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Hotjar

Understand your users' behavior with heatmaps, session replays, and qualitative feedback. Session replays are addictive and revealing for understanding friction. The perfect complement to GA4 to see the why behind the numbers.

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Who's it for?GrowthMarketerFounder

Review by a Growth Engineer

My verdict: the 'why' behind your analytics numbers.

Hotjar transforms abstract data into concrete understanding of user behavior. Session replays are addictive and revealing. However, if you already use PostHog, Hotjar becomes redundant.

What I like less: on very high traffic sites, the script can have a performance impact. And if you already use PostHog, you have session replays included, so Hotjar becomes redundant.

My advice: install the free plan right now to start collecting data. Watch 10 session replays per week: you'll learn more about your users in 30 minutes than reading reports for hours. Move to paid when you reach the free tier limits.

Why add it to your stack?

The perfect complement to GA4 to understand the 'why' behind the numbers. Session replays are addictive: you see exactly what your users do, where they hesitate, where they get stuck.

What you can do with it

  • 1See exactly where visitors click, scroll, and where they drop off on your landing pages
  • 2Identify bugs and friction by watching replays of real sessions
  • 3Collect qualitative feedback with integrated surveys and widgets
  • 4Understand where and why users drop off in your funnel

What it does

  • Heatmaps (clicks, scroll, movement)
  • Session replays
  • Surveys and feedback widgets
  • Conversion funnels
  • Integration with analytics tools

How much?

Starting at 0

Generous free plan (35 sessions/day), then starting at 32 euros/month for Plus.

The detailed verdict

Do I really need this?

Very useful for conversion optimization, but not critical for everyone. If you have PostHog, you already have replays included and Hotjar becomes redundant. Evaluate based on your existing stack.

Does it play nice with my stack?

Integrates well with GA4, Segment, and major analytics tools. Simple installation with a script to add, or via GTM.

Is it easy to pick up?

Installation in 5 minutes, no complex configuration. Data starts coming in immediately. Zero learning curve.

Is the UX any good?

The interface is clean and intuitive. Heatmap and replay visualization is excellent. It's a pleasure to use, you immediately understand what you're seeing.

Is it worth it?

The free plan with 35 sessions/day is generous for starting and testing. Plus at 32 euros/month is fair for the insights it provides. Watch out for higher plans that quickly rise in price.

What I like

  • Excellent for UX and conversion optimization by understanding user friction
  • Qualitative feedback perfectly complements GA4's quantitative data
  • Session replays reveal what numbers don't show

What I like less

  • Be careful on very high traffic sites as the script can impact performance
  • Useless if you just want quantitative metrics as GA4 is enough
  • Redundant if you already have PostHog which includes replays

Need more details or help building your ideal stack?

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