Pick FullStory if product, UX and support teams want broad behavioural analytics across web and mobile, with guides, surveys and AI agents on top. Pick LogRocket if your engineers need console logs, network requests and errors right beside each session replay so they can reproduce bugs faster. Neither vendor's site proves one is better overall.
Who on your team will press play on a session recording? If it's a product manager hunting for the step where sign-ups drop off, you want one kind of tool. If it's a developer trying to work out why a checkout button threw an error for one customer, you want another. These two vendors both started with session replay, but they've grown in opposite directions.
Same starting point, two very different products now
FullStory no longer calls itself a session replay tool. It now describes itself as an intelligent digital experience company. Next to replay and heatmaps it sells product and mobile analytics, in-product guides and surveys, a Workforce product for tracking how staff use internal tools, an Anywhere product for activating your data elsewhere, and its own MCP server for AI agents. That's a big, broad platform pitched at product, UX, support, IT and data teams.
LogRocket still reads like a debugging tool built for developers. Its replay comes with DOM playback, console logs, network logs, errors and performance data, and it sells error tracking and frontend performance monitoring as named products. It does offer product analytics and UX analytics too, but the engineering depth is what stands out.
So if you searched for a replay tool, you're choosing between something far broader than replay and something that sits close to your engineers' daily workflow. Neither is a bad answer. They're answers to different questions.
If engineers are the ones watching
This is the strongest case for the developer-focused tool. When a bug report comes in, an engineer can open the session and see the console output, the network calls and the error in the same view as the replay. Its AI assistant, Galileo, watches sessions, surfaces issues and writes out reproduction steps, which saves the back-and-forth of asking a customer what they clicked.
Setup is short too. The vendor says you install it through NPM or a script tag in three steps, with SDKs for specific technologies, and capture is automatic after that. The broader platform doesn't headline error tracking or performance monitoring on its site. Its focus is on friction and conversion, so a dev team would likely still need a separate error tool beside it.
If product, UX or support are the ones watching
Here the broader platform has more to offer. Its Fullcapture approach records every interaction automatically, so nobody has to tag buttons or events in advance, and you can ask questions of past behaviour you didn't think to track. Add heatmaps, mobile analytics, in-app guides and surveys, and a product team can spot friction and then act on it without leaving the tool.
Its AI layer is called StoryAI, with agents, an Ask StoryAI feature for plain-language questions and an MCP server so outside AI agents can reach the data. For a support or CX lead who wants answers without writing queries, that's an appealing set-up. If you're comparing it with pure analytics tools, our list of the best product analytics tools shows where it sits.
Capture, privacy and AI compared
| Area | FullStory | LogRocket |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Behavioural analytics for product, UX and growth, extended to support, IT and employee workflows | Replay with engineering depth: DOM playback, console and network logs, errors and performance |
| How data is captured | Fullcapture collects every interaction automatically, no manual tagging | NPM or script tag in three steps, SDKs for specific technologies, automatic capture |
| AI layer | StoryAI agents, Ask StoryAI and an MCP server | Galileo AI watches sessions, surfaces issues and writes reproduction steps |
| Errors and performance | Not a headline; focus is friction and conversion | Error tracking and frontend performance monitoring as named products |
| Beyond analytics | Guides, surveys, a Workforce product for internal tools and Anywhere for data activation | Stays on product analytics, UX analytics, replay, errors and performance |
| Privacy | Calls its capture privacy-first | Masks sensitive data so it never appears in a replay or on its servers |
On privacy, the developer tool is the more specific of the two: it says sensitive data is masked so it never shows in a replay or reaches its servers. The broader platform calls its capture privacy-first but says less on its main pages about how. If you handle card numbers or health details in forms, ask both vendors for their masking documentation.
Other session replay and analytics tools
If neither suits, these four come up most often. Each one leans a different way, from free recordings to in-app onboarding, so it's worth knowing which job matters most to you before you look.
Hotjar
Best for: Marketers and small teams after simple session replay, heatmaps and surveys with AI insights; the vendor says Slack and Jira integrations come in its free plan.
Heap
Best for: Product teams wanting automatic event capture with session replay and heatmaps, plus warehouse sync.
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Pendo
Best for: Adoption-focused product teams who need analytics alongside onboarding guidance and in-app help.
Microsoft Clarity
Best for: Site owners who'd like session recordings, heatmaps and AI summaries; the vendor says it's free forever.
Final advice: which replay tool to back
Go with the broader platform if you want behavioural analytics that reaches across product, CX and support, with guides, surveys, mobile analytics and AI agents in one place. Go with the developer-focused tool if your engineers need console, network and error context beside the replay, and you'd like bug reproduction steps written for them. Neither site proves one is better overall. If both teams have strong needs, decide who owns the tool and let their workflow settle it.
Do you make a session replay or digital experience analytics tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this page.
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Frequently asked questions
Does FullStory have error tracking like LogRocket?
Error tracking isn't a headline on its site. Its focus is friction and conversion, while the other vendor sells error tracking and frontend performance monitoring as named products.
Which one needs less setup?
Both capture automatically. One records every interaction with no manual tagging; the other installs via NPM or a script tag in three steps, with SDKs for specific technologies.
What are StoryAI and Galileo?
StoryAI is the broader platform's AI layer, with agents, plain-language questions and an MCP server. Galileo is the developer tool's assistant that watches sessions, flags issues and writes reproduction steps.
Can either track how staff use internal tools?
The broader platform has a Workforce product for internal tools and employee workflows. The developer tool stays focused on your customer-facing product.
How do they handle sensitive data in replays?
One masks sensitive data so it never shows in a replay or on its servers. The other calls its capture privacy-first. Ask both for masking details before you install.
