Heap
Heap automatically captures every click, scroll, and interaction on your website without manual event tracking—revealing exactly where donors get stuck, which content drives conversions, and how to optimize your digital experience without guessing.
What It Does
Tired of wondering why only 18% of visitors who start your donation form actually complete it? Don't have the engineering team to track every button click and form field interaction manually?
Heap solves this problem with autocapture—a single code snippet that automatically records every user action on your website from day one. Unlike traditional analytics tools that require you to decide what to track upfront, Heap captures everything. Then, when you realize three months later that you should have been tracking newsletter signups from your blog, you can retroactively analyze that data without missing a single historical event.
For nonprofits, this means understanding donor behavior without the technical overhead. Heap tells you which stories resonate most before donations, where volunteers abandon applications, and what changes actually improve engagement—all without writing a single line of tracking code.
Best For
Organization Size
- Small to mid-size nonprofits (10-500 staff) seeking affordable analytics without big engineering teams
- Organizations with limited developer resources who can't manually instrument event tracking
- Growing nonprofits tracking 10,000-100,000+ monthly website sessions
Use Cases
- Optimizing donation funnels and reducing abandonment rates
- Understanding volunteer or event registration friction points
- Analyzing which content (stories, videos, impact reports) drives the most engagement and conversions
- Retroactively analyzing past user behavior when you discover new questions months after launch
Ideal Roles
- Development/Fundraising Directors optimizing online giving
- Digital Marketing Managers analyzing campaign effectiveness
- Product/Program Managers improving digital tools and portals
- Data Analysts who need flexible event definitions without constant developer support
Not Ideal For
- Organizations needing only basic traffic analytics (use free Google Analytics instead)
- Mobile-first nonprofits focused primarily on app analytics (Mixpanel or Amplitude offer stronger mobile features)
- Very small nonprofits under 5,000 monthly sessions (free Google Analytics likely sufficient)
- Large enterprises needing unlimited data volume (pricing can become expensive at scale)
Key Features for Nonprofits
Automatic Event Tracking (Autocapture)
Zero manual instrumentation—capture everything from day one
Install a single JavaScript snippet and Heap automatically tracks every click, pageview, form submission, button press, and user interaction without any additional code. Unlike Mixpanel or Amplitude (which require developers to manually define each event), Heap captures everything immediately. This is transformative for nonprofits without engineering teams—you get complete behavioral data without ongoing technical maintenance.
Nonprofit Benefit: Launch analytics in 30 minutes instead of 30 hours. No missed data because you forgot to track something.
Retroactive Analysis
Define new events and view historical data anytime
Realize six months after launching your new donation page that you should have been tracking "Clicked monthly giving option"? With Heap, you can define that event today and instantly see six months of historical data. Traditional tools only track events from the moment you define them—Heap captures everything from installation, then lets you apply new definitions retroactively.
Nonprofit Benefit: Answer questions you didn't know to ask six months ago. Perfect for evolving analytics needs as your organization grows.
Heap Illuminate (AI Path Analysis)
AI-powered insights revealing high-converting user paths
Illuminate automatically analyzes user behavior between funnel steps and identifies which actions lead to the highest conversion rates. For example, in a donation funnel, Illuminate shows you whether donors who watch your impact video or read your annual report are more likely to give. It generates a Top Events table ranking paths by conversion rate—revealing optimization opportunities without manual analysis.
Nonprofit Benefit: Discover which content and interactions actually drive donations, then double down on what works.
Effort Analysis
Quantify user friction across every step of your digital experience
Heap's Effort Analysis is the first tool to quantitatively measure how much friction users experience at each step of a journey. It detects rage clicks (clicking repeatedly in frustration), dead clicks (clicking elements that don't respond), form field struggles, excessive scrolling, and other friction indicators. Instead of guessing where users struggle, you see exactly which pages or elements cause the most difficulty.
Nonprofit Benefit: Identify and fix the exact moments donors or volunteers get frustrated and abandon your forms.
One-Click Session Replay
Watch exactly how users navigate your website
Session Replay lets you watch anonymized recordings of actual user sessions, showing mouse movements, clicks, scrolls, and navigation paths. When you notice a drop-off in your donation funnel, click to watch sessions of users who abandoned—seeing exactly where they hesitated, what they clicked, and why they left. It's like looking over someone's shoulder as they use your website.
Nonprofit Benefit: Turn quantitative data (45% drop-off) into qualitative understanding (they couldn't find the "Donate Monthly" button).
