Hotjar alternatives: 8 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Hotjar: no longer a standalone product, and plans and interface now follow Contentsquare's roadmap. We ranked 8 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Hotjar, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Microsoft Clarity currently ranks first.

Hotjar has been acquired. Merged into Contentsquare; hotjar.com now leads to Contentsquare's platform and plans.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Matomo	Open source	Yes	Web, Self-hosted, iOS +1	5 of 5	38.6

1. MatomoTop pick
Best for: Organisations that want GA-level depth with full data ownership
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
38.6
score / 100
Why switch from Hotjar
Open-source analytics with heatmap and recording plugins, self-hostable.
Pros
Free to self-host with full data ownership
No data sampling and unlimited retention
Very wide feature set, including ecommerce and funnels
Cons
Interface feels dated and crowded
Self-hosting large sites needs tuning
Heatmaps, recordings and other extras are paid plugins
Visit Matomo Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.37
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.1585
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Matomo a good Hotjar alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Data sampling
None
Checked Oct 25, 2026matomo.org(opens source in a new tab)
Cloud free trial
Yes, no credit card
Checked Oct 25, 2026matomo.org(opens source in a new tab)
Report data retention
Forever (Cloud)
Checked Oct 25, 2026matomo.org(opens source in a new tab)
Users
1 million organisations
Checked Oct 25, 2026matomo.org(opens source in a new tab)
License
GPL-3.0
Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab)

The best Hotjar alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Best Hotjar alternative for most people

Microsoft Clarity

Completely free heatmaps and recordings with no traffic limits.

Best Hotjar alternative for a free option

OpenReplay

Self-hosted replay if you want recordings to stay on your servers.

Best Hotjar alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

Contentsquare

Where Hotjar's features now live, with the same free tier.

Best Hotjar alternative for open source

PostHog

Replay and heatmaps alongside product analytics, with a free allowance.

Best Hotjar alternative for self-hosting

Matomo

Open-source analytics with heatmap and recording plugins, self-hostable.

Best Hotjar alternative for iPhone and Android

Matomo

Open-source analytics with heatmap and recording plugins, self-hostable.

Best Hotjar alternative for working in the browser

Mouseflow

Independent heatmaps, recordings and funnels with a free plan.

Hotjar alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Hotjar?

Microsoft Clarity ranks first right now. Completely free heatmaps and recordings with no traffic limits. Contentsquare and Mouseflow follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Hotjar?

Yes. Microsoft Clarity (free), Contentsquare (free plan + paid), Mouseflow (free plan + paid) and PostHog (free plan + paid) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Hotjar?

Yes: PostHog, OpenReplay and Matomo. PostHog, OpenReplay and Matomo can also be self-hosted.

Why do people switch from Hotjar?

The complaints we hear most: no longer a standalone product; plans and interface now follow Contentsquare's roadmap.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Hotjar, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.