KISSmetrics vs Smartlook

Smartlook offers session recording for web and mobile apps, while KISSmetrics delivers the revenue attribution and behavioral analytics that drive business outcomes.

KISSmetrics

Why choose KISSmetrics

  • Revenue Attribution - Connect every user action to revenue with native MRR, LTV, and churn tracking built into every report.
  • Cohort Analysis - Group users by behavior or acquisition channel and track retention, engagement, and revenue over time.
  • A/B Testing - Run experiments and directly measure their impact on revenue and conversions without third-party tools.
Smartlook

Why choose Smartlook

  • Mobile App Recording - Smartlook records native iOS and Android app sessions - a capability few session replay tools offer.
  • Replay-Linked Funnels - Click on any funnel step to watch session replays of users at that point, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Bottom line: Choose KISSmetrics if you need revenue attribution, cohort analysis, and A/B testing to optimize business outcomes. Choose Smartlook if you need session recording - especially for native mobile apps - to understand user behavior visually. They solve different problems and work well together.

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Feature-by-Feature Comparison

A transparent look at how both platforms compare.

Tracking & Data Collection

Person-level tracking

KISSmetricsCross-session identity resolution
SmartlookUser identification within recording context

Event tracking

KISSmetricsAutomatic and custom events
SmartlookCustom events linked to recordings
Analytics & Insights

Session recording

KISSmetricsNot offered
SmartlookWeb and native mobile session replay

Mobile app recording

KISSmetricsNot offered
SmartlookNative iOS and Android session recording

Heatmaps

KISSmetricsNot offered
SmartlookClick and scroll heatmaps

Funnel analysis

KISSmetricsRevenue-tied multi-step funnels
SmartlookEvent-based funnels with replay links

Revenue/MRR tracking

KISSmetricsNative revenue and LTV reports
SmartlookNo revenue analytics

Cohort analysis

KISSmetricsBehavioral and revenue cohorts
SmartlookNo cohort analysis

A/B testing

KISSmetricsBuilt-in experiments
SmartlookNo A/B testing
Reporting & Dashboards

Custom dashboards

KISSmetricsDrag-and-drop dashboard builder
SmartlookBasic dashboards and reports

Where KISSmetrics Wins

The core advantages of tracking people, not pageviews.

Revenue Attribution

Connect every user action to revenue with native MRR, LTV, and churn tracking built into every report.

Cohort Analysis

Group users by behavior or acquisition channel and track retention, engagement, and revenue over time.

A/B Testing

Run experiments and directly measure their impact on revenue and conversions without third-party tools.

Where Smartlook Wins

We believe in transparency. Here's where Smartlook has an edge.

Mobile App Recording

Smartlook records native iOS and Android app sessions - a capability few session replay tools offer.

Replay-Linked Funnels

Click on any funnel step to watch session replays of users at that point, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Always-On Recording

Record every session by default so you never miss a user interaction, with retroactive event filtering.

Which One Is Right for You?

KISSmetrics

Choose KISSmetrics if you need...

  • SaaS teams tracking revenue, retention, and LTV
  • Marketing teams measuring campaign attribution
  • E-commerce businesses optimizing conversion funnels
  • Teams needing A/B testing with revenue outcomes
Smartlook

Choose Smartlook if you need...

  • Mobile app teams needing native session recording
  • Product teams that want replay context alongside funnels
  • UX researchers investigating user behavior visually
  • Teams needing session recording across web and mobile

Free forever · Full platform access · No feature gating

100k events a month, no credit card. Growth is $99/mo when you scale.

KISSmetrics

What We Offer That No One Else Does

You shouldn't have to figure out analytics alone. We've been there - and we built KISSmetrics to make sure you never feel stuck.

We sit down with you. Personally.

Book a live demo and you get a real person, not a chatbot and not a knowledge base link. Someone who understands your business model and helps you set up tracking that answers the questions keeping you up at night.

We configure tracking for your specific use case

We build your first dashboards together, live

Included on every plan - no upsell, no extra cost

Your team is up and running in days, not months.

We know the frustration of buying a tool and then spending weeks figuring it out. That's why we've built resources that get your entire team - marketing, product, leadership - making confident, data-driven decisions fast.