Visual Funnel Builder
Point-and-click funnel creation without SQL or coding
Build conversion funnels (e.g., Homepage → Impact Stories → Donation Form → Thank You) by clicking elements in Heap's visual interface. No SQL, no coding—just point at elements on your site and define the sequence. Heap instantly calculates conversion rates, drop-off points, and time-to-conversion for each step. Create unlimited funnels to test different hypotheses about user behavior.
Nonprofit Benefit: Empower non-technical staff to run sophisticated analyses without waiting for developer support.
Real-World Nonprofit Use Case
Optimizing First-Time Donor Conversion
Understanding what content drives giving decisions
The Challenge:
A mid-size education nonprofit redesigned their website with new impact stories, a video library, and an annual report. They wanted to understand which content was actually convincing first-time visitors to donate—but hadn't set up tracking before launch.
The Heap Solution:
The organization installed Heap's JavaScript snippet. Three months later, when they finally had time to analyze the data, they retroactively defined events for key interactions: "Watched Impact Video," "Downloaded Annual Report," "Read Student Story," and "Clicked Donate Button."
Using Heap Illuminate, they discovered that donors who watched at least 30 seconds of the impact video were 4.2x more likely to complete a donation than those who didn't. Surprisingly, visitors who read long-form student stories converted at only 1.8x—lower than expected.
Session Replay revealed why: the video ended with a clear "Donate Now" call-to-action, while the student stories didn't include a donation link until the bottom of the page, forcing users to scroll or navigate away.
The Outcome:
- Added "Donate Now" CTAs to the end of every student story, increasing conversion by 34%
- Promoted the impact video more prominently on the homepage, driving a 28% increase in first-time donor conversions
- Identified and fixed a mobile donation form bug causing 18% of abandonment—discovered through Effort Analysis detecting rage clicks on the "Submit" button
- Gained historical insights despite not tracking anything at launch—retroactive analysis saved months of missed data
Key Takeaway: Heap's autocapture and retroactive analysis let nonprofits launch first, then ask questions later—without losing historical data. The visual tools made insights accessible to non-technical fundraising staff.
Pricing
Free Tier
Up to 10,000 monthly sessions
- 10,000 sessions per month (a session = one user's visit; typically 1 user = 2-3 sessions/month)
- Core analytics charts (funnels, user paths, event analysis)
- Unlimited enrichment sources (connect data from other tools)
- 6 months of data history
- No credit card required
Paid Plans
Session-based pricing for growing organizations
- Growth: Starts around $1,000+/month (pricing varies by session volume)
- Premier/Enterprise: $2,000+/month with advanced features
- Unlimited data history (vs. 6 months on free tier)
- Session Replay, Heap Illuminate, Effort Analysis
- Advanced integrations and data warehouse exports
- Custom pricing based on session volume—contact sales for quote
Understanding Session-Based Pricing
What's a session? A session is a continuous period of user activity on your website. If a user visits your homepage, clicks through to a donation page, and leaves—that's one session. If they return the next day, that's a new session.
How many sessions do nonprofits typically use? A small nonprofit with 3,000 unique monthly visitors might generate 7,000-9,000 monthly sessions (users often visit 2-3 times per month). The free tier's 10,000 sessions/month supports roughly 3,000-5,000 monthly users.
When should you upgrade? When you consistently exceed 10,000 sessions/month, or when you need advanced features like Session Replay, Illuminate, or unlimited data history.
Nonprofit Discount & Special Offers
No Published Nonprofit Discount (As of January 2026)
Heap does not currently advertise a formal nonprofit discount program on their website or in public documentation. However, many SaaS companies offer unpublished nonprofit pricing for 501(c)(3) organizations that isn't advertised publicly.
How to Inquire About Nonprofit Pricing:
- Contact Heap's sales team directly through their website contact form or by requesting a demo
- Mention your 501(c)(3) status and ask if they offer special pricing or extended free tier limits for registered nonprofits
- Be prepared to provide verification of nonprofit status (IRS determination letter, charity registration number)
- Negotiate based on your needs—if you're a small nonprofit under 15,000 sessions/month, ask if they can extend the free tier or offer reduced rates
Pro Tip: Start with the free tier to evaluate Heap's value for your organization. Once you prove ROI (e.g., "Heap helped us increase donation conversions by 23%"), you'll have stronger justification for budget approval or negotiating nonprofit pricing.
