • Payment Processing Fees
    Besides Substack's fee, payment processors like Stripe also take a percentage, further reducing net earnings for writers.

Analysis of Heap

Overall verdict

  • Heap is a robust analytics solution that is well-suited for businesses looking for an easy-to-implement tool that delivers detailed insights without requiring significant technical expertise. While it might be overkill for very small businesses or startups with minimal data analysis needs, its capabilities stand out for medium to large enterprises that want a more profound understanding of user interactions.

Why this product is good

  • Heap is generally considered a good analytics tool because it offers comprehensive and automatic data capturing, which helps businesses understand user behavior without needing extensive tracking plans. Users appreciate its ease of use, modern interface, and powerful analysis capabilities that allow non-technical users to generate insights quickly. Heap provides features like retroactive analytics and detailed funnel analysis, which can be incredibly valuable for improving user experience and increasing conversion rates.

Recommended for

    Heap is recommended for medium to large companies, product managers, marketing teams, and data analysts who need a platform that offers detailed, user-level insights and robust analytics features without the complexity of setting up extensive tracking code. It is also well-suited for teams that want to make data-driven decisions quickly and efficiently.

Analysis of Substack

Overall verdict

  • Substack is a good choice for writers seeking autonomy and a straightforward way to monetize their content. However, it may not be the best fit for those who prefer working within the framework of a larger publication or those unfamiliar with the challenges of building and maintaining a subscriber base.

Why this product is good

  • Substack is a platform that allows writers, journalists, and content creators to publish and monetize their newsletters. It is praised for its ease of use, built-in subscription system, and direct-to-consumer model which enables writers to retain control over their audience and content. The platform has attracted both independent writers and established journalists seeking the freedom to monetize their work without traditional media constraints.

Recommended for

  • Independent writers and journalists
  • Content creators looking to monetize their work
  • Individuals seeking a direct relationship with their audience
  • Those who appreciate simplicity in publishing

Heap videos

+ Add

Septimus Heap Series by Angie Sage || Spoiler Review

More videos:

  • Review - Fargo Season 1 Episode 8 "The Heap" Review
  • Review - Data Structures: Heaps

Substack videos

+ Add

Monetizing Podcasts and Newsletters - Chris Best of Substack and Jonathan Gill of Backtracks

More videos:

  • Review - E1016 Substack CEO Chris Best empowers writers via email newsletter platform, raised $15M from a16z
  • Review - Why EVERYONE should be on Substack | What it is, How it Works, $$$
  • Review - Beehiiv vs Substack (2024) - Which is Better?
  • Review - My Experience with SUBSTACK: An Honest Review of Substack

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Heap and Substack)

Heap

Substack

Analytics
100 100%
Analytics
0% 0
Blogging
0 0%
Blogging
100% 100
Web Analytics
100 100%
Web Analytics
0% 0
CMS
0 0%
CMS
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Heap and Substack. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Heap and Substack

Heap Reviews

10 Best Mixpanel Alternatives for Product Analytics in 2024
Heap is a web and mobile data analytics platform that captures every user interaction via secure session recording. Use it to get insights into customer behavior and to streamline your digital experiences. โฉ
Source: clickup.com
7 best Mixpanel alternatives to understand your users
On the other hand, Mixpanel requires you to manually define the events you want to track from the start. While this might take some extra time, it provides more detailed reports right off the bat, which makes the analysis straightforward. The choice between Heap and Mixpanel depends on whether you prioritize comprehensive data capturing (Heap) or a more detailed analysis...
Source: www.hotjar.com
Best Mixpanel Alternatives for SaaS
Heap is a robust product analytics platform that provides users with a plethora of in-depth insights into customer behavior and needs. With Heap, you can track user interactions in real time across all touch points within your product. Insights from Heap help you dig deeper into the paths users take when navigating your product and identify precise points of friction. Plus,...
Source: userpilot.com
Top 5 Plausible Analytics Alternatives in 2024
Additionally, Heap suggests reports for your review. You can define events, create segments, and utilize the event visualizer to delve into detailed user data.
Source: www.putler.com
Top 9 Plausible Analytics alternatives in 2024
Heapโ€™s automatic event tracking and retroactive analytics offer a hassle-free approach, simplifying complex data analysis. Its user-friendly interface and intuitive tools enable effortless data exploration, offering detailed insights into user journeys without the need for manual tracking. Although it provides detailed user data, some users might find limitations in customer...
Source: usermaven.com

