7 Best Hotjar Alternatives To Try Today

Analytics is essential for SaaS companies, and that’s only part of the reason why choosing the right analytics tools is imperative. Analytics tools can help you identify trends and patterns in user behavior, understand which marketing channels drive revenue, and even identify what kind of content resonates the most with users.

Hotjar is one such analytics tool that you might have heard about. Hotjar allows businesses to dive deeper into their website visitors’ online behavior, helping them improve the user experience and increase conversion rates.

However, there are several Hotjar alternatives that can help you achieve far more than that. For instance, certain tools can help you unify data from various areas in order to get the complete picture of what your users are looking for and what makes them more likely to continue doing business with you.

In this article, I’ll be talking about a few of these Hotjar alternatives along with their features, integrations, and pricing information so that you can make an informed decision.

Why should you look for a Hotjar Alternative?

Hotjar is an extremely popular tool in the SaaS space. Today over 900,000 websites including Decathlon, Microsoft, and Panasonic use Hotjar to optimize the customer journey. That said, there are still quite a few limitations that force companies to look for Hotjar alternatives.

Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why users are looking for alternatives to Hotjar.

Hotjar does not offer detailed suggestions for improvement 

Hotjar provides its users with a recording of visitors. Oftentimes, this is not enough for SaaS companies looking to improve a certain aspect of website or interested in offering a more enhanced customer experience.

Automation is not possible

Hotjar’s UI can be a little buggy at times and does not support automation.

Hotjar affects page load speeds

Watching a session replay takes a long time and the script can reduce page load speeds.

Hotjar Pricing

Hotjar offers four packages that users can choose according to their budget and needs.

The Business and Scale versions of these packages are open to customization according to your usage needs.

The Basic plan is available for free but offers a very narrow feature pool.

It is not a package that companies can use continuously in a professional sense, but it can help you understand the tool’s basic features. There is also no time limit for this plan.

The Plus package offers opportunities that may be sufficient for small teams. This is essentially a package built on top of the Basic plan by adding features that make the tool better suited to small teams with low budgets looking to use the tool in a professional capacity.

The Business and Scale packages, on the other hand, offer additional usage and reporting options required by medium-large businesses.

Not suitable for all teams

A clear understanding of an analytics tool and its features is essential for SaaS companies. Many reviews and user feedbacks show that users are having a hard time understanding which capabilities or packages will be sufficient for them.

Hotjar does data sampling

Hotjar doesn’t track all your visitors’ sessions & actions because of data sampling.

HockeyStack

HockeyStack is an end-to-end analytics tool for SaaS companies. It unifies marketing, revenue, sales, and product data into one dashboard with no code so that you can understand what drives revenue at your SaaS. It’s entirely no code, and it doesn’t require any setup.

HockeyStack has everything you need in a Hotjar alternative, including surveys.

HockeyStack’s Features

Custom Dashboards

You can create any dashboard you want with all the metrics you can think of.

You can connect marketing analytics with product analytics to measure each blog post’s effect on revenue:

Revenue with product analytics to understand feature usage by plan:

Measure churn by blog post:

Get a step-by-step user journey:

Other than custom dashboards, HockeyStack also offers:

• Step-by-step user journey
• Funnels and goals
• Insights
• Surveys
• Revenue analytics
• Segments

and more with no setup & no code.

HockeyStack Pricing

HockeyStack has a free forever plan and three paid plans. Paid plans have a 14-day trial with a 30-day refund guarantee.

You can check out the pricing page here.

HockeyStack Integrations

• Paddle
• Stripe
• Hubspot
• Pipedrive
• Mailchimp
• Intercom
• Chameleon
• Crisp
• Salesforce (coming soon)
• Zapier (coming soon)

HockeyStack Pros and Cons

HockeyStack Pros

The unique benefit of HockeyStack is its ability to unify your marketing, revenue, sales, web analytics, and product data using no code. This allows you to uncover unique insights that you wouldn’t be able to by using multiple tools because they cause fragmented data.

1. You can integrate with Stripe, Paddle, and Hubspot and build every single dashboard that you can think of, using all sales, marketing, revenue, and product metrics.
2. You can create funnels, goals, and surveys, which are rare to get with other tools on this list.
3. You don’t need any developers, tracking is cookieless, and the script is small, so it doesn’t increase your site loading time.

HockeyStack Cons

HockeyStack generally lacks reporting features, not focusing on agencies and other reporting-based businesses.

