What is Hotjar used for?

Hotjar is mainly used to understand how users interact with a website. It has tools to identify at which point users stop engaging with a site, which pages they interact with the most, and the kinds of content that boost engagement.

What information does Hotjar collect?

Hotjar collects information about where users click, how they scroll, where they move their mouse, and the forms they submit. It does this without collecting personal information about users, such as their names or email addresses. You can also use Hotjar to collect specific kinds of information by issuing user surveys.

Does Hotjar cost money?

Hotjar offers a free plan with up to 20,000 monthly sessions, session replays, and heatmaps—great for getting started. Paid plans start at $40 per month (billed annually) for more sessions, advanced filters, and longer data access. Businesses can also build custom packages across Experience Analytics, Voice of Customer, and Product Analytics as needs grow.

Hotjar is popular with people who need to optimize website performance, whether it’s for general marketing purposes or to make an eCommerce site more effective. This makes it a good option for those who design and manage websites, as well as marketing teams in charge of making sites more impactful.

Is Hotjar safe to use?

Yes, many consider Hotjar safe to use because it protects data and the identities of users. When users use Hotjar to collect information about how people interact with their sites, the data they collect is anonymized, so the visitors’ identities are protected.

Updated May 20, 2025 at 11:51 AM

Hotjar 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

Written by Andrew Blair

Content Analyst

Edited by Mehar Luthra

Team Lead, Content

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Wondering if Hotjar is right for your organization?

Our Heatmap Software selection experts can help you in 15 minutes or less.

On this page

Our Summary
Pricing and Plans
Features
Integrations
Key Sentiments
User Reviews
Frequently Asked Questions

Our Summary

Hotjar

4.6

(538)

Pros:

Heatmaps
User behavior analysis

Cons:

Pricing
Feature limitations

Pricing

Starting at $39.00 per month

What is Hotjar:

Hotjar is a website analytics platform that provides insights into user behavior and feedback. With Hotjar, teams can conduct surveys and record user sessions for analysis about how users interact with content and other assets. This makes it easier to identify how to improve sites to boost engagement.

Why we like Hotjar:

Hotjar is particularly helpful for visualizing how users interact with a site, thanks to its intuitive heatmaps. It also stands out for activity tracking, reporting, and analytics features. Users rate it especially high for ease of use, giving it 4.6 out of 5 stars on Software Advice.

Who should use Hotjar:

Hotjar is useful for website owners, user experience (UX) designers, marketers, and those who specialize in optimizing website performance. It works well for companies of a variety of sizes; 75% of reviewers on Software Advice hail from organizations with two to 200 employees.

Hotjar Screenshots

Hotjar Overview

Hotjar is a website behavior analytics tool designed to provide insights into how visitors interact with websites. It is used by teams such as marketers, product managers, designers, and researchers to better understand user behavior and support website optimization and user experience improvements.

The platform includes features such as heatmaps that visualize user attention patterns, session recordings that capture interactions, and tools for collecting user feedback. It offers customizable surveys for gathering customer satisfaction data, interview capabilities for user...

Hotjar Pricing and Plans

Starting price: $39.00 per month

Free Trial

Free Version

Observe: Heatmaps & Recordings

$39.00

per month

Plan includes:

Page view filters
Frustration and engagement scores
Dashboards
Key highlights
Custom-built integrations
Funnels and trends
Console tracking

Ask: Surveys & Feedback

$59.00

per month

Plan includes:

Hotjar AI for Surveys
Filter responses by device and country
AI-powered sentiment analysis
Analyze survey performance
Hotjar API: export survey responses and more
Unlimited surveys & feedback widgets
Customizable branding

Engage: User interviews & User tests

$49.00

per month

Plan includes:

Up to 240 interviews or user tests
Unlimited interviews
4 co-moderators per interview
10 spectators per interview
Dedicated customer success manager
SAML single sign-on (SSO)
Full access to every feature

Confused about pricing? We've got you covered.

Get a personalized pricing breakdown tailored to your specific needs—no guesswork, no generic estimates.

