6 Hotjar Alternatives & Competitors to consider in 2024
Online businesses have overtaken traditional retail businesses because of their ability to visualize user behavior. For digital businesses, behavioral analytics is critical for success, but while tech giants like Google and Amazon have state-of-the-art infrastructure to monitor user behavior, many freelancers and startups don’t have the necessary tools that are required for effective behavioral analytics.
This is where Hotjar comes in to save the day. Hotjar can visually represent where users click, move, and scroll on your site. Hotjar lets you record user activity on your site, and it can be used to accumulate context-driven feedback with real-time suggestions. Hotjar can also be used to launch surveys, and it is compatible across multiple platforms and devices. Hotjar can also be used for visitor targeting, and it has tools that make exporting and sharing data easy.
Indeed, Hotjar has many great tools for behavioral analytics. However, issues related to heatmap accuracy can make the platform problematic for many users. That being said, there are many alternatives that you can consider in case Hotjar is not suitable for your business.
The best Hotjar alternatives are:
(We mention the hidden gems on top of our list, to give them more exposure, over the already popular ones)
Crazy Egg
Crazy Egg offers reporting and web-optimization tools with affordable pricing plans. Crazy Egg’s reporting tools can be used to generate heatmaps, scroll maps and other visual reports, and it can be used to record website activity. Crazy Egg integrates easily with many popular marketing tools, and it can also be used to monitor traffic sources to optimize campaigns. Crazy Egg also has in-depth enterprise tools that can be used for UI/UX audits and conversion rate optimization.
Pros
✔️ No limits on tests or the number of websites that can be tracked
✔️ Versatile recording tools that can store data for up to 2 years
✔️ Handy reporting tools that can be used to generate insights to measure customer and user engagement
✔️ Advanced enterprise features to analyze referrals and engagement through qualitative or quantitative data
Cons
❌ More survey features could be added
❌ A/B testing tools are sub-par compared to platforms like Google Optimize
Pricing
💰 Free trial plan available
💰 Basic plan- $24 per month
💰 Standard plan- $49 per month
💰 Plus plan- $99 per month
💰 Pro plan- $249 per month
💰 Customized pricing plans for enterprise users
Best known for
Crazy Egg is best known for its reporting tools. With Crazy Egg, you can take snapshots of your web pages and generate simplified reports that display visitor and user information. Heatmap, scroll map, overlay, confetti and list reports can also be easily generated to analyze scroll depth, click activity and time-on-site. Crazy Egg’s reporting tools make it easy to understand visitor interactions with page elements and layouts.
Inspectlet
Inspectlet provides streamlined recording, tracking and reporting tools that you can utilize to optimize your website. With Inspectlet, you can easily record visitor activity and generate dynamic heatmaps. Inspectlet also offers A/B testing tools, and it can be used to create feedback surveys. Inspectlet also has a form analytics dashboard, and it can be used to monitor javascript errors and network activity. Inspectlet can monitor user activity across mobile devices as well.
Pros
✔️ Versatile heat maps that can visualize mouse movements to simulate the eye movements of users
✔️ Handy A/B testing features, with in-built performance tracking and visual editing tools
✔️ Automated error-tracking tools that monitor console logs, XHR network requests and latency
✔️ Advanced form analytics to generate conversion-critical information through website forms and surveys
Cons
❌ Limits on the number of websites per plan can be restrictive
❌ Loading issues are common with the main dashboard
Pricing
💰 Free trial plan available
💰 Micro plan- $39 per month
💰 Startup plan- $79 per month
💰 Growth plan- $149 per month
💰 Accelerate plan- $299 per month
💰 Enterprise plan- $499 per month
💰 Customized pricing plans for users who are looking for add-ons
Best known for
Inspectlet is best known for its form analytics. With Inspectlet, you can easily generate conversion reports that let you gauge how effective your forms are at converting inbound visitors. Inspectlet’s advanced hesitation algorithm tracks various signals that can indicate whether a user is engaged or hesitating. Inspectlet also provides funnel views to represent the number of visitors that make it through each stage of the conversion process. Inspectlet can also be used to determine which input fields are being refilled the most due to confusion and errors. Inspectlet can also generate in-depth data to reduce form abandonment.