1. The tool lacks some integrations, such as Salesforce and Zapier. (which are on the roadmap)

Google Analytics vs Hotjar

Google Analytics is the most popular web analytics platform. It is offered as a service of Google Marketing Brand. Google Analytics tracks and analyzes different marketing metrics and then provides relevant reports.

Main features of Google Analytics

• Campaign Measurement: Traffic.
• Track your Goals: conversion rates & user activity.
• Audience reports: Know your users.
• Flow visualization: Follow every step.
• Custom reports: Analytics data, made to order.

Integrations of Google Analytics

1. CRMs
2. CallRail
3. DoubleClick DCM
4. Shopify
5. Zendesk
6. Facebook
7. Marketo

Pros of Google Analytics

Strong Integrations

Since Google is offering it, it is easy to guess it comes with numerous integrations.

Detailed Demographics

Google Analytics offers its users detailed statistical reports.

Detailed Traffic Analysis

Google Analytics shows where your website traffic comes from, and it allows you to segment your users for better and more specific analysis.

Cons of Google Analytics

Custom build is difficult

Customizing reports and analyses are hard to understand.

It has a hard-to-understand user interface

Most Google Analytics reviews complain about the complexity of UI and state the need for a cheat sheet of some sort.

Pricing of Google Analytics

Google Analytics offers two different pricing models. A standard version is a free tool for a lifetime; however, if you need more sophisticated tools, you might need to upgrade to the paid version, Google Analytics 360.

Screenshotted from analytics.google.com

Crazy Egg vs Hotjar

Crazy Egg was launched as a SaaS product in 2006. Neil Patel and Hiten Shah founded it. Its foundation is way earlier than Hotjar’s. It was one of the first testing tools for SaaS companies.

SaaS companies use Crazy Egg for tracking and evaluating user actions improving conversion rates.

Main features of Crazy Egg

• Heatmaps
• Snapshots
• A/B testing
• Scrollmap
• Overlay

Integrations of Crazy Egg

1. Optimizely
2. WordPress
3. Google Tag Manager
4. Shopify
5. Wix
6. Drupal
7. Magento

Pros of Crazy Egg

Good Visuals

Website visitors’ user behavior is visualized understandably.

Enhanced User Experience

Crazy Egg is easy to implement and clear to understand with its visual reporting tools and quick setup.

Perfect and Exact Understanding of User Behaviour

Crazy Egg provides its user with recordings of website visitors’ interactions. These recordings show the definitive user behaviors.

Cons of Crazy Egg

Lack of Customer Support

Crazy Egg offers its users many features; however, its support team is not enough for test ideas and full utilization of its tools.

Better for Long-term Use

Crazy Egg comes with a month-to-month plan. Due to this nature, the collection of statistical data takes 30+ days. As a result, it is needed to be used for multiple months to take actions based on data.

Pricing of Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg offers a 30 day free trial for its users. Other than that, it comes with five different payment plans. Prices for regular plans vary between 24 dollars/month and 249 dollars/ month. You can select among these options based on your SaaS company’s needs. Crazy Egg also offers its users building a plan based on specific needs.

Screenshotted from CrazyEgg.com

Smartlook vs Hotjar

Founded in 2016 by Petr Janošík, Smartlook is a cloud-based analytics solution for SaaS companies. Its most significant difference from Hotjar is mobile-based, which gives it more flexibility. 

Smartlook helps businesses understand user behavior and answer “what” and “why” questions behind every interaction. 

By answering these two questions, Smartlook gives insight into customer behavior with its numerous features.

Main features of Smartlook

• Additional recording information using API
• Filters and Segments
• Sharing recordings
• Heatmaps
• Funnels in Smartlook

Integrations of Smartlook

1. Google Analytics
2. Slack
3. Zapier
4. Integromat
5. Zendesk
6. Intercom
7. Piwik PRO

Pros of Smartlook

Understandable Dashboard

Smartlook offers its user a variety of understandable and aesthetic dashboards, including the main insight a SaaS company might need.

Further Understanding of User Behaviour

It allows you to filter. You can filter specific behaviors such as Rage Click. This feature helps the SaaS companies further improve the under-developed parts or pages of their website.

It supports mobile apps

Smartlook’s mobile app support gives its users more flexibility over their work and increases its adaptation to today’s highly mobile world.

Cons of Smartlook

Not ideal for long-term use

Many users do not see a need to use Smartlook regularly. Reviews show that once the landing pages are optimized based on the findings of Smartlook, it is not helpful until further development or optimization.

