Product analytics comparison Product analytics without the tracking plan
Overseas product analytics platforms are powerful once a tracking plan is written, implemented and verified. TapCub starts from autocapture, lets AI name the events, and gives you funnels, retention and paths in the first hour — with web analytics and live chat on the same snippet.
- Autocapture + AI event inbox
- One user across web, app, mini-program
- From $9 a month, no seats
Checkout funnel
7-day windowProduct view
2,400
Add to cart
1,248
Checkout
674
Paid
508
Event inbox · AI suggestions
- add_to_cartConfirmed
Clicks on "Add to cart", any product page
- checkout_startedConfirmed
Form /checkout submitted
- coupon_applied81%
Coupon field filled and confirmed
Which one is for you?
Both run on events. The difference is who defines the events, and how long that takes.
You want answers this week, not after a release
- Nobody on the team has time to write and maintain a tracking plan
- You want funnels, retention, paths and heatmaps without a data engineer
- Website traffic, product behaviour and chat conversations should live in one place
- Web, app and mini-program users should count as one person
- You prefer a site-tier price over per-seat or per-event bills
You have a data team and a mature schema
- You already have a data team maintaining a strict event taxonomy and governance
- Your analysis needs go deep into warehouse modelling and custom data pipelines
- You need a specific vendor integration your stack depends on
- Per-seat pricing fits because only a few analysts need access
- Your procurement has standardised on an enterprise contract
These platforms are excellent at what they are built for. The question is whether that is what your team needs right now.
Twelve things to compare
Traits of overseas product analytics platforms against TapCub Insights.
IncludedPartly / varies by vendorNot included
| TapCub | Product analytics platforms | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to first chart | Minutes after install | Days — plan, implement, verify |
| Tracking plan required | No — autocapture, AI names events | Yes |
| Who defines events | AI suggests, you confirm; code only for business fields | Developers, from a spec |
| Funnels, retention, paths, distribution | Yes | Yes |
| Formulas and SQL | ✓ Pro mode | Varies |
| User profiles and segments (rules, RFM) | Yes | Yes |
| Identity across web, app, mini-program | ✓ One project, one person | SDK by SDK |
| Marketing attribution and channel ROI | ✓ 14 ad platforms, cost import | Separate tool |
| Website analytics (sources, pages, bots) | ✓ Included | Separate tool |
| Live chat | ✓ Same snippet | No |
| Industry templates | ✓ 10 packs | Few |
| Self-hosting | ✓ Enterprise | Some |
| Free plan | ✓ 500k events / mo | Limited |
| Pricing model | Site tier, from $9 / mo | Per event volume and per seat |
Category comparison based on publicly documented traits as of 2026. Individual vendors differ and none are named.
The six things product teams ask about first
Each scenario shows what it looks like in TapCub, with sample data.
"Do we really not need a tracking plan?"
Autocapture records clicks, submits and scrolls. AI groups them and proposes names with a confidence score. You confirm in the inbox; the event is reportable immediately.
Event inbox · today
- trial_started · 96%Confirmed
- signup_submitted · 94%Confirmed
- pricing_viewed · 81%Confirm
- docs_search · 77%Confirm
"Where do sign-ups stop before paying?"
Funnels with a time window, step order and the drop-off segment. The sample loses 46% between cart and checkout — click the step to see who they are.
Product
2,400
Cart
1,248
Checkout
674
Paid
508
"Did the new onboarding improve retention?"
Weekly cohorts side by side. Week-1 retention climbed from 46% to 58% starting with the Sep 22 cohort — the week the checklist shipped.
| Cohort | Users | W0 | W1 | W2 | W3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | 1,840 | 100% | 46% | 38% | 33% |
| Sep 8 | 2,012 | 100% | 49% | 41% | |
| Sep 15 | 1,966 | 100% | 52% | ||
| Sep 22 | 2,130 | 100% | 58% |
"Is the same person counted on web and in the app?"
One project takes several sources. Identity resolution merges pre-login visits with the logged-in user, so a profile shows the website read, the order in the mini-program and the repeat purchase in the app.
Lena M. · 3 devices · 14 sessions
- Read /blog/linen-care on the websiteSep 3
- Ordered in the mini-programSep 9
- Repeat purchase in the appSep 28
"Which channel brings users who pay?"
Attribution and channel ROI sit next to behaviour, not in a separate marketing tool. Import costs and read revenue per dollar by channel.
Revenue ÷ spend · 30 days
"Can analysts still write SQL?"