Smartlook
Smartlook generates user insights that can be used to improve mobile apps and websites. Smartlook offers an in-depth Javascript console for developers, and it can be used to detect funnel drop-offs. Smartlook also has heatmaps with in-built behavior flows to visualize user movements across websites. Smartlook converts website actions into customizable events to determine how users interact with key website elements.
Pros
✔️ Automated tracking tools that can generate event statistics retroactively
✔️ Versatile heatmaps that can be used to assess, download and share device-specific user behavior
✔️ Advanced mobile-app analytics to track user actions across various programming frameworks and operating systems
✔️ Robust enterprise features that can be used to set up public rest APIs, SSO functions and custom paperwork
Cons
❌ Recording features need to be improved
❌ More filters could be added for sales funnels
Pricing
💰 Free trial plan available
💰 Startup plan – $39 per month
💰 Business plan – $95 per month
💰 Customized pricing plans for enterprise users who are looking for tailor-made solutions
Best known for
Smartlook is best known for its mobile-app analytics. With Smartlook, you can gather data across various devices, programming frameworks and operating systems. With Smartlook, you can record your users while they play games and interact with the UI elements in your mobile app. Smartlook users can also generate crash reports that can be used to get rid of bugs and investigate coding errors.
Mouseflow
Mouseflow lets you optimize your website through its screen recording tools and its heatmaps. Mouselfow can be used to generate heatmaps, and it can be used to create conversion funnels for your visitors. Mouseflow can also be used for A/B testing, and it integrates seamlessly with various CRM and marketing apps. Mouseflow also offers API features for advanced users, and it can store your recording data for up to 12 months.
Pros
✔️ Advanced recording features that use a ‘Friction Score’ algorithm to highlight dissatisfied users
✔️ Conversion-driven heat maps that can segment users based on clicks, scrolling activity and live movement
✔️ Robust tools that can filter and tag users for channel-specific funnel optimization
✔️ Custom development services that can be used to build APIs for advanced users
Cons
❌ Limits on feedback surveys and form analytics can be restrictive
❌ Mobile features need to be improved
Pricing
💰 Free trial plan is available
💰 Starter plan- $29 per month
💰 Growth plan- $99 per month
💰 Business plan- $199 per month
💰 Pro plan- $399 per month
💰 Customized pricing plans for enterprise users
Best known for
Mouseflow is best-known for its funnel analytics. With Mouseflow, you can optimize sales funnels by measuring conversion rates at every step. Mouselfow also lets you compare funnel journeys, so you can find optimal paths, channels, referrers and more. Mouseflow lets you define funnels with up to 1 year of secure data storage. Mouseflow can also be used to identify path-to-purchase improvements, and it can be used to analyze user journeys by source, regions, devices and campaigns to find sources with the best and worst ROIs.
Contentsquare
Contentsquare offers behavioral analytics and screen-capturing tools for businesses of all sizes. With Contentsquare, you can easily capture in-page interactions and micro-gestures to identify user-interface issues that can affect your bottom line. Contentsquare can also be used to analyze forms and surveys, and it can be used to create zone-based heatmaps. Contentsquare provides advanced AI-driven analytics, and it can be used for merchandising and impact quantification. Contentsquare also offers API tools for its advanced users, and it integrates seamlessly into many external platforms.
