Hibs missed the opportunity to put pressure on fourth-placed Kilmarnock in their quest for European football.
The biggest culprit was Mark McNulty who failed to find the target from the penalty spot after Paul Hanlon was fouled in the area.
Hibs were in the ascendancy for large swathes of the game, particularly in the second half, with a Christope Berra own goal earning the home side the lead. Yet Uche Ikpeazu's equaliser came out of the blue, 10 minutes from time, stunning the Hibees.
The Easter Road outfit remain in fifth place in the Scottish Premiership, four points behind Killie, with the two sides to meet at Rugby Park in a fortnight.
Hibs 1 Hearts 1 as Uche Ikpeazu grabs late equaliser to avoid embarrassing stat – 3 talking points
And a rueful and clearly frustrated Paul Heckingbottom believes his side should have pressed for a second goal after going ahead against Hearts.
He said: "We wanted all three points. You got what you deserve, the big moments. 'Coulda shoulda' - that's how it is and we only got one point in the end.
"We've done well so far, still unbeaten. It's probably one of those games where you don't get what you deserve.
"It wasn't as good a derby game as the last one. We were well on top in the second half - we could've run away with it. They made tactical changes, but we just took our foot off the gas. We don't want to be like that so it's a good learning thing for us."
Yet the Hibs boss is refusing to give up on a fourth-place finish, in spite of his team's failure to put pressure on Killie with today's draw.
"We knew where the space was, but we weren't taking advantage of it first half. We were good on the counter, good if the first pass went forward. But we didn't build and then exploit that space second half," he said.
"We would have liked it to have been two and in our hands. We'd have love to have taken the chances and been out of sight and have made the game comfortable. Whenever there's one goal in it, no matter who you're playing, teams are dangerous."
Hearts fans sour Billy McNeill tribute as they let their club down against Hibs