Pro mode exposes every model, custom formulas and SQL against the same event table. Simple mode stays simple for everyone else.
SELECT channel,
count(DISTINCT person_id) AS buyers
FROM events
WHERE event = 'order_paid'
GROUP BY channel ORDER BY buyers DESC;Five steps from a product analytics platform
Your existing event names can stay. Autocapture fills the gaps while you move the dashboards you actually use.
-
1
Install and let autocapture run
One snippet, one SDK per platform. Clicks, submits and scrolls are collected from the first minute, with no schema.
-
2
Keep your custom events
Call tapcub.track() with the same event names and properties you use today. Both platforms receive them during the overlap.
-
3
Confirm AI-suggested events
The inbox proposes names for autocaptured interactions. Confirm the ones you report on; ignore the rest.
-
4
Rebuild the dashboards you look at
Usually three to five charts. Industry templates give you a starting layout for ecommerce, SaaS, content and more.
-
5
Merge identities and switch
Send your user ID on login so web, app and mini-program become one person. Then move the team to the TapCub dashboard.
Why the numbers will differ
Four definitions explain almost every gap between a product analytics platform and TapCub.
| Definition | Product analytics platforms | TapCub | Effect on your numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| User (UV) | Device ID until identified, then merged by user ID | Anonymous visitor hash until identified, then merged by user ID | Pre-login users are not stored as persistent IDs; counts are slightly lower |
| Session timeout | 30 minutes, configurable | 30 minutes of inactivity, continuous across midnight | Comparable; late-night sessions are not split |
| Bots | Usually not filtered in event data | Removed before counting; AI crawlers in a ledger | Pageview-type events drop 10–20%; funnels start from humans |
| Funnel window | Per funnel, often 7 days default | Per funnel, 1 hour to 30 days | Same once windows match |
| Time zone | Project setting | Per site, changeable without re-collecting | Daily totals shift when zones differ |
Keep both for a week. Funnels and retention should tell the same story, with TapCub starting from a smaller, human-only top step.
How the pricing models differ
We do not quote other vendors’ prices — they change. What matters is the model you will be charged on.
Per event volume
The common model for product analytics: a free allowance, then tiers by monthly events. Autocapture-style data burns through it quickly.
Watch for: event counts after you add autocapture or bots.
Per seat
Every teammate who wants to look at a chart needs a licence. Marketing, support and founders often end up sharing one login.
Watch for: the number of people who should see the data.
Free allowance, then a jump
A generous free tier ends at a threshold, and the first paid plan can be a large step up, often on an annual commitment.
Watch for: the first paid tier and its billing period.
TapCub pricing
Product analytics is part of the analytics plans. Priced by site tier; members are included; bots do not count toward events.
Free
$0/mo
500k events · 6 months · 3 funnels · 1 member · web
Pro
$9/mo
1M events · 12 months · 20 funnels · 3 members · web, app, mini-program
VIP 1
$29/mo
3M events · 24 months · unlimited funnels and dashboards · 10 members
VIP 2
$79/mo
10M events · 36 months · unlimited members
Yearly billing takes 40% off: Pro $64.80 · VIP 1 $208.80 · VIP 2 $568.80 per year. Enterprise is quoted separately.
Questions from product analytics users
Still have a question?
Chat with the team behind TapCub — we usually reply within a few hours on business days.
Is autocapture noisy?
Raw autocapture is noisy by nature; that is why TapCub does not report on it directly. AI groups interactions into candidate events with a confidence score and you confirm the ones that matter. Unconfirmed candidates stay out of your reports.
Can I still define events in code?
Yes. tapcub.track(name, properties) works on every SDK, and AI writes the snippet when an event needs business fields such as order amount. Confirmed autocapture events and coded events appear in the same list.
Do you have retention, paths and distribution?
Yes — events, funnels, retention, paths, distribution, interval, attribution, lifecycle, custom formulas and SQL. Simple mode shows five entries; Pro mode shows every model.
How does identity work across platforms?
Each SDK sends an anonymous ID; when you call identify() with your user ID, previous activity on that device is merged into the person. Web, app and mini-program profiles become one timeline. See user analytics.
Is there an API or export?
Every table exports to CSV. The open API returns metrics and events, and webhooks push events and alerts to other systems in real time.
Can we self-host?
TapCub Enterprise deploys on your servers or private cloud and is quoted separately. See Enterprise.
Your first funnel before lunch
Install, let autocapture run for an hour, confirm three events and build the funnel you have been meaning to build.