Step-by-step guides for every feature

Industry templates - SaaS, eCommerce, B2B

Ongoing support from real analytics specialists

Pricing Comparison

Transparent pricing - no hidden costs, no feature gating.

KISSmetrics

Free

Starting price

Pricing Model

Free up to 100k events a month, then based on event counts - no feature gating, full platform access on every plan

Free Plan

Free forever - 100k events a month, no card

No Feature Gating

Full platform access on every plan. Every feature, every customer.

Live Demo On Request

Hands-on setup walkthrough when you want one.

Smartlook

Free (limited)

Starting price

Pricing Model

Session-based pricing

Free Trial

Free plan with 3,000 sessions/mo

Switch from Smartlook in 1-2 hours for basic setup, 3-5 days for full analytics migration

Our team helps you every step of the way.

1

Install the KISSmetrics JavaScript snippet on your website

2

Map your Smartlook custom events to KISSmetrics event schema

3

Configure user identification for cross-session person-level tracking

4

Build revenue-focused funnels and cohort reports in KISSmetrics

5

Set up dashboards for revenue and retention metrics

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about KISSmetrics vs Smartlook.

Yes. Autocapture and our CLI get most teams tracking without help, and if you want a hand you can book a live demo where we walk through your business model, set up tracking with you, and configure your first reports. We also provide step-by-step documentation, best-practice templates, and ongoing support from analytics specialists.

Yes. KISSmetrics does not feature-gate any capability. Whether you are on the free plan or an enterprise plan, you get full access to funnels, cohorts, revenue reports, A/B testing, people tracking, segmentation, and every other feature. Pricing scales based on event counts, not feature access. The whole platform is free up to 100k events a month with no credit card, so you can explore all of it before you pay anything. You never have to upgrade just to get a report type.

Most analytics tools track sessions - anonymous visits that expire after 30 minutes. KISSmetrics tracks people. Every visitor gets a persistent identity that follows them across sessions, devices, and months of activity. This means you can see the complete journey from first anonymous visit through signup, activation, purchase, and repeat behavior - all tied to a real person, not a cookie.

Absolutely. Revenue attribution is a core strength of KISSmetrics. You can connect every dollar of revenue back to the marketing touchpoint that drove it - whether that is a paid ad, organic search, email campaign, or referral. Use first-touch, last-touch, or multi-touch attribution models to understand the true ROI of your marketing spend.

Most teams see actionable insights within the first week. Basic tracking setup takes 30-60 minutes with our JavaScript snippet. If you want help configuring the reports that matter most to your business, book a live demo and we will walk through it with you. You do not need a data team or months of configuration to start making data-driven decisions.

KISSmetrics is built around the individual person - not aggregate metrics or anonymous sessions. While Smartlook has a different primary focus, KISSmetrics gives you a complete view of each customer's lifecycle - from first touch to revenue and beyond. You can answer questions like "Which customers are most valuable?", "What actions predict conversion?", and "Where exactly are we losing people in the funnel?"

For many teams, yes. KISSmetrics combines person-level tracking, funnel analysis, cohort analysis, revenue reporting, A/B testing, and behavioral segmentation in one platform. Teams that previously needed separate tools for product analytics, revenue tracking, and experimentation often consolidate to KISSmetrics - reducing costs and eliminating data silos.

Migration is straightforward. You can run KISSmetrics alongside Smartlook during the transition - there is no need to rip and replace. Our onboarding team will help you map your existing tracking to KISSmetrics events and properties. Most migrations are complete within 1-2 hours for basic setup, 3-5 days for full analytics migration.

KISSmetrics tracks mobile app events via API and SDKs, but does not offer native mobile session recording. Smartlook is stronger for visual mobile app analytics.

No. Smartlook is a session recording tool with basic analytics. It lacks revenue tracking, cohort analysis, A/B testing, and the deep funnel analysis that KISSmetrics provides.

Smartlook shows you what individual users do on screen. KISSmetrics shows you behavioral patterns across your entire user base - funnels, cohorts, retention, and revenue. Both perspectives are valuable.

No. Smartlook focuses on session recording and visual analytics. For revenue attribution, MRR tracking, and LTV analysis, you need KISSmetrics.

Yes. Use Smartlook for session replays and visual UX insights, and KISSmetrics for revenue analytics, funnels, and cohort analysis. They complement each other well.

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