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Microsoft Clarity

User Behavior

Free heatmaps and session recordings from Microsoft

Overview

Microsoft Clarity is a free user behavior analytics platform that captures heatmaps, session recordings, and user interaction data without the typical enterprise pricing. Launched in 2020 as part of Microsoft's web tools ecosystem, it competes directly with paid solutions like Hotjar and Crazy Egg by offering core behavior tracking features at no cost.

The tool stands out in a market dominated by freemium models and usage-based pricing. While Hotjar limits free users to 35 sessions daily and Crazy Egg starts at $29/month, Clarity provides unlimited sessions for websites of any size. Microsoft's strategy appears focused on data collection and ecosystem integration rather than direct monetization.

Clarity's AI-powered insights automatically identify user experience issues like rage clicking, excessive scrolling, and JavaScript errors. The platform processes behavioral data to highlight pages with high bounce rates or low engagement, making it particularly valuable for content optimizers who need to understand why pages underperform in search results.

Score breakdown

Composite Score

34.6

#3 of 5 in User Behavior#101 of 508 overall

Feature Depth7.0

Ease of Use50.0

Data Quality0.0

Value for Money95.0

Integration45.0

Market Traction19.0

Our review

Microsoft Clarity is a free user behavior analytics tool providing session recordings and heatmaps. It offers Hotjar-like functionality at zero cost, making it the best free option for understanding organic visitor behavior on landing pages.

Pros

✓Completely free with unlimited sessions
✓AI-powered insights for UX issue detection
✓Strong data quality backed by Microsoft infrastructure

Cons

—Limited integration ecosystem
—No API for custom workflows
—Newer player with less proven track record than established competitors

Best for

Small to medium businesses on tight budgetsSEO professionals optimizing Core Web VitalsAgencies managing multiple client sites

Key features

Session Recordings

Replay actual user sessions to see exactly how visitors navigate your pages. Filters help identify specific behavior patterns like rage clicks and dead clicks.

Heatmaps

Click and scroll heatmaps show where users interact most on your pages. Automatically generated for desktop and mobile views without code changes.

Insights Dashboard

AI-powered insights automatically surface issues like excessive scrolling, low click-through rates, and JavaScript errors affecting user experience.

Privacy Compliance

Built-in privacy controls mask sensitive data automatically and comply with GDPR requirements. No personal data is stored or tracked.

Real-time Analytics

Monitor live user activity with real-time session counts, popular pages, and geographic distribution of visitors.

Integration Capabilities

Connects with Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and major CMS platforms through simple tag installation or plugins.

Pricing

Plan	Price	Includes
Free	$0	Unlimited sessions, heatmaps, recordings, up to 10M sessions/month

Price verified 2025-02-01 · USDView vendor pricing

FAQ

Is Microsoft Clarity completely free to use?

Yes, Microsoft Clarity is entirely free with no usage limits, hidden fees, or premium tiers. Microsoft funds it as part of their broader web ecosystem strategy.

How does Microsoft Clarity compare to Hotjar?

Clarity offers similar core features (heatmaps, recordings) but is completely free versus Hotjar's freemium model. Hotjar has more advanced filtering and feedback collection features.

Does Microsoft Clarity slow down website performance?

The tracking script is lightweight and loads asynchronously, typically adding less than 50KB to page load. Performance impact is minimal for most websites.

Can I use Microsoft Clarity with Google Analytics?

Yes, Clarity integrates seamlessly with Google Analytics and doesn't interfere with existing tracking. Many users run both tools simultaneously for comprehensive analytics.