Our Analysis of Hotjar's Pricing Plans

We've conducted a thorough analysis of Hotjar's pricing plans to help you determine which option best aligns with your website analytics and user behavior tracking needs. We've examined the features, benefits, and limitations of each plan to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of what Hotjar offers. Hotjar provides four distinct pricing tiers: Free, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. Each plan is designed to accommodate different websit...

e traffic volumes, analytics requirements, and budget considerations. **Free plan** Hotjar's Free plan is a free forever option designed for individuals, small businesses, or those just starting with user behavior analytics. This plan allows tracking of up to 20,000 monthly sessions and provides access to core features including session replay and unlimited heatmaps with one month of data retention. **Pros:** - **Zero cost barrier:** The free plan provides access to powerful analytics tools without any financial commitment. - **Essential features included:** Offers both session replay and unlimited heatmaps, which are core to understanding user behavior. - **Standard filtering capabilities:** Includes useful filters such as new vs. returning users, pages viewed, user country, and device type. - **Key integrations:** Connects with popular tools including Google Analytics, Mixpanel, HubSpot, and Jira. **Cons:** - **Limited data retention:** Only stores data for one month, which restricts long-term trend analysis. - **Session cap:** The 20,000 monthly session limit may be quickly reached by growing websites. - **Basic functionality only:** Lacks advanced features and customization options available in paid plans. **Growth plan** The Growth plan is Hotjar's entry-level paid option at $49 per month (or $40 per month when billed annually). This plan is suitable for growing websites that need more advanced user behavior insights and longer data retention periods. **Pros:** - **Increased session capacity:** Accommodates higher traffic volumes than the Basic plan. - **Extended data retention:** Provides longer access to historical data for trend analysis. - **Enhanced filtering options:** Offers more advanced filtering capabilities for deeper insights. - **Additional team collaboration features:** Better supports teams working together on user experience optimization. **Cons:** - **Limited advanced features:** Still lacks some of the more sophisticated tools available in higher-tier plans. - **Moderate scalability:** May not be sufficient for rapidly growing websites or larger organizations due to limits on integrations and other functionality. - **Cost consideration:** Represents a significant jump from the free tier for budget-conscious users. **Pro plan** Specific pricing for the Pro plan is not publicly available. The plan is designed for established businesses with substantial website traffic and more complex analytics needs. It offers enhanced capabilities for teams focused on optimizing user experience and conversion rates. **Pros:** - **Higher session capacity:** Supports websites with significant traffic volumes. - **Advanced analytics features:** Provides more sophisticated tools for in-depth user behavior analysis. - **Extended data retention:** Offers longer access to historical data for comprehensive trend analysis. - **Enhanced team collaboration:** Includes features that facilitate better teamwork and insights sharing. **Cons:** - **High cost barrier:** Pricing for this plan isn’t publicly listed, but it’s designed for large, established businesses—making it impractical for smaller organizations. - **Feature complexity:** Some advanced features may have a steeper learning curve for new users. - **Potential feature overlap:** Some capabilities may duplicate functionality in other analytics tools already in use. **Enterprise plan** Specific pricing for the Enterprise plan is not publicly available. This plan is tailored for large enterprises and high-traffic websites requiring comprehensive user behavior analytics, premium features, and maximum data retention. **Pros:** - **Complete feature access:** Includes all Hotjar tools and features without restrictions. - **Premium analytics options:** Offers the most advanced customization and analysis capabilities. - **Long-term data retention:** Provides the longest access to historical data for comprehensive trend analysis. - **Enterprise-grade support:** Includes priority assistance and more personalized service. **Cons:** - **Enterprise-level cost:** Requires a sizable investment and is best suited for organizations with complex needs and large teams - **Potential feature underutilization:** Some organizations may not fully leverage all the advanced capabilities. - **Requires analytics expertise:** Maximizing value from advanced features may require dedicated analytics personnel. **Free trial information** Hotjar offers a 15-day free trial of their Growth plans for all new accounts. This trial provides full access to premium features without requiring payment information or setting up auto-charges. After the trial period, users can choose to upgrade to a paid plan or continue with the free plan indefinitely. **Payment options** Hotjar accepts payments in USD and offers both monthly and annual billing cycles. Opting for annual billing provides a ~20% discount across all paid plans. Additionally, Hotjar offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for all Growth plans, allowing users to request a full refund within the first month if they're not satisfied with the service. **Conclusion** After analyzing Hotjar's pricing structure, it's clear that the company offers a range of options designed to accommodate various website sizes, analytics needs, and budgets. - **For individuals and small websites:** The Free plan provides an excellent entry point at no cost. It offers core functionality, such as session replay and unlimited heatmaps, that can deliver valuable insights into user behavior. While limited by the 20,000 monthly session cap and one-month data retention, it's more than sufficient for small websites and those just beginning their user experience optimization journey. - **For growing businesses:** The Growth plan at $49 per month (or $40 with annual billing) strikes a balance between affordability and functionality. It offers increased session capacity and data retention, making it suitable for businesses that have outgrown the free plan but don't yet need enterprise-level features. - **For established businesses:** The Pro plan provides advanced analytics capabilities and supports higher traffic volumes. This plan is ideal for organizations that rely heavily on website performance and need deeper insights into user behavior to optimize conversion rates. - **For large enterprises:** The Enterprise plan delivers the complete Hotjar experience with premium features and maximum data retention. This plan is best suited for high-traffic websites and organizations with dedicated analytics teams that can fully leverage the advanced capabilities. When selecting a Hotjar plan, consider your website's monthly traffic volume, how long you need to retain data for analysis, the complexity of insights you require, and your available budget. The 15-day free trial offers an excellent opportunity to test Hotjar's premium features before committing to a paid plan. Additionally, the annual billing option provides significant savings for organizations planning long-term use of the platform.

