battles / Analytics
Celonis vs Heap
Celonis ($15,000/mo/mo, vibe code 4/10) vs Heap ($1,000/mo/mo, vibe code 4/10). Heap is the easier one to rebuild yourself — here is what you lose either way.
Analytics
$15,000/mo/mo
- MVP
- 4-6 weeks
- Full replacement
- 24+ months
Analytics
$1,000/mo/mo
- MVP
- 2 weeks
- Full replacement
- 9-12 months, due to the scale of high-throughput OLAP data ingestion and client-side DOM mutation tracking
easier to rebuild
get the build prompt →price gap / year
$168,000/mo
running both / year
$192,000/mo
our call
Start with Heap — highest vibe code, weakest moat.
Celonis
An AI prompt can easily generate a simple process visualizer using open-source Python libraries like PM4Py. However, Celonis's real product is its deep connector architecture into legacy ERPs like SAP, custom process query engine (PQL), and enterprise execution capabilities.
you can rebuild
- CSV/Parquet event log ingestion and parsing.
- Directly-Follows Graph (DFG) generation and interactive process map visualizations.
- Process variant frequency analysis and coverage metrics.
- Basic throughput and bottleneck detection between sequential activities.
- Custom filter creation based on case attributes or time windows.
what you lose
- Pre-packaged SAP/Oracle connectors that handle complex relational table joining into event logs automatically.
- Process Query Language (PQL), Celonis's custom query engine optimized for process analytics.
- Real-time Action Engine automations that trigger downstream ERP actions upon detecting workflow anomalies.
- Pre-configured benchmark models for standard enterprise workflows (Procure-to-Pay, Accounts Payable, Order-to-Cash).
- Enterprise governance, access control granularities, and compliance guarantees.
real moats
- Deep, battle-tested connectors for SAP (ABAP/ECC/S4HANA), Oracle, and Salesforce legacy database schemas.
- A proprietary in-memory process query engine (PQL) optimized for process graph analytics.
- Pre-built domain logic, KPI frameworks, and operational playbooks for standard enterprise workflows (Order-to-Cash, Procure-to-Pay).
- Enterprise trust, compliance certifications, and vendor procurement clearance.
Heap
Building a simple custom event tracker takes hours, but Heap's core value is capturing every un-instrumented raw DOM event and querying billions of rows retroactively. Maintaining the ClickHouse infrastructure and low-latency client snippet required for this consumes significantly more engineering resources than a SaaS subscription.
you can rebuild
- Explicit event logging via API
- Basic pageview and click counting
- Standard conversion funnel visualization
- User identity tracking and aliasing
- Simple user segment filtering
what you lose
- Zero-code retroactive event definition on historical raw DOM payloads
- Client-side automatic DOM change and dynamic hierarchy tracking
- Managed, highly optimized ClickHouse/OLAP query performance
- Automatic client-side PII redacting and sensitive field masking
- Built-in session replay integration and visual event point-and-click definition
real moats
- Proprietary client-side DOM autocapture engine
- High-throughput event ingestion and low-latency OLAP querying at scale
- Retroactive query parsing engine on raw payload streams
open source escape hatches
- PostHog MIT
- Matomo GPL-3.0
- OpenReplay Apache-2.0
Questions people ask
Which is easier to rebuild with AI, Celonis or Heap?
Heap. It scores 4/10 on vibe code with a moat of 3/10, so an AI-assisted MVP takes about 2 weeks and a full replacement about 9-12 months, due to the scale of high-throughput OLAP data ingestion and client-side DOM mutation tracking.
Which one costs less, Celonis or Heap?
Heap at $1,000/mo/mo for a typical mid-market store. The gap between the two is about $168,000/mo a year.
What do I lose if I replace Celonis?
Pre-packaged SAP/Oracle connectors that handle complex relational table joining into event logs automatically. Process Query Language (PQL), Celonis's custom query engine optimized for process analytics. Real-time Action Engine automations that trigger downstream ERP actions upon detecting workflow anomalies.
What do I lose if I replace Heap?
Zero-code retroactive event definition on historical raw DOM payloads Client-side automatic DOM change and dynamic hierarchy tracking Managed, highly optimized ClickHouse/OLAP query performance
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