Hotjar vs Plausible Analytics
A side-by-side look at Hotjar and Plausible Analytics: what each costs to start, whether there is a free plan, how easy they are to pick up, and which features and integrations they cover.
Which should you choose?
Choose Hotjar if
- Marketers and UX teams diagnosing why landing pages underperform
- Ecommerce stores looking for checkout friction
- Small teams that want heatmaps and surveys without training
Choose Plausible Analytics if
- Sites that want to drop Google Analytics and cookie banners
- Independent developers, bloggers and small businesses tracking traffic basics
- Agencies reporting simple traffic dashboards to clients
Cheapest to start
Not confirmed
Free plan
Hotjar
Highest editor rating
Tied
| Compare | Hotjar |
|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes |
| Free trial | No |
| Starting price | From $39/mo |
| Editor rating | 4.2 |
| Ease of use | Very easy (5/5) |
| Category | Analytics |
| Pricing model | Observe, Ask and Engage are priced separately, each with a free Basic tier. Observe Plus is approximately $39 per month ($32 billed annually), Business from about $99 ($80 annually) and Scale from about $213 ($171 annually). |
| Plans |
|
| Platforms | Web, Browser extension |
| Integrations | Google Analytics, HubSpot, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Shopify, Slack, WordPress, Zapier |
| Best for |
|
| Pros |
|
| Cons |
|
| AI assistant | Yes |
| API access | No |
| Audience segmentation | Yes |
| Cookieless, privacy-friendly tracking | No |
| Custom event tracking | Yes |
| Forms & surveys | Yes |
| Funnels | Yes |
| GDPR compliance tools | Yes |
| Heatmaps | Yes |
| Import & export | No |
| Reporting & dashboards | Yes |
| Roles & permissions | Yes |
| Self-hosting option | No |
| Session replay | Yes |
| SSO / SAML | Yes |
| Templates | Yes |
Common questions
- Does Hotjar or Plausible Analytics have a free plan?
- Hotjar has a free plan. Plausible Analytics does not, though it offers a free trial.
- How long is the Hotjar and Plausible Analytics free trial?
- Plausible Analytics offers a 30-day free trial. Hotjar does not offer one.