Not the best tool for integrations

If integrations are essential to you and you are on a tight budget limit, Smartlook is not the app for you because most app integrations are offered as a paid service.

Pricing of Smartlook

Smartlook offers its users four different options. The first one is free and only for personal use. Then comes Startup and Business editions. The last and most expensive one is the Ultimate option which can be tailored and customized for the specific needs of different SaaS companies. SaaS companies choose between these options based on the bigness of their data and website traffic.

Screenshotted from Smartlook.com

Lucky Orange vs Hotjar

Similar to Hotjar, Lucky Orange is a service provider and data processor. It focuses on providing data based on customer behavior.

Lucky Orange gathers and delivers customer data to its users primarily via Heatmaps and Recordings. Lucky Orange allows its users to interact with website visitors for an enhanced UX. Users of Lucky Orange can also utilize its tools to track website visitors in real-time.

Main features of Lucky Orange

• Session Recordings
• Dynamic Heatmaps
• Live Chat
• Dashboard Insights
• Conversion Funnels

Integrations of Lucky Orange

1. Adobe DTM
2. Big Cartel
3. Bigcommerce
4. Blogger
5. Custom Data
6. Drupal
7. Ecwid

Pros of Lucky Orange

Perfectly Understandable Interface

Lucky Orange comes with an excellent visual and comprehensive interface. With such an enhanced and understandable interface, users can focus on their work.

Live Chat Feature

The most distinguishing feature of Lucky Orange is that it offers a live chat feature. Hotjar or any other analytics tool has this feature, so this is one of the strengths of Lucky Orange.

Feasible and Integratable

I have read many reviews on Lucky Orange, and there were numerous reviews on how it helped digital marketers from different areas with its various integrations.

Cons of Lucky Orange

Pricing 

Lucky Orange offers a free plan, and other plans are cheaper than its competitors; however, what these plans offer would not be enough for most SaaS companies. Therefore they might have to upgrade for more expensive options.

Lack of Sophisticated Tools

Lucky Orange users complain about the lack of sophistication in the feature set.

Pricing of Lucky Orange

Lucky Orange offers its user a free trial for seven days and a free plan with minimal data retention. Despite this fact, Lucky Orange is cheaper than most of its competitors, including Hotjar. Lucky Orange’s plans are not based on sessions but pageviews. 

Lucky Orange subscribers can save 10% for yearly subscriptions and 30% for two-year subscriptions.

Screenshotted from luckyorange.com

Mouseflow vs Hotjar

Mouseflow is an analytics platform focusing on user behavior. More than 165.000 clients use Mouseflow. These clients vary from startups to enterprises most famous ones are Deloitte and Dyson.

You can use Moseflow features to decrease your churn rates and set up funnels to see which stage your customers drop.

Main features of Mouseflow

• Heatmaps
• Session Replay
• Conversion Funnels
• Form Analytics
• User Feedback

Integrations of Mouseflow

1. HTML
2. WordPress
3. Drupal
4. Joomla
5. 3dcart
6. Magento
7. PrestaShop

Pros of Mouseflow

Easy to Use

Mouseflow is a user-friendly tool. Its initial configuration is easy, and application of its features such as heatmaps.

Responsive Customer Service Team

Mouseflow is easy to use, but users can face several issues with any tool despite that. In such a case, customer service needs to solve the problems. When a responsive customer service team and simplexity of tool are combined, you end up with a customer-friendly tool.

Ability to run A/B tests

Mouseflow can run A/B tests in heatmaps, which is very important for SaaS companies, and user reviews show it is successful in that aspect.

Cons of Mouseflow

Addition of New Features

Mouseflows added new features like funnel builders and form creators in the last few years. These new additions worry the loyal users that Mousefow will lose its superiority on heatmaps configuration.

User Experience on Mobile Devices

Even if Mouseflow works perfectly on computers, when used on mobile devices, users can face some issues that indicate a lack of optimization for mobile use.

Pricing of Mouseflow

Mouseflow offers its users a free version that only allows them to view 500 recordings per month. When users select a more expensive option, the tools they can use do not change, but the number of recordings they can achieve increases. 

Screenshotted from mouseflow.com

Clicky vs Hotjar

Clicky is a web analytics tool that enables its users to see and review the details about their website traffic. While doing this, Clicky does not only focus on real-time or historical data. It gives a complete overview of website traffic by combining these two data types.