Learning Curve
Intermediate (Easier Than Most Product Analytics Tools)
Quick initial setup, 1-2 weeks to proficiency
Initial Setup (Requires Developer):
- 15-30 minutes: A developer needs to install Heap's JavaScript snippet on your website (copy-paste into site header)
- After installation, autocapture begins immediately—no additional event tracking code required
- Much simpler than Mixpanel or Amplitude, which require developers to manually instrument every event
Non-Technical User Learning Path:
- Day 1-2: Learn to view pre-built reports, define basic events using the visual interface (click elements on your site to create events)
- Week 1: Build simple funnels, understand conversion rates, explore user segments (e.g., "First-time visitors vs. returning donors")
- Week 2: Use Illuminate for path analysis, watch Session Replays, interpret Effort Analysis friction metrics
- Month 1: Create complex segments, set up data integrations (Salesforce, Slack), build custom dashboards
Learning Resources:
- Heap Documentation & Knowledge Base (comprehensive written guides)
- Video tutorials and webinars on key features
- Onboarding support for paid plans (setup assistance and training)
- Community forum for troubleshooting and best practices
Bottom Line: Heap is easier to learn than most product analytics platforms because autocapture eliminates complex event tracking setup. Non-technical staff can become proficient in 1-2 weeks. Easier than Amplitude or SQL-based tools, slightly more complex than Google Analytics.
Integration & Compatibility
CRM & Nonprofit Platform Integrations
- Salesforce (including Nonprofit Cloud)—sync behavioral data to donor records
- HubSpot—enrich contact profiles with website activity
- Marketo—trigger campaigns based on user behavior
- Zendesk—provide support teams with user context
- Middleware tools like Segment or Zapier for connecting to nonprofit CRMs (DonorPerfect, Bloomerang, etc.)
Data Warehouses & Analytics Tools
- Google BigQuery—export raw event data for custom analysis
- Snowflake—combine Heap data with other datasets
- Amazon Redshift—warehouse integration for SQL analysis
- Amazon S3—direct data exports
- Looker, Tableau, Power BI—visualize Heap data in BI dashboards
Communication & Collaboration Tools
- Slack—receive alerts for conversion drops, funnel changes, or anomalies
- Microsoft Teams—share reports and insights with teams
- Email integration for scheduled report delivery
Platform Compatibility & Data Portability
- Web: JavaScript SDK supports all modern browsers
- Mobile: iOS and Android SDKs for app tracking
- Single-page applications (SPAs): React, Vue, Angular support
- Data Export: API access for programmatic data extraction, CSV exports, warehouse sync
- 100+ total integrations through native connectors and Zapier
Data Portability & Vendor Lock-In
Can you export your data? Yes. Heap provides multiple export options including API access, data warehouse sync (BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, S3), and CSV downloads. You can extract all event data, user properties, and behavioral insights.
Vendor lock-in risk? Moderate. While you can export raw event data, Heap's autocapture technology and retroactive analysis features are proprietary—you can't easily replicate these capabilities in another tool. If you leave Heap, you'll need to re-implement event tracking with a new provider, losing the historical autocapture advantage. However, your data itself remains exportable.
Honest Pros & Cons
Pros
- Zero manual event tracking: Autocapture eliminates ongoing engineering work—install once, track everything forever
- Retroactive analysis is game-changing: Define new events months later and view historical data—perfect for evolving questions
- Low engineering dependency: Non-technical staff can define events and build reports without developer support
- Session Replay provides qualitative context: Watch exactly how users interact with your site, not just what they clicked
- Illuminate surfaces hidden insights: AI identifies high-converting paths you wouldn't have discovered manually
- Effort Analysis quantifies friction: First tool to measure user difficulty numerically, not just qualitatively
- Generous free tier: 10,000 sessions/month supports small-to-mid nonprofits at no cost
- Strong CRM integrations: Salesforce, HubSpot, and data warehouse connections enrich donor profiles with behavioral data
Cons
- Expensive at scale: Paid plans start around $1,000+/month; pricing can exceed $2,000/month for high session volumes
- Session metrics differ from Google Analytics: Users/sessions don't match GA exactly, causing confusion about "source of truth"
- Potential data bloat: Capturing everything creates massive datasets—more noise to filter through than targeted tracking
- Weaker mobile app features: Mixpanel and Amplitude offer stronger mobile analytics (push notifications, in-app messaging)
- Learning curve for advanced features: Illuminate, Effort Analysis, and complex segmentation take 1-2 weeks to master
- No published nonprofit discount: Unlike Mixpanel or Amplitude, Heap doesn't advertise special nonprofit pricing
- Free tier limited to 6 months data history: Paid plans required for unlimited historical data storage
- Moderate vendor lock-in: Autocapture and retroactive analysis are proprietary—switching tools means starting tracking from scratch
Alternatives to Consider
Mixpanel
Event-based product analytics with cleaner data model
Best for: Nonprofits prioritizing mobile app tracking, push notification analytics, and in-app messaging integration. Mixpanel requires manual event instrumentation (more upfront work) but results in cleaner, more intentional data sets.
