Best Segment Alternatives to Try in 2022

Segment is a customer data platform that collects events from the customer journey and unifies data from all touchpoints. However, some companies have trouble with Segment because of how complex the platform can be especially if you’re looking for deeper insights.

If you’re one of those people looking for Segment alternatives to store and manage customer data, this article is for you. In this article, I will provide alternatives to the widely-known customer data platform complete with features, reviews, and pricing information to help you make an informed decision.

MParticle

MParticle was founded in 2012 to streamline the data process for SaaS companies. MParticle achieves this by allowing you to capture the data once and then sync the data to any vendor without any additional changes. Once this process is completed MParticle connects your data with any API you use for your services.

Features:

1. Eliminates intermediate software to connect users.

MParticle is a reliable software that enables you remove unnecessary software from the equation. This saves you from the hassle of managing and paying for extra software to reach customers.

2. MParticle stores data for further use and intelligent analysis.

Mparticle uses a model that saves your data for intelligent analysis. This feature allows inspecting your data from different angles and appealing to your user base from different perspectives.

Integrations:

• Zendesk
• Shopify
• MailChimp
• Pinterest
• Snapchat

You can learn more about the integrations provided by MParticle by checking out their integrations page.

Pros:

1. The tool comes with numerous integrations

Mparticle has over 200 integrations. This abundance of integrations allows you to easily access and analyze customer data from mainstream websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Understanding the patterns your users present is a great way to improve your inbound marketing tactics.

2. MParticle has a pretty good user interface design

Many people talk about how good the MParticle user interface is. MParticle utilizes a color palette of vibrant but relaxing colors to give you the best experience.

3. MParticle is fast

One of the most important pros of MParticle is that it is bug-free and optimized. Speed and efficiency are great features to have in an analytics platform as data analysis can otherwise be a very time-consuming and cumbersome task.

Cons:

1. The high number of features can confuse new users

Sometimes, less is more. This is the case with MParticle since many of the features it provides can be unnecessary for a new user. Although having more features can be good, MParticle fails to organize them feasibly.

2. There is a need to create automated processes or alarms for certain tasks

Despite having a lot of features, MParticle provides no way for its users to track specific tasks involved in managing customer data and how often they should be conducted.

3. MParticle can be expensive

Most MParticle users talk about how the tool eats a critical portion of their revenue. This problem is something to consider, especially if you are a newcomer to the industry.

Pricing

Unlike most tools mentioned in this article, MParticle does not have any standard pricing information available on their website. The price is entirely dependent on the features you want.

Reviews:

Here are some reviews for MParticle:

“The price. It is very very expensive. However, it’s become a necessity. We do find ourselves considering alternatives, just because of the price tag.”

“Great UI Design… really gets me excited to go in and use this platform, which is not always the case with a CDP. Ability to connect to all of the sources I need to in one hub.”

“When you need to adjust a data connection you have to trash it and start fresh and that is a pain. I wish it would save info like our app and ad IDs and not make me go and look them up.”

Most of the comments are about how good the user interface is. This pro is significant if you are new to these kinds of software and want to gain experience quickly. The comments regarding customer support and how it helps newcomer users further supports this point.

However, according to the reviews, there are some shortcomings of the software. Pricing is a common problem among most of the customer base. In addition to this, there are some problems regarding the data connection process. This problem, combined with the software’s many features, can create a problem for first-time users.

Finally, MParticle has a score of 4.5 out of 5 in Capterra and a 3.5 out of 5 in G2. However, please note that the number of reviewers on these websites is few, thus not enough to give a proper score.

RudderStack

RudderStack, according to its website, is a customer data platform for developers. The tool allows users to stream data from multiple sources and analyze it for decision-making.

Features:

1.Cloud Integration

RudderStack provides its users with support for cloud services. The addition of these options allows users to analyze event data from cloud apps.

2. Real-time Syncing

By default, RudderStack updates its storage every thirty minutes. This feature allows you to analyze customer data without too much delay.

3. Built for by Data Engineers and Data Scientists

Majority of the people who designed RudderStack and currently work there are ex-data engineers and ex-data scientists.

Integrations:

• SnowFlake
• Firebase
• Braze
• Auth0
• Lytics

You can check out other sources that RudderStack supports for data collection by visiting their integrations page.

