Can AI replace Crazy Egg?
Do not mistake the interface for the product. Crazy Egg's durable value is ingestion, storage, reliability, which a solo one-shot build cannot reproduce responsibly. The prompt therefore builds only the closest honest personal consolation tool.
01What it costs
Checked Aug 12, 2026 · source: crazyegg.com.
| Plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Free | Web Analytics, Instant Heatmaps, Conversion Analytics and website surveys; no numeric usage caps published |
| Starter | — | $29/mo | 5,000 tracked pageviews/month; 5 heatmap reports; 50 recordings/month; 6-month recording storage; unlimited domains and team members |
| Plus | — | $99/mo | 150,000 tracked pageviews/month; 75 heatmap reports; 1,000 recordings/month; 2-year storage; unlimited domains and team members |
| Pro | — | $249/mo | 500,000 tracked pageviews/month; 100 heatmap reports; 5,000 recordings/month; 2-year storage; unlimited domains and team members |
| Enterprise | — | $599/mo | 1,000,000 tracked pageviews/month; 200 heatmap reports; 10,000 recordings/month; 2-year storage; SAML SSO |
Hidden costs: No overage charges, but collection pauses when monthly limits are reached until the next month unless you upgrade. Extra heatmap reports or recordings are quote-based add-ons.
02Could AI build it for you?
The core job: Build a narrow heatmaps + testing collector for one site or app, ingest first-party events, and show a small set of decision-ready reports.
What a working version needs:
- deploy target
- ClickHouse or SQLite for low volume
- first-party tracking script
- Explicit README warning that this is a consolation build, not a production replacement
Credibility row: Crazy Egg survives for a structural reason, not because its interface is difficult to copy.
03What you'd give up
- bot and identity resolution
- session replay privacy tooling
- enterprise governance and integrations
- high-volume ingestion and retention
Crazy Egg: Customers pay for trusted numbers, retention, privacy controls, and a pipeline that remains accurate while traffic and schemas change.
04Free and cheaper alternatives
Heatmaps, replays, surveys, traffic reports and experiments, free until the usage meters get serious.
posthog.com →05The build prompt
Paste this into an AI coding tool (such as Claude, ChatGPT, Lovable or Replit) to build your own version. Read the verdict first: this one is hard to get right.
Build the closest honest consolation tool inspired by Crazy Egg; do not claim to replace its structural moat. Use exactly this stack: Next.js 15 + TypeScript + ClickHouse + PostgreSQL. Primary job: Build a narrow heatmaps + testing collector for one site or app, ingest first-party events, and show a small set of decision-ready reports. Start from an empty folder and create the complete working project. Make the default mode single-user and private. Store user data locally unless the core job requires the declared self-hosted database. Do not add analytics, telemetry, ads, or third-party accounts. Put every secret and external credential in .env and provide .env.example. Use realistic sample data that is clearly labelled and easy to delete. Implement the smallest polished interface that completes the core loop end to end. Include clear empty, loading, validation, success, and failure states. Add import and export so the user is not trapped in the app. Use accessible keyboard navigation, labels, focus states, and sensible contrast. Validate untrusted input and never log secrets or private file contents. Deliberately exclude these paid-product advantages: bot and identity resolution; session replay privacy tooling; enterprise governance and integrations. Do not fake integrations, network effects, proprietary data, model quality, compliance, or security claims. Where an external API is optional, keep the app useful without it and explain the degraded mode. Write focused unit tests for the data model and the most important workflow. Add one end-to-end smoke test that proves the core loop works. Create a README with setup, permissions, architecture, data location, backup, and limitations. Add scripts for install, development, test, build, and a production-style local run. Run the tests and build before finishing, then fix errors rather than merely describing them.
06Open-source starting points
App prices, verdicts, alternatives and build prompts are adapted from Can I Vibecode It? (MIT License, © 2026 Rob Hallam). Each price shows the date it was checked and its source. Prices change; confirm on the vendor's site before you decide.
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