Main features of Clicky

• Individual user tracking
• Action-based alerts
• Video analytics tracking
• An on-site widget
• Heatmaps

Integrations of Clicky

1. WordPress
2. Shopify
3. Squarespace
4. Microsoft SharePoint
5. Weebly
6. GoDaddy Website Builder

Pros of Clicky

Easy Configuration

 Clicky is an easy tool for SaaS marketers. Even if it requires some basic knowledge, you or your marketing department do not need to have in-depth knowledge to use Clicky.

Real-time reporting

One of the critical features of Clicky is real-time reports. With its real-time reports, Clicky allows its users to have access to up-to-date information and, as a result, facilitate the decision-making process.

Supports mobile devices

Clicky can be used on mobile devices, and this quality separates it from its main competitors.

Cons of Clicky

Reports are Offered for Limited Periods

Clicky is good at reporting in general, but when it comes to reviewing those reports, it is not the best tool. Since reports are available for limited periods, it isn’t easy to see a yearly overview of your website.

Not as widely used as Google Analytics and Hotjar

Even if Clicky is a popular tool, it is not as famous as the pioneers of analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Hotjar. As a result, it is possible to see some integration problems with specific tools.

Pricing of Clicky

 Clicky offers its users a free version for unlimited time but limited features. In addition to the free version, it comes with four different pricing options with varying features.

Screenshotted from clicky.com

Optimizely vs Hotjar

Optimizely is a digital experience platform SaaS. Episerver acquired Optimizely in 2020. 

Optimizely offers six different products Digital Experience Platform, Content Cloud, Commerce Cloud, Intelligence Cloud, Full Stack, and CDP.

Optimizely is being used globally and by its 9000+ customers. The most famous of these customers are Dolby, New Era, PizzaHut, etc. 

Optimizely is a successful tool that returns favorable outcomes. The best example of Optimizely’s success is its collaboration with Mazda. After Mazda started using Optimizely, user engagement on its website increased by 200% and gained 5m+ unique visitors in the first two months.

Main features of Optimizely

• Feature Flags
• Random Rollouts
• A/B Testing
• Content Management
• Authoring Layout

Integrations of Optimizely

1. Adobe Analytics.
2. Adobe Audience Manager.
3. Asana.
4. BlueKai.
5. Contentsquare.
6. Demandbase.
7. Google AdWords.

Pros of Optimizely

Ability to run multiple tests simultaneously

Optimizely allows its users to run more than one experiment, which improves time management.

User-friendly

Optimizely comes with a perfectly understandable user interface. Anybody with some basic knowledge can use it without coding.

API (Application Programming Interface)

Optimizely allows two applications to talk to each other with API.

Cons of Optimizely

Audience Targeting

Reviews show that audience targeting does not always match with internal source data on groups when identified in the same way.

Confusing experiment outcomes

Since Optimizely can run multiple experiments simultaneously, it cannot be obvious to understand which experiment gives the incremental gains.

Pricing of Optimizely

You can see the pricing options of Optimizely here.

Zoho PageSense vs Hotjar

Zoho PageSense is used to understand user integration on your website. Clicks to scrolls can track any action of your users from clicks to scrolls.

Main features of Zoho PageSense

• A/B Tests
• Heatmaps
• Funnel Analysis
• Chrome Extension
• Report Sharing

Integrations of Zoho PageSense

1. Google Tag Manager
2. Google Analytics
3. Mixpanel
4. Intercom
5. Zoho Sites

Pros of Zoho PageSense

Includes all the necessary tools

Zoho PageSense has all the features that are expected from an optimization tool.

Close Monitoring of Users

With Zoho PageSense’s easy use, SaaS companies can track their website visitors with comprehensive tools and inclusive features.

Highly Detailed

Users can obtain large amounts of detail from Zoho PageSense.

Cons of Zoho PageSense

It is a bit pricey

Even if it provides valuable insights, it is difficult to afford for small businesses.

 Unsatisfactory Customer Service Team

Despite its high price, it fails to provide a strong customer service team.

Pricing of Zoho PageSense

Zoho PageSense offers a 15-day free trial. If you subscribe yearly, you can get a discount of 20%. After the free trial, users can select between three different pricing options.

Screenshotted from zoho.com

Conclusion

In conclusion, SaaS marketing is highly overarching. Therefore SaaS companies might need very different tools and features to meet their needs. 

In this article, I listed some of the Hotjar alternatives. In the end, you should choose the tool which best suits your needs and is in your price range.

If these do not satisfy your needs, you should check out HockeyStack.

FAQ