Pros:

1. Allows the creation of unique groups to classify your data better

RudderStack allows you to create unique groups when tracking event data to track your customer base better. If you plan to appeal to a part of the customer base that refrains from getting involved in your product, you might adjust your grouping to increase user activation rates.

2. Good Interface

RudderStack has a good interface design. This is both because of the purple and white color palette they picked and because, unlike MParticle, it manages the features provided by the software pretty well. This advantage is a significant improvement, especially compared to MParticle.

3. Easy to understand the configuration and install

Configuration and installation process is easy both because of how the software is aimed at helping you have the most effortless installation process and how the customer service is there to help you every step of the way.

Cons:

1. Creating complex techniques and directives might result in crashes and bugs.

RudderStack having a simple interface for minimalistic approaches comes with a downside. It is prone to crash and present bugs if a complex directive is needed. Although an overall minimalistic approach saves the software from needing too much time or effort, these bugs and crashes can be a constant annoyance.

2. Although the user interface is easy to understand and easy on the eyes, it lacks customization options.

Having a simplified approach also comes with another problem. RudderStack lacks even the most basic customization options. This problem can be an annoyance if you want to have a more specialized approach aimed towards specific metrics and groups of people.

Pricing

Rudderstack offers three different plans. These plans are called The Free version, the Pro version, and the Enterprise version. However, their pricing is not shared with the public. They are not shared because the features included in these packages are up to the customer to a certain extent.

Reviews:

Here are some user reviews for RudderStack:

“I would like it to be easier to file away what I built, in a sanitized version. I hope for more interfaces to other tools (i.e. there’s an ansible plugin, I would love to use that as an an exporter so I don’t have to ever build ansible code again).”

“At ITsense we strongly support open source project and Rudder has always been a tool with tremendous potential. First of all, Rudder is very easy to instal an deploy; the user interface is cleverly designed and they provide a full documentation to help you get started (we do apreciate that they have translated it).”

In addition to data collection and event data analysis, the majority of the customers talk about how many features RudderStack has. This advantage of RudderStack makes it especially important for more prominent companies to utilize these features better. The presence of grouping enables better cooperation between departments and workers.
A common problem with RudderStack is its community size. It is not a very known software in the sector. However, this problem can easily be solved if RudderStack stays consistent with its business practices.

HockeyStack

HockeyStack is an end-to-end analytics and attribution tool for SaaS companies. With HockeyStack, you can track and analyze data from the product, sales, subscription revenue, and marketing in one tool and get access to hidden insights, such as the LTV of a piece of content, or the churn rate of each marketing channel along with users’ reasons for churn.

HockeyStack allows you to build dashboards with no code using any metric you need from any department! Here’s how that looks in action for the sales conversion rate:

With HockeyStack, you can also view how internal links on your blog posts influence conversions.

The ability to set your own goals gives you the chance to create practically any dashboard you’d like, giving you complete insight into your customers.

HockeyStack’s Features

HockeyStack offers these features with no code:

• Step-by-step user journey
• Custom dashboards
• Funnels and goals
• Attribution analysis
• Insights
• Surveys
• Revenue analytics
• Segments

and more.

HockeyStack Pricing

HockeyStack has 2 different paid plans both of which have a 14-day trial with a 30-day refund guarantee.

You can check out the pricing page here.

HockeyStack Integrations

• Paddle
• Stripe
• Hubspot
• Crisp Chat
• Mailchimp
• Salesforce (coming soon)
• Zapier (coming soon)

HockeyStack Pros and Cons

HockeyStack Pros

The unique benefit of HockeyStack is its ability to unify your marketing, revenue, sales, and product data using no code. This allows you to uncover unique insights that you wouldn’t be able to by using multiple tools as they cause you to have fragmented data.

1. You can integrate with Stripe, Paddle, and HubSpot and build every single dashboard that you can think of, using all sales, marketing, revenue, and product metrics.
2. You can create funnels, goals, and surveys, which are rare to get with other tools on this list.
3. You don’t need any developers, tracking is cookieless, and the script is small, so it doesn’t increase your site loading time.
4. Has a free plan.

