The verdict
If your question is a number, such as where users drop off or which behaviour predicts retention, I'd pick Heap. If a funnel has stalled and the numbers do not explain it, I'd pick Hotjar. I adopted Hotjar in 2014 and it is still in my toolkit, because watching a handful of recordings usually shows the next fix. Hotjar is page-level and does not replace event analytics. Heap has more depth for a product but needs clear event names and owners. For a small team with a marketing website, start with Hotjar. For a software product, start with Heap.
Side by side
| 8 points compared | ||
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | $49/mo | |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | |
| Custom dashboards | Yes | Yes |
| Heatmaps | Yes | Yes |
| Product analytics | Yes | Yes |
| Session replay | Yes | Yes |
| Links |
Plans and pricing
Heap
- FreeFree
Hotjar
- FreeFree
- Growth - Experience Analytics$588/yr
- Growth - Voice of Customer$1,188/yr
Who each is for
Choose Heap if…
Pick Heap if you run a web or mobile product and want behaviour data without planning every event up front. Retroactive analysis lets new questions use old data, which suits teams without an engineer ready to instrument events. Segments, charts, dashboards and playbooks let marketers and product managers answer common questions on their own. It also has session replay and heatmaps. Capturing everything creates noise, so agree on definitions and review them. Mask sensitive fields and respect consent. Paid plans are priced by session volume, so know your numbers.
Choose Hotjar if…
Pick Hotjar if you are a marketing, product or UX team that wants to see how real visitors use your website. Set-up is one script, often added through Google Tag Manager, and recordings and heatmaps can share into Slack or Jira as evidence for a developer. Run it for a week when a funnel stalls, watch about twenty recordings and fix what you see. The free plan caps recorded sessions, and ad blockers hide some visits. It does not follow people after they leave or replace event analytics. Hotjar is part of Contentsquare, so check how you would buy it.
Other options worth a look
Combines product analytics, session replay, feature flags and experiments in one open-source stack for product teams.
Track user behaviour, retention and conversion across your web and mobile products in one platform.
Analyse user events to understand funnels, retention, flows and cohort behaviour without writing SQL.
Create and distribute surveys to collect customer, employee, and market feedback at scale.