Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity both pair heatmaps with session recordings, but they're built for different jobs and budgets. Hotjar is a freemium…
| Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Analytics | Analytics |
| Rating | Not documented | Not documented |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Free |
| Starting price | Free (Observe Basic); paid plans from $39/month | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Not documented |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Team collaboration | Not documented | Not documented |
| AI features | Not documented | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
Pricing model
Hotjar: Freemium with paid plans from around $39/month (Plus, Business, Scale)
Microsoft Clarity: Completely free with no paid tiers at all
Determines whether behavior analytics is a recurring line-item cost or a zero-cost addition to the stack.
Session and traffic caps
Hotjar: Free plan capped at 35 daily sessions for heatmaps and recordings
Microsoft Clarity: No caps on sessions, page views, or number of websites tracked
High-traffic sites can exhaust Hotjar's free allotment quickly, forcing an upgrade decision Clarity never requires.
AI-powered behavioral insights
Hotjar: No AI summarization or chat-based insights documented
Microsoft Clarity: Clarity Copilot generates AI session summaries and answers behavioral questions in plain language
AI insights can cut down the time spent manually reviewing recordings to find friction points.
On-site surveys and feedback collection
Hotjar: Dedicated on-site NPS/CSAT surveys, a feedback widget, and pre-built survey templates
Microsoft Clarity: Not documented as part of Clarity's feature set
Structured voice-of-customer data requires purpose-built survey and feedback tools, not just behavior replay.
Conversion funnel tracking
Hotjar: Basic conversion funnel tracking highlights multi-step drop-off points
Microsoft Clarity: Not documented as part of Clarity's feature set
Funnels let teams pinpoint exactly where in a flow users abandon, which heatmaps and recordings alone don't quantify.
Google Analytics integration depth
Hotjar: Integrates with Google Analytics as one of several third-party connections (alongside Slack, Jira, Zapier)
Microsoft Clarity: Native, purpose-built GA4 integration to filter recordings and heatmaps by GA4 segments and metrics
A tighter GA4 integration lets teams jump directly from quantitative segments to matching qualitative sessions.
JavaScript error tracking
Hotjar: Not documented as part of Hotjar's feature set
Microsoft Clarity: Surfaces client-side JavaScript errors encountered during real user sessions
Catching real errors tied to actual sessions helps engineering teams reproduce and prioritize bugs faster.
Sensitive data masking approach
Hotjar: Includes settings to mask sensitive form fields and text, requiring teams to configure them correctly
Microsoft Clarity: Masks sensitive inputs like passwords and payment fields automatically by default
Default-on masking reduces the risk of accidentally recording sensitive data before anyone remembers to configure privacy settings.
CMS and tag manager quick setup
Hotjar: Installed via a lightweight JavaScript snippet plus API access; no CMS-specific setup documented
Microsoft Clarity: Ready-made setup options for WordPress, Shopify, and Google Tag Manager alongside a standard script
Pre-built CMS integrations lower the technical bar for non-developers to install tracking correctly.
Company backing and product trajectory
Hotjar: Acquired by Contentsquare in 2021 and formally merged into the Contentsquare group in 2025, changing branding and plans over time
Microsoft Clarity: Developed and backed by Microsoft, offered free with no indication of a paid roadmap
Ownership changes can mean shifting pricing, branding, or feature availability, which matters for long-term planning.
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Heatmaps (click/scroll/move) | Available | Available |
| Session recordings | Available | Available |
| Rage click and dead click detection | Available | Available |
| Conversion funnel tracking | Available | Not documented |
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| AI-generated session summaries | Not documented | Available |
| Chat-based Q&A over behavioral data | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| On-site surveys (NPS/CSAT) | Available | Not documented |
| Feedback widget for annotated comments | Available | Not documented |
| Pre-built survey/feedback templates | Available | Not documented |
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Google Analytics integration | Available | Available |
| Marketing/dev tool integrations (Slack, Jira, Zapier) | Available | Not documented |
| CMS and tag manager quick setup (WordPress, Shopify, GTM) | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitive field masking | Available | Available |
| JavaScript error tracking | Not documented | Available |
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan availability | Available | Available |
| Paid/premium tiers | Available | Unavailable |
| Uncapped traffic on free tier | Limited | Available |
| Feature | Hotjar | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Developer API access | Available | Not documented |
| Tracking snippet installation | Available | Available |
| Segmentation and custom filters | Available | Available |
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Pros
Cons
Pros
Cons
Microsoft Clarity is cheaper because it is entirely free with no paid tiers, while Hotjar is freemium with paid plans starting from around $39/month once you outgrow its capped free plan.
Yes — Clarity has no paid tiers, traffic caps, or session limits, whereas Hotjar's free plan is capped at 35 daily sessions for heatmaps and recordings before you need to upgrade.
Microsoft Clarity has AI-powered insights through Clarity Copilot, which generates session summaries and answers questions about visitor behavior; this capability is not part of Hotjar's documented feature set.
No — based on documented features, Clarity does not offer on-site surveys, a feedback widget, or survey templates, which are core parts of Hotjar's toolset for structured qualitative feedback.
Both are straightforward to set up with a lightweight tracking snippet, but Clarity additionally offers ready-made setup options for WordPress, Shopify, and Google Tag Manager, which can be simpler for non-developers than Hotjar's snippet-and-API approach.
Microsoft Clarity has a native GA4 integration built to filter recordings and heatmaps by GA4 segments and metrics, while Hotjar lists Google Analytics as one of several general third-party integrations alongside Slack, Jira, and Zapier.
Read the full Hotjar review · Read the full Microsoft Clarity review