HockeyStack Cons

HockeyStack generally lacks reporting features as it’s not focused on agencies and other reporting-based businesses.

1. The tool lacks some integrations, such as Salesforce and Zapier. (on the roadmap)

Fivetran

Fivetran is a software that aims to present you with the best access to your data. Constant data updates achieve this on their part. Fivetran also automates processes like in-warehouse transformations to increase the efficiency of your data transferring process.

Features

1. Capture Deletes

Fivetran offers to capture your deletes to run analyzes on this data. This feature allows you to keep track of all your information even if you delete them.

2. Re-Sync

In case of a desynchronization, Fivetran allows a re-sync of the data. This re-sync might include the entirety of your data or a determined portion of it. Allowing you to pick which parts of data you want to sync smooths out the resynchronization process.

3. Alternative Storages

Fivetran allows the storing of any data you have in any format. This feature allows you to access any data files or analyzes even if you stop using Fivetran. This makes the integration of data with similar apps easier in the case of stopping using Fivetran.

Integrations:

• Ellucian Banner
• Branch
• Canvas
• Braze
• Height

You can learn more about other integrations Fivetran has by checking out their connectors page.

Pros

1. Easy to set up

It is straightforward to set up Fivetran. The process is smooth and further supported by support videos shared on their website. This makes the software easier for newcomers that just entered the field.

2. Fivetran can manage high-loads.

Unlike RudderStack, Fivetran can manage the extra load. This makes it especially if you have a more significant customer base or want to run extensive checks on your user base.

3. Good Data Quality.

Many customers talk about how the data provided by the RudderStack is not only refreshing itself fast but also expansive. Data quality of this level allows you to create tailor-made plans for your customer base. This can be used to increase your user retention rate.

Cons

1. Higher pricing than other tools

Fivetran is relatively expensive, however, this is partly due to the unique pricing method that I’ve shared in detail below.

2. It has some customer support problems.

Some users state that there are some customer support problems with Fivetran. These problems range from getting late answers to your questions to not getting an answer at all. Considering how many features Fivetran provides, this is a critical problem that needs to be addressed.

Pricing

The pricing system of the Fivetran is different from the other software mentioned in this article. Fivetran, instead of giving you the total sum, asks you how much you want to pay for every credit. Then this number is multiplied by the number of uses to give your total sum.

Reviews

Here are some reviews for Fivetran:

“Data from our SaaS systems loads into our database and is updated every 15 minutes, keeping our Tableau reports up to date and fully automated. We are also able to access data that was not available from the SaaS built-in data extracts.”

“Response time is not reliable, sometimes it might take 2-3 working days to reply to the ticket”

“Fantastic software easy to use and best of all not expensive. Helps you simplify what usually becomes complicated. Now I manage ETLs without having to write or keep the code.”

Most users who use Fivetran talk about how easy it is to set up and use Fivetran. This advantage is significant if you are new to the field and want to gain experience regarding data management software.
However, the pricing model of Fivetran is relatively complex. This complexity can create problems for those who have just entered this field.
Some user comments also indicate that there are customer-support problems with Fivetran. These comments especially talk about how Fivetran’s customer service can take up to a few days to answer questions.

Lytics

Lytics, as a software, is a customer data platform that aims to help you with data management and marketing.

Features

1.Identity Resolution

Lytics allows you to combine different user-profiles and follow their patterns to analyze event data. This feature comes in handy for companies interested in predicting user behavior.

2. Behavioral Scoring

Lytics has also developed its system that presents you with a particular customer rating system. Factors like how often a customer uses your services, how much they spend, their increase or decrease in use are serviced to create group profiles to enable you to consider every possibility. This is especially important for tracking the user activation process of customers.

3. Content Affinity

Lytics tracks which types of data users are more interested in to tell you which types of services and articles you present are more influential. This advantage will help you to notice your shortcomings and increase your advantages.

Integrations

• Amplitude
• Clearbit
• Drift
• Optimize
• Zapier

You can check out other integrations of Lytics by visiting its integration web page.

Pros

1. It is easy to use.

It is really easy to use Lytics. An in-built FAQ system and little tips pop on your screen to help you with your process. It also has an easy to look at interface. These features make using Lytics much easier.