Substack Reviews

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
Substack offers writers of all experience levels the ability to write an email newsletter thatโ€™s profitable through subscriptions. Substack provides purpose-built web and newsletter publishing tools to enable writers to monetize their newsletters. It is a service often favoured by readers because itโ€™s a convenient all-in-one solution for writing a successful podcast that...
Source: forgefusion.io
10 Best Medium Alternatives for Reading and Publishing
What sะตts Substack apart is its sะตamlะตss intะตgration of contะตnt crะตation and subscription-basะตd monะตtization. Substackโ€™s usะตr-friะตndly intะตrfacะต, distribution tools, and support for various contะตnt formats make it a popular choice for indะตpะตndะตnt crะตators looking to connะตct dirะตctly with thะตir audiะตncะต and turn thะตir passion into a sustainablะต incomะต strะตam.
Source: www.geeksforgeeks.org
9 Best Medium Alternatives for Making Money With Your Writing in 2023
Substack and Medium differ primarily in their monetization methods. Medium pays creators based on reader engagement, while Substack enables writers to monetize directly through paid subscriptions to their newsletters. This business model allows Substack users to build a direct relationship with their readers via their email inboxes, whereas Medium interactions primarily...
Source: www.authorityhacker.com
11 Patreon Alternatives for Audience Monetization in 2023
Like a few of the other platforms weโ€™ve looked at, Substack takes a cut of your earnings rather than charging a 10% platform fee.
Source: www.uscreen.tv
Any good Mailchimp alternatives?
My question for you is, what is keeping you from making $31 per month from your list? Are you using any feature that Substack (free until you get paid) can't handle?
Source: www.indiehackers.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Substack should be more popular than Heap. It has been mentiond 98 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Heap mentions (11)

  • free-for.dev
    Heap.io โ€” Automatically captures every user action in iOS or web apps. Free for up to 5,000 visits/month. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • Question about testID in prod vs dev builds
    Check out Heap for React Native - https://heap.io. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • All 2200+ companies in my db have a dedicated page now.
    How heavily does the site depend on heap.io for its core functionality? Like, say Heap went under completely out of the blue (god forbid) and you had to switch to Google analytics, how much tech debt are you in? Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Thousands of Popular Websites See What You Typeโ€“Before You Hit Submit
    Aren't services like Heap effectively worse versions of this? On their landing page they outright list this as their value prop: > Heap collects all the data on your customers - automatically. What they click. Where they go. What they do, even when youโ€™re not looking. All without the need for engineers. [1]: https://heap.io/. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago
  • We (Still) Believe in Private Offices (2015)
    Author here, surprising to see this blog post of mine trending, but it has held up pretty well! Happy to answer any questions about my time at Stack Overflow. I've since moved on to Heap (https://heap.io/) and we are hiring. We're virtual first so we don't have private offices, but we have the same values about treating developers well and giving them the space they need to do deep work. We're hiring for basically... - Source: Hacker News / almost 5 years ago
View more

Substack mentions (98)

  • SpaceX to buy Cursor AI coding agent operator Anysphere for $60B
    The thing is, even the center of the road academics who refrain from such comparisons are noting the similarity. The MAGA movement meets the traditional defining characteristics of fascio. We can be rigid and say that only Mussoliniโ€˜s political movement can be properly be called fascist. But if we call Hitler and the Nazis fascists as well, then we open the door to any movement that meets the criteria. And Trump... - Source: Hacker News / 19 days ago
  • AMA: I'm Eric Ries (The Lean Startup) & Author of New Bestseller Incorruptible
    Yes, it's much different in other countries. See https://substack.com/@doks/p-198191751. - Source: Hacker News / 25 days ago
  • Show HN: Playing with genomics foundation model tutorial/explainer article
    Hi folks, I got curious about how genomics foundation models work and wrote an article explaining how they are trained + can be used. Feel free to use the following as learning resources if you wish to jump into ML for comp bio stuff, it may help: - Code: https://github.com/dillondesilva/nt-promoter-region-classification - Article/Tutorial:... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • CBP Directive 3340-049B: Border Search of Electronic Devices
    The vast majority of people from the developed world have no problems going through any border in the developed world. Your experience is probably representative, but that's not what we're talking about. My understanding is that de facto you have no rights at all in China. The Americans take this sort of thing very seriously, which is why it's in the news and talked about. Some guy gets imprisoned for 37... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • GitHub โ€“ DOS 1.0: Transcription of Tim Paterson's DOS Printouts
    There was never a serious claim DOS copied CP/M code. The controversy was mostly about legality of reimplementation of the API, plus some pretty vague claims about copying the design: https://substack.com/@nemanjatrifunovic/note/p-178321556. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Heap and Substack, you can also consider the following products

Google Analytics - Improve your website to increase conversions, improve the user experience, and make more money using Google Analytics. Measure, understand and quantify engagement on your site with customized and in-depth reports.

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

Mixpanel - Mixpanel is the most advanced analytics platform in the world for mobile & web.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Adobe Analytics - Adobe Analytics is an industry-leading solution that empowers you to understand your customers as people and steer your business with customer intelligence.

MailChimp - MailChimp is the best way to design, send, and share email newsletters.

Loading...