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Best Free Alternatives to Hotjar
Stop paying $39/mo (Observe) - $200+/mo (Business). Discover professional-grade tools that won't break your budget.
Category: User Behavior & ExperienceVerified for 2025
Top Recommended Replacements
Microsoft Clarity
FREEBest for Zero-Budget Teams
Why we like it
100% free with unlimited sessions and heatmaps; zero data caps; features AI-powered 'Copilot' summaries of user sessions and rage-click detection.
Keep in mind
Lacks the built-in survey and user interview tools that Hotjar offers; minimal integration with marketing automation tools like HubSpot.
Mouseflow
FREEBest for E-commerce & Conversion
Why we like it
Features automated 'Friction Scores' to identify where users are struggling; includes specialized form analytics to see where users drop off in checkout.
Keep in mind
The user interface is more technical and less 'polished' than Hotjar; historical data retention is shorter on the starter plan.
Smartlook
FREEBest for Mobile & Web Hybrid
Why we like it
Industry leader in native mobile app recordings (iOS/Android); features a unified dashboard for web and app behavior; allows for retroactive funnel building.
Keep in mind
Session recordings can be resource-heavy for complex single-page applications; more expensive entry point than Mouseflow.
Lucky Orange
FREEBest for Real-Time Support
Why we like it
Includes a built-in 'Live View' with chat, allowing you to watch a user struggle and jump in to help instantly; extremely affordable for small businesses.
Keep in mind
Interface can feel cluttered with too many features; dynamic heatmaps (for popups) can be finicky to set up.
VWO Insights
FREEBest for High-Scale Enterprise
Why we like it
Deeply integrated with world-class A/B testing; allows you to run heatmaps on test variants specifically; robust segmentation for high-traffic sites.
Keep in mind
Very expensive; overkill for small blogs or simple landing pages.
Plerdy
FREEBest for SEO & UX Combined
Why we like it
Unique tool that tracks 'SEO Health' alongside heatmaps; shows you which elements on the page are actually helping your organic rankings.
Keep in mind
Dashboard is information-dense and has a steeper learning curve for non-technical users.
Fullstory
Best for Product Teams
Why we like it
Superior technical debugging; captures every event (even clicks on non-buttons) automatically; 'D3' (Digital Experience Intelligence) engine is unmatched.
Keep in mind
No transparent pricing (usually starts in the thousands); can be overwhelming for simple marketing needs.
LogRocket
FREEBest for SaaS Developers
Why we like it
Combines session recording with error tracking and network monitoring; allows you to 'replay' exactly what went wrong in the console when a user hit a bug.
Keep in mind
Strictly focused on the 'App' and 'Dev' experience rather than the 'Marketing' or 'Conversion' experience.
Matomo (Heatmaps)
FREEBest for Privacy & Compliance
Why we like it
100% data ownership; no cookies required; perfect for government, healthcare, or GDPR-sensitive industries.
Keep in mind
Requires technical knowledge to self-host and maintain; heatmaps are a paid plugin if using the hosted Cloud version.
Microsoft Copilot for Clarity
FREEBest for AI Summaries
Why we like it
Leverages LLMs to literally write a summary of why users are bouncing from a specific page; saves hours of watching recordings manually.
Keep in mind
Limited by the overall feature set of Clarity (no surveys or active feedback tools).
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