2. Good customer service

Many of the customers that use Lytics talk about how easy it is to access the customer service and how helpful they have been. This benefit is especially useful if you want to gain experience in this field.

Cons

1. Lack of customization

Lytics keeps going forward with the trend of not including the customization options with simplicity. Like RudderStack, Lytics misses customization options that can be useful for its community.

2. The user interface is not user-friendly.

Both app and website interfaces are not user-friendly. They are overly complicated and can cause annoyance. It is not easy to always find what you are looking for either. Although this is not a big problem, this makes your user experience rather tedious.

Pricing

Lytics offers two different services. One is simply a cloud connection for your data, while the other is a more extensive package that includes the decision and group management options.

Reviews:

Here are some reviews for Lytics:

“Lytics is a unique software because you are able to use it to create multiple touch points to your customers while utilizing a multitude of data variables and sources. Additionally, it pulls together demographic and customer data in a clean and simple user interface. Lastly, the Lytics team is always willing to help set up audiences, analyze data, and make suggestions.”

“Its interface turns out to be quite simple and easy to use…”

Many of the customers talk about how multi-functional Lytics is. Also, there are multiple comments regarding how easy it is to use this software, making Lytics one of the most user-friendly software listed in this article. These comments are a good sign that you will get your money’s worth.

There are some shortcomings, however. Mainly regarding the customer service and the customization options. Customer service complaints are significant since Lytics tries to appeal to a not experienced user base. This fact means that Lytics’ customer base will naturally have more questions.

Tealium

Tealium is a company founded in San Diego, California. It was founded in 2011.

Tealium is a data access and analysis software that enables interactions for its users by connecting two sides’ data.

Features

1. Predictive Insights

Tealium provides its users with predictive insights that will help you analyze which users or possible users would be inclined to interact with your product in the future. Using this feature is a great way to increase your user retention rate by reaching out to specific customer groups.

2. Detecting Poor Targets

Tealium detects poor targets, meaning people that window-shop or browse your services. You can catch these customers and focus your advertisements on users that might be affected more by your efforts.

Integrations

• Adjust
• Android
• Digioh
• Klenty
• Kameleoon

You can gain further knowledge about integrations Tealium has by checking out their integrations page.

Pros

1. Extensive customization options.

Compared to most of the software mentioned in this article, Tealium offers extensive customization options. These range from advanced settings like deciding what metrics to see to a simple dark-mod to use the software at night. These sorts of customization options are bound to improve your user experience and help you improve your customer-centric approach.

2. Easy to learn.

The features provided by the Tealium are easy to grasp, despite having extensive customization options. This fact makes Tealium one of the best software to learn not only the basics of data analyzing but also upper levels of it. This aspect of the software will enable you to make long-term SaaS marketing plans.

Cons

1. It is expensive compared to other products mentioned in the article.

Although it provides extensive customization options, is easy to learn and has a good customer support, Tealium has some shortcomings. The most important of these shortcomings is that Tealium is expensive, on par with Fivetran.

Pricing

Tealium currently does not provide any info on pricing.

Reviews

Here are some user reviews for Tealium:

“Tealium does a great job of integrating third-party tagging solutions (marketing, analytics, commerce, etc.) into one, easy to use application that ensures synchronous results across the board. I really like that Tealium has pre-integrated with nearly all of the partners we are already using which makes integration very quick and easy. Tealium support is top notch and having a “person” to talk to rather than using online discussion boards (like GTM) has always been the big plus.”

“Version control is too rigid and still allows for mistakes (human error) to happen. The UI gets sluggish for larger profiles. There’s also an unpredictable delay (related to caching) when publishing a new profile. The filtering and sorting options could be improved. Mass editing is impossible without the custom tools and even then it’s not as precise as it needs to be.”

Overall, customers are usually happy with Tealium. This is why it has 4.3 out of 5 both in G2 and Capterra. Some complaints are that the overall service is expensive and it can get too complicated. However, Tealium’s benefits definetly outshine its short-comings.

Conclusion

Having a customer data platform in this day and age is critical especially for SaaS companies. Although it is robust software, Segment has its shortcomings due to which you might be looking for Segment alternatives. Check out the products listed above to get a full understanding of how they can collect customer data and improve your decision-making.

FAQ