Hotjar records anonymised sessions and builds heatmaps, which answers a question analytics cannot: not what people clicked, but why they left. Watching ten recordings of a checkout flow usually surfaces a problem no dashboard shows. It also includes on-page surveys and feedback widgets. The free tier is limited in recording volume.
Who it is for
A conversion-focused marketer who needs to watch real checkout sessions rather than read a funnel chart.
Key features
- Session recordings with filters
- Heatmaps for clicks, moves, and scroll
- On-page surveys and feedback widgets
- Funnel analysis on paid plans
- User targeting by behavior
- Free tier caps daily recordings
Where it falls short
Recordings raise real privacy obligations, and the script adds weight to every page.
Pricing
Free tier caps daily recordings and heatmaps; paid plans scale by session volume, and the gate is retention plus targeting rules.
Prices move; the tier structure is the part that stays true. Check current pricing on Hotjar.
Alternatives to Hotjar
Frequently asked
Is Hotjar free?
Partly. Free tier caps daily recordings and heatmaps; paid plans scale by session volume, and the gate is retention plus targeting rules.
What is Hotjar best for?
A conversion-focused marketer who needs to watch real checkout sessions rather than read a funnel chart.
What are the best alternatives to Hotjar?
The closest substitutes we list are PostHog and Microsoft Clarity. They sit in a similar price bracket but make a different trade-off, so read the weaknesses section of each review before switching.
Which platforms does Hotjar run on?
Hotjar is available on Web.