Backstory
Log in Start free
Menu Home
ProductReplay & DevToolsSignalsCall qualityWhy (AI)Live AssistCanvas recordingPrivacy & complianceSelf-hosted
SolutionsHealthcare & virtual careEngineeringSupportProduct teamsKiosks & monitoring
MorePricingDocsCompareTrust centerGlossaryAboutContactPress kit
Log inStart free
Compare

Backstory vs FullStory

FullStory is a mature digital experience analytics platform with strong search and product analytics on top of session replay.

Best for: Product analytics teams at large consumer companies who want indexed behavior search.. Last verified 2026-09-12.

Where Backstory differs

  • Backstory ships DevTools panels and OpenTelemetry trace linkage aimed at engineers, alongside product analytics.
  • Backstory records visible canvas and WebGL with an adaptive quality ladder.
  • Backstory's AI is grounded: every claim cites a replay moment, and repro steps and Playwright tests come from the same evidence.
  • Backstory offers Live Assist with a per-capability consent ladder, a self-hosted Helm chart, and per-user cryptographic erasure.
How to read the table

"Partial" means the capability exists in some form but with material differences in scope, defaults, or depth as we understand them. Capabilities, not pricing, are compared; competitor pricing changes too often to state responsibly.

Capability comparison between Backstory and FullStory
CapabilityBackstoryFullStory
DOM-based session replay Yes Yes
DevTools panels synced to the scrubber (Elements, Console, Network, Performance, State) Yes Partial
Canvas and WebGL recordingVisible canvases only; adaptive quality ladder Yes Partial
Automatic friction and error detection22 detectors, clustered across sessions Yes Yes
AI explanations with per-claim citations to replay moments Yes Partial
AI repro steps and generated Playwright tests Yes No
MCP server for coding agents Yes No
OpenTelemetry trace linkage Yes Partial
Live assist with explicit consentOne Support access grant covers chat, annotation, and control; voice is separate Yes No
Consented remote control Yes No
Masking on the device before upload Yes Yes
HIPAA BAA availableEnterprise plan Yes Yes
EU data residency Yes Yes
Cryptographic erasure per end user Yes Partial
Self-hosted optionHelm chart, no broker required Yes No
Bounded recorder memory with graceful degradationGovernor with explicit gap markers Yes Partial
Multi-day visits (kiosks, telehealth)Monitor mode with pre-roll Yes No
Conditional recording (pay only for stored sessions) Yes Partial
SSO (SAML/OIDC) Yes Yes
WebRTC call quality observability (loss, latency, freezes, device errors) on the replay timeline13 detectors; metrics only, media frames never captured Yes Not the focus
Try Backstory free All comparisons
Get started

Replay your first session in five minutes.

Free for 1,000 sessions a month, no credit card. Or leave a work email and we will reach out about the private beta for healthcare and support teams.

Start freeBook a demo