Hotjar is a platform offering website analytics and user feedback tools. It comprises three core products: Observe, Ask, and Engage, each with varying pricing structures dependent on usage levels. The platform caters to website owners, marketers, and UX/UI professionals seeking to understand user behavior and gather direct feedback. The pricing model can be complex, particularly for agencies or businesses managing multiple websites, as costs scale with increased usage of each product.
Understanding Hotjar’s Product Offerings
Hotjar’s functionality is divided into three primary products. Observe focuses on understanding user behavior through session recordings and heatmaps, allowing visualization of how users interact with a website. Ask centers on collecting user feedback via surveys, enabling direct insights from website visitors. Engage is designed for recruiting users for testing, streamlining the process of connecting with individuals for validation of hypotheses and prototypes. Each product is independently priced and scaled.
Observe Pricing Details
The cost of the Observe product, which provides heatmaps and session recordings, is tiered based on the number of sessions recorded daily. The Basic plan offers 35 sessions per day. The Plus plan increases this to 100 sessions daily. The Business plan begins at 500 sessions per day, with pricing increasing to €9,448 per month for 270,000 daily sessions. A Scale plan provides unlimited sessions, with pricing not publicly available. One source indicates a Plus plan cost of €32 per month, while another states $213 per month. The Business plan is listed at €80 per month, potentially scaling upwards.
Ask Pricing Details
The Ask product, focused on surveys and feedback collection, also utilizes a tiered pricing structure based on the number of responses collected monthly. The Basic plan allows for up to 20 monthly responses. The Plus plan provides 250 responses for €48 per month. The Business plan offers 500 responses for €64 per month, and the Scale plan provides access for more detailed feedback collection for €128 per month. One source states the Ask plan costs $159 per month.
Engage Pricing Details
The Engage product, designed for user interviews, has a different pricing model. Pricing starts at $550 per month, but requires direct contact with the sales team for a customized quote. Specific details regarding session limits or features within the Engage product are not publicly available.
Overall Cost Considerations
Combining all three products, a user can access 500 daily sessions, 500 monthly survey responses, 240 interviews, and user tests per year for a total of $922 per month. The source materials present conflicting guidance on the exact monthly costs for each product. The pricing structure is described as fragmented, requiring separate subscriptions for each product, which can increase overall expenses.
Annual Billing Discounts
Hotjar offers a discount for annual billing. Paying yearly saves 20% on all plans. This discount can help reduce costs, but the pricing structure remains complex, particularly for users needing multiple products.
Pros and Cons of Hotjar Pricing
The platform offers flexible plans, allowing users to choose tiers for Observe, Ask, and Engage based on their needs. The annual discount provides cost savings. However, the fragmented pricing—requiring separate subscriptions for each product—can be expensive. Costs can exceed €9,500 per month for large-scale use. The Basic plan is considered limited, with some users finding it almost unusable due to its restrictions compared to paid tiers.
Hotjar Alternatives
UXtweak is presented as a potential alternative to Hotjar.
Conclusion
Hotjar provides a suite of tools for website analytics and user feedback, with pricing structured around three core products: Observe, Ask, and Engage. Costs vary based on usage levels, with tiered plans for sessions, responses, and interviews. The pricing model can be complex and potentially expensive, particularly for businesses requiring extensive usage across all products. An annual billing discount is available. Users should carefully evaluate their needs and compare Hotjar’s offerings with alternatives like UXtweak.
Sources
- https://bensexperience.com/hotjar-pricing/
- https://livesession.io/blog/how-much-does-hotjar-cost
- https://alternatives.co/software/hotjar/pricing/
- https://blog.uxtweak.com/hotjar-pricing/