Pricing: Free up to 1 million events/month; Growth from $0.28 per 1K events. Nonprofit program offers 10,000 free monthly tracked users + 80% discount.
Choose Mixpanel if: You're mobile-first, have developer resources for event tracking, or need advanced push notification analytics. Avoid if you lack engineering support or want retroactive analysis.
Learn More About MixpanelAmplitude
Enterprise-grade analytics with generous free tier
Best for: Larger nonprofits (50+ staff) needing in-depth cohort analysis, advanced retention tracking, and mobile A/B testing. Amplitude emphasizes data governance and provides more detailed user journey visualization than Heap.
Pricing: Free up to 50,000 monthly tracked users (MTUs)—5x more generous than Heap's 10K sessions; Plus from $49/month.
Choose Amplitude if: You need a very generous free tier, prioritize advanced cohort/retention analysis, or want enterprise-scale features. Avoid if you lack developer resources for event tracking or want autocapture simplicity.
Learn More About AmplitudeGoogle Analytics 4 (GA4)
Free website analytics with basic event tracking
Best for: Small nonprofits (under 5,000 monthly sessions) needing basic traffic analytics, content performance tracking, and acquisition source data. GA4 is completely free with unlimited data and integrates natively with Google Ads and Google Workspace.
Pricing: Completely free (unlimited data, unlimited users).
Choose GA4 if: You only need basic analytics, can't afford paid tools, or primarily care about traffic sources and content performance. Avoid if you need detailed behavioral analysis, retroactive event creation, or advanced funnel optimization.
Getting Started with Heap
Step 1: Sign Up for Free Tier
Visit heap.io and create a free account (no credit card required). You'll immediately get access to 10,000 monthly sessions, core analytics features, and 6 months of data history.
- During signup, name your project after your organization (e.g., "Greenwood Foundation Website")
- Heap will generate a unique JavaScript snippet for your account
- Free tier supports unlimited enrichment sources and core analytics—perfect for evaluation
Step 2: Install JavaScript Snippet (Requires Developer)
Have your web developer or IT team install Heap's JavaScript snippet in your website's HTML header. This typically takes 15-30 minutes and is a one-time setup.
- Copy the snippet from your Heap dashboard (under "Installation" or "Settings")
- Paste it into the
<head>section of your website template (before the closing</head>tag) - If using WordPress, Squarespace, or similar platforms, use their header injection feature
- After installation, Heap begins autocapturing all user interactions immediately—no additional tracking code needed
Step 3: Define Key Events & Build First Funnel
Once data starts flowing (allow 24-48 hours for meaningful volume), use Heap's visual event builder to define important actions. Start with a simple conversion funnel.
- Define 3-5 key events: "Clicked Donate Button," "Submitted Contact Form," "Watched Video," "Downloaded Report," etc.
- Create events visually: Navigate to your live website within Heap, click the element you want to track (e.g., "Donate" button), and save as event
- Build your first funnel: Create a donation funnel (Homepage → Donation Page → Payment Details → Thank You) and review conversion rates
- Explore Session Replay: Watch a few user sessions to understand how people actually navigate your site
Step 4: Leverage AI Features & Integrate with CRM
After 2-4 weeks of data collection, use Heap's AI-powered features (Illuminate, Effort Analysis) to discover optimization opportunities. Connect to your CRM to enrich donor profiles.
- Use Heap Illuminate: Analyze your donation funnel to identify which paths lead to highest conversions (requires paid plan)
- Run Effort Analysis: Find friction points where users struggle (rage clicks, dead clicks, form errors)
- Integrate with Salesforce/CRM: Push behavioral data to donor records (e.g., "Visited website 5 times before donating")
- Set up Slack alerts: Get notified when conversion rates drop below thresholds or anomalies occur
Implementation Timeline
Week 1: Sign up, install snippet, start data collection
Week 2: Define key events, build first funnels, explore basic reports
Week 3-4: Watch Session Replays, interpret Effort Analysis, test Illuminate (if on paid plan)
Month 2+: Integrate with CRM, set up alerts, optimize based on insights
Need Help with Heap Implementation?
