Skip to content
VERILO

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

Comparison of Hotjar and Plausible Analytics
CompareHotjar
Free planYes
Free trialNo
Starting priceFrom $39/mo
Editor rating4.2
Ease of useVery easy (5/5)
CategoryAnalytics
Pricing modelObserve, 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
  • Observe Basic Free
  • Observe Plus $39/mo
  • Observe Business $99/mo
  • Observe Scale $213/mo
PlatformsWeb, Browser extension
IntegrationsGoogle Analytics, HubSpot, Jira, Microsoft Teams, Shopify, Slack, WordPress, Zapier
Best for
  • Marketers and UX teams diagnosing why landing pages underperform
  • Ecommerce stores looking for checkout friction
  • Small teams that want heatmaps and surveys without training
Pros
  • Installs in minutes with a script, Shopify app or WordPress plugin
  • Free Basic tiers for heatmaps, recordings and surveys
  • Recordings filterable by rage clicks, errors and custom events
  • Surveys and feedback widgets in the same tool as recordings
  • Integrations with Google Analytics, HubSpot, Slack and Jira
Cons
  • Observe, Ask and Engage are billed separately, so the full suite adds up
  • Daily session caps mean busy sites need higher tiers for full coverage
  • Data retention is limited to 365 days
  • Not a substitute for quantitative traffic or product analytics
AI assistantYes
API accessNo
Audience segmentationYes
Cookieless, privacy-friendly trackingNo
Custom event trackingYes
Forms & surveysYes
FunnelsYes
GDPR compliance toolsYes
HeatmapsYes
Import & exportNo
Reporting & dashboardsYes
Roles & permissionsYes
Self-hosting optionNo
Session replayYes
SSO / SAMLYes
TemplatesYes

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.

Go deeper

Browse wider

Search VERILO

Search software, categories and guides