Imo it is, for the most part plugins just sound harsh to me regarding distortion.
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Yep… and that’s why we never really give a sh*t about what people listening think… the attention to detail is only really important to the creator(s). 
Cool, so it sounds like you’d get value from having an Analog Heat in the analog domain as well as using it in your digital domain. 
It’s making me want an AH now too…
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I’m a bit of a saturation nut. In addition to the Heat I have the following plugins:
- Soundtoys Little Radiator
- U-he Satin
- RC-20 Retro Color
- Smackos
- Softube Saturation Knob (which was free)
I use all of them interchangeably, with my drum bus always going to the Heat, and my synths going to Radiator. Satin meanwhile lives on the master bus with the rest making an appearance when I want something more lo fi. I like experimenting with different flavors.
If I had to pick just one tool to keep forever though? It would probably be Satin. It sounds fantastic, and is pretty versatile. The Heat meanwhile is cool because it has the filter automation and more tactile control, but I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily “better” than the software options. Just different. Maybe I would feel different if I used the more distorted circuits.
Anyways the main reason I bought The Heat was I needed a second Overbridge enabled device to compliment my Digitakt, and I didn’t want to clutter my workflow with a 4th synth (Digitone). So here I am. It’s a luxury I could do without, but I’m glad to have it regardless. YMMV.
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Did you play around with Arturia mello-fi at all? It was free a while ago and I found it pretty good, been playing around using it in my mastering chain but it also peaked my interest in u-he satin. Sometimes I just smash stuff through a real tape also.
I haven’t tried mello-fi, no. At a certain point I had to “cut myself off” from adding more plugins 
Satin has a free demo so give it a shot!
I like using Mello-fi as a send fx for the drum bus, usually with eq and other processing. Mostly use it for adding texture (often sidechained to a ghost kick for movement) rather than just saturation.
I use Ableton‘s Drum Buss and Saturator, bx_console SSL 4000 E, Saturation Knob, Variety of Sound plugins and Saturn for saturation, but Mello-fi sounds really great for textures.
I’d say I fall into this same category for studio purposes.
For my live purposes, though, Heat is irreplaceable.
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The thing that software just doesn’t get right, at least to my ears, is analog feedbacking. I’m into software distortion/saturation but I haven’t found anything that sounds like my Dark Matter.
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Bastl Instruments Dark Matter probaply.
Yep, exactly.
Didn’t have an heat, but about saturation I can suggest to try this plugin from wave arts:
Free version (old and with heavy cpu requirement)
https://wavearts.com/products/plugins/tube-saturator-vintage/
Paid version v2 (optimized and less heavier on cpu)
https://wavearts.com/products/plugins/ts2/
I have an AH and a lot of saturation/distortion plugins. Personally I typically prefer using plugins. For the way I use the AH, I’ve been finding Minimal Audio Rift really cool.
Other goodies:
Saturn2, Sketch Casette, VintageWarmer, Blackbox, Phil’s Cascade, Warble, PSP saturator, and so many more.
Culture Vulture?
Saturn is pretty amazing though. Depends on context and what you’re looking for honestly.
Saturn is probably one of my favorite plugins for mixing.