Capabilities

AI Visibility Metrics

—Share of Voice

—Sentiment Analysis

—Citation Tracking

—Source Attribution

—Competitor Tracking

—Position Ranking

✓Trend Tracking

✓Geo/Location Filter

—Content Recommendations

✓Crawler Analytics

—Traffic Attribution

Content & Optimization

—Content Editor

—Content Generation

—Content Briefs

—Content Audit

—Schema Generator

—LLMs.txt Generator

—GEO Scoring

—Site Audit

Entity SEO

—Knowledge Graph Builder

—Entity Extraction

—Entity Linking

—Schema Automation

—Internal Linking

Traditional SEO

—Keyword Rank Tracking

—Local Rank Tracking

—Mobile Rank Tracking

—SERP Features Tracking

—Pixel Position Tracking

—CTR Estimation

—Keyword Cannibalization

—Search Intent Classification

—Keyword Difficulty

—Keyword Research

—SEO Forecasting

—Market Share Analysis

—Historical Ranking Import

—SERP HTML Archive

Technical & Integrations

—API

—Chrome Extension

✓WordPress Plugin

✓JS Library

✓MCP Server

—Open Source

Deployment: cloud

Integrations

Microsoft AdsGoogle AdsGoogle AnalyticsAB TastyKameleoonOptimizelyZapierHubSpotAdobe Experience Platform TagsAITOCAnalyzifyBlue TriangleBubbleClickFunnelsElevarGatsbyGoogle Tag ManagerJoomlaSharePointShopifySoftrSquarespaceUnbounceUserFeedbackVisualSPWebflowWeeblyWixWooCommerceAIOSEO PluginSEOPress Plugin

Social Proof

2M+ sites and apps globally

Notable Customers

Places for PeopleInstacarAllEventsImagelyRobusta

Testimonials

“As a digital marketer, Microsoft Clarity is one of my absolute favorite tools. It's perfect for visualizing data to stakeholders and helps justify why changes need to be made, and it's also incredible easy and intuitive to use too.”
Kieran Singh, Digital Marketing Manager at Places for People

“Clarity is now part of how we make ongoing improvements, with decisions grounded in what users actually do, not just what we assume.”
Dimosthenis Avgeris, Head of Product at Instacar

“Watching real users interact with our platform — in all their scrolls, pauses, rage taps, and exits— helped us identify friction points that numbers alone couldn't surface.”
Paras Makhija, B2C Growth Strategist at AllEvents

How does Microsoft Clarity compare?

vs hotjarCompare →vs crazy-eggCompare →vs fullstoryCompare →vs lucky-orangeCompare →

View all comparisons →

aiseo.is Score

34.6

#3 of 5 in User Behavior

Garrett SmithExpert reviewer

20+ yrs in SEO3+ yrs AI for SEO20K+ campaigns

Review Sentiment

G2★★★★½4.5 Capterra★★★★☆4.8

Overall★★★★½4.7

98 reviews across 2 sources

People love

+Completely free with unlimited session recordings and heatmaps — no traffic caps
+Dead click and rage click detection identifies frustration signals affecting user experience
+Copilot AI integration summarizes behavioral patterns without manual session review

Common complaints

–Only 30 days of data retention — no long-term historical analysis
–No built-in survey or feedback collection tools like Hotjar offers
–Limited filter and segmentation options compared to paid behavior analytics tools

🟠Reddit sentiment

positive

10 threads in PPC, SEO, shopify

Free alternative to paid toolsGood for heat mapping and session recordingsUseful for identifying UX issuesValuable for analyzing user behavior

“Rage clicks are interesting to look at. You can watch how people interact with your...”
r/SEO

“We use Microsoft Clarity for clients and it works well. Being free is a nice bonus. Unless it is a massive site with traffic, I feel most brands...”
r/PPC

🔵𝕏 sentiment

positive

9 posts

Free alternative to HotjarExcellent for rage clicks and user frustration detectionValuable session recordings and heatmaps for UX insightsUseful for e-commerce conversion optimization

“I don't think I'll need Hotjar anymore.”
@Genekursky

“Started using Microsoft Clarity and found: • Rage clicks on non-clickable elements • Users dropping before checkout • Important buttons ignored Sometimes the problem isn't traffic, it's experience.”
@mskamaal63219

Last updated Feb 2026

Quick Facts

CategoryUser Behavior

Starting priceFree

Annual price$0

Pricing modelFreemium

Free tierYes

Founded2020

HQRedmond, WA

StagePublic

Parent co.Microsoft

Websiteclarity.microsoft.com

Target Market

Ideal for

digital marketersproduct managersUX designersweb analystscontent marketersagenciesbloggersFortune 500 companies

Industries

e-commerceSaaSpublishinggeneral web analytics

Market activity

Microsoft Clarity — Microsoft Clarity Introduces AI-Powered Insights Dashboard

Microsoft Clarity launched an AI-powered analytics dashboard that automatically identifies user experience issues and provides actionable recommendations. The update includes advanced heatmap analysis and session replay enhancements powered by machine learning.

2026-01-15