Pros
✔️ Flexible SDKs (Software Development Kits) for Android and iOS devices
✔️ Versatile zone-based heatmaps with options to view experience and revenue attributions
✔️ Advanced AI-driven analytics that can identify and score revenue opportunities
✔️ Handy collaboration tools, with streamlined dashboards that can be customized as per your team’s requirements
Cons
❌ Pricing plans are not readily available on the website
❌ A/B testing features could be simplified
Pricing
💰 Pricing plans are not readily available on the website, please contact customer care for more information
Best known for
Contentsquare is best known for its AI features. Contentsquare’s AI-drives algorithms can generate smart alerts when your business metrics fluctuate out of their normal ranges. Contentsquare’s AI can also score your pages and identify revenue opportunities based on the behaviors or issues that are impacting user experience. Contentsquare’s AI uses a proprietary Digital Happiness Index to measure customer satisfaction, and it provides actionable insights into areas that need to be worked on to improve customer satisfaction.
Lucky Orange
Lucky Orange provides website optimization and tracking tools for businesses of all sizes. With Lucky Orange, you can create conversion funnels and generate dynamic heatmaps for your website. Lucky Orange lets you create visitor profiles to record interactions, and its announcement features can be used to share news and promotions. Lucky Orange also has an analytics dashboard that can be used to examine website performance and form data, and it can be used to launch surveys as well.
Pros
✔️ Versatile tools to track funnel metrics such as completion rates, traffic drop-offs and funnel date ranges
✔️ Handy survey tools that can be used for product development and website feedback
✔️ Unique visitor profiling tools that can be used to log the entire history of a visitor’s experience
✔️ Robust live-chatting features that can be used to collaborate and collect feedback in real-time
Cons
❌ Session recordings cannot be downloaded or exported
❌ Limits on the number of websites per plan can be restrictive
Pricing
💰 Free trial plan available
💰 Starter plan- $10 per month
💰 Small business plan- $20 per month
💰 Medium plan- $50 per month
💰 Large plan- $100 per month
💰 Customized pricing plans for enterprise users
Best known for
Lucky Orange is best known for its surveying tools. Luckyorange provides flexible surveying options that can be used to interview visitors. Lucky Orange lets you launch surveys with multiple-choice questions, ratings, likes/dislikes and open-ended questions. Lucky Orange also lets you verify survey placements, triggers and designs before publishing, and you can choose survey participants based on behavior and other criteria. Lucky Orange surveys can be branded and fully customized.
Hotjar FAQs
What is better than Hotjar?
There are many platforms in the SaaS marketplace that can be considered as ‘better alternatives’ to Hotjar. We have listed some of these alternatives above.
Can Hotjar replace Google Analytics?
Hotjar cannot replace Google Analytics, as there are many Google Analytics features that are not present in Hotjar, e.g AI-powered predictive metrics that are supported by machine learning.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Hotjar has a free basic plan, but it has a maximum limit of 35 daily sessions per day and 20 monthly responses.
What does Lucky Orange do?
Lucky Orange is a SaaS platform that can be used for website optimization and behavior tracking. We have listed the pros and cons of Lucky Orange above.
Does Hotjar slow down your site?
Hotjar’s script is loaded asynchronously through a content distribution network, hence it won’t slow down your website.
What is the difference between Hotjar and Google Analytics?
The main difference between Hotjar and Google Analytics is that Hotjar gives context to the data that is generated by Google Analytics. Whilst Google Analytics provides key metrics, such as conversion and bounce rates, Hotjar highlights the key factors that lead to fluctuations in these metrics. In short, Google Analytics shows you what’s happening on your website, but Hotjar tells you why things are happening.
Where is Hotjar based?
Hotjar is based in Malta
What is Hotjar plugin?
Hotjar has a plugin that can be seamlessly installed into WordPress. This will allow you to directly access Hotjar’s features through WordPress’ user interface.
Hotjar pricing
Hotjar pricing is:
💰 Free trial plan available
💰 Plus plan- $39 per month (observe)/ $59 per month (ask)
💰 Business plan- Starting from $99 per month (observe)/Starting from $79 per month (ask)
💰 Customised pricing plans for enterprise users