Hotjar Features

Drawn from insights across 538 verified reviews, we've outlined Hotjar's best and worst rated features and how they stack up against the average rating.

Hotjar's score

Category average

Hotjar's Best Rated Features

Visitor Tracking

4.83

4.28 category average

Activity Dashboard

4.80

4.13 category average

Customer Journey Mapping

4.78

4.65 category average

Hotjar's Worst Rated Features

User Journeys

3.63

3.41 category average

Customizable Forms

3.71

4.11 category average

Third-Party Integrations

3.83

3.70 category average

Popular features found in Heatmap
Data Visualization
For Sales Teams/Organizations
For Science
Heatmaps
Real-Time Analytics
Reporting & Statistics
Visual Analytics
Website Analytics
More features of Hotjar
A/B Testing
Access Controls/Permissions
Activity Dashboard
Activity Tracking
Alerts/Notifications
Annotations
API
Audience Targeting
Behavioral Analytics
Behavior Analytics
Behavior Tracking
Campaign Tracking
Charting
Click Tracking
Collaboration Tools
Commenting/Notes
Communication Management
Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion Tracking
CSAT Survey Structure
Customer Activity Tracking
Customer Experience Management
Customer History
Customer Journey Mapping
Customer Segmentation
Customizable Branding
Customizable Fields
Customizable Forms
Customizable Questions
Customizable Reports
Customizable Templates
Dashboard
Data Analysis Tools
Data Import/Export
Demographic Data
Drag & Drop
Dynamic Content
Element Analytics
Email Reminders
Engagement Tracking
Feedback Management
For Mobile
For Websites
Funnel Analysis
Geotargeting
Interactive Reports
Issue Tracking
KPI Monitoring
Mobile Survey
Moderated Usability Testing
Monitoring
Multi-Channel Communication
Multi-Channel Data Collection
Multi-Channel Distribution
Multi-Language
Multiple Site Management
Negative Feedback Management
NPS Survey Structure
Performance Metrics
Problem Area Alerts
Prototype Creation
Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Quantitative Metrics
Question Branching
Question Library
Randomization
Real-Time Data
Real-Time Monitoring
Real-Time Notifications
Real-Time Reporting
Reporting/Analytics
Screen Activity Recording
Scroll Maps
Search/Filter
Sentiment Analysis
Session Recording
Single Sign On
Site Intercept Survey
Skip Logic
Software Testing Management
Statistical Analysis
Survey Builder
Survey/Poll Management
Surveys & Feedback
Tagging
Template Management
Templates
Text Analysis
Third-Party Integrations
Trend Analysis
URL Customization
Usability Testing
Usage Tracking/Analytics
User Interaction Tracking
User Journeys
User Research Analysis
Video recording/Transcriptions
Video Support
Visitor Tracking
Visualization
Web Traffic Reporting
Widgets