Get expert guidance on setup, integration, and optimization
Setting up analytics properly from the start saves months of headaches. Whether you need help installing the snippet, defining the right events, building donor funnels, or integrating with your CRM—we can guide you through the process.
We can help with:
- JavaScript snippet installation and verification
- Defining nonprofit-specific events (donations, volunteer signups, program registrations)
- Building conversion funnels and interpreting drop-off points
- CRM integration (Salesforce, HubSpot, or middleware setup)
- Training your team on Heap best practices and advanced features
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Heap free for nonprofits?
Heap offers a free tier with up to 10,000 monthly sessions that includes core analytics charts, unlimited enrichment sources, and 6 months of data history—no credit card required. There is no publicly advertised nonprofit discount program as of January 2026. However, many SaaS companies offer unpublished nonprofit pricing. Contact Heap's sales team directly and mention your 501(c)(3) status to inquire about potential nonprofit rates or extended free tier limits.
What makes Heap different from Google Analytics?
Google Analytics requires manual event setup to track specific user actions, while Heap automatically captures every click, pageview, and form submission the moment it's installed (autocapture). Heap's biggest advantage is retroactive analysis—you can create new event definitions and view historical data for actions you didn't explicitly track. Google Analytics is best for traffic sources and content performance; Heap is best for understanding user behavior, optimizing conversion funnels, and reducing friction in donation or signup flows.
Do I need a developer to set up Heap?
Initial setup requires a developer to install Heap's JavaScript snippet on your website (typically 15-30 minutes). After installation, Heap's autocapture feature automatically tracks all user interactions without additional engineering. Non-technical staff can define events, build funnels, and create reports through the visual dashboard. This is much simpler than tools like Mixpanel or Amplitude, which require developers to manually instrument every event you want to track.
How does Heap's AI (Illuminate) work?
Heap Illuminate uses AI to analyze user paths between funnel steps and automatically identifies which actions lead to the highest conversions. For example, if you have a donation funnel, Illuminate reveals whether donors who watch a video or read an article are more likely to complete their gift. It generates a Top Events table showing conversion rates for different paths, helping you optimize without manual analysis. It's pattern recognition AI, not generative AI—designed to surface hidden insights from behavioral data.
What integrations does Heap support for nonprofits?
Heap integrates with 100+ platforms including Salesforce (and Nonprofit Cloud), Slack, data warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift, Amazon S3), and marketing tools. You can push behavioral data to your CRM to enrich donor profiles, send alerts to Slack for engagement drops, or export data to your warehouse for deeper analysis. Heap also offers API access for custom integrations.
Is Heap better than Mixpanel or Amplitude for small nonprofits?
Heap is generally more cost-effective and easier to implement than Mixpanel or Amplitude for small nonprofits. Heap's autocapture eliminates the engineering time needed for manual event tracking (which both Mixpanel and Amplitude require). However, Amplitude offers a more generous free tier (50,000 monthly tracked users vs. Heap's 10,000 sessions), and Mixpanel's paid plans may be more affordable at scale. Choose Heap if you have limited engineering resources and want retroactive analysis. Choose Amplitude if you need advanced cohort analysis on a generous free tier. Choose Mixpanel if you prioritize mobile app tracking.
What's the learning curve for Heap?
Heap has an intermediate learning curve. Initial JavaScript snippet installation requires developer skills (15-30 minutes). Non-technical users can learn basic event creation and report viewing in 1-2 days through Heap's documentation and tutorials. Proficiency with advanced features (Effort Analysis, Illuminate, complex segmentation) takes 1-2 weeks of regular use. Heap is generally easier to learn than Amplitude or SQL-based tools, but has more features to master than Google Analytics.
Can Heap track mobile app behavior?
Yes, Heap supports mobile app tracking for iOS and Android through native SDKs. However, Heap's mobile tracking capabilities are less robust than Mixpanel's or Amplitude's. If your nonprofit's primary focus is mobile app analytics (e.g., donor app, volunteer coordination app), Mixpanel or Amplitude may be better choices with features like push notification analytics and in-app messaging integration. Heap is strongest for web-based analytics.
Ready to Understand Your Donors' Digital Journey?
Start capturing every user interaction today with Heap's automatic event tracking—no manual setup, no missed data.