hotjar vs microsoft-clarity
Hotjar vs Microsoft Clarity — features, pricing, and which to choose for your SEO workflow in 2026.
Quick Verdict
Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity both help SEOs understand how users actually behave on their pages through heatmaps and session recordings. The core question isn't whether to use behavior analytics — it's whether to pay for Hotjar's advanced features or stick with Clarity's completely free offering.
The fundamental difference comes down to depth versus accessibility. Hotjar offers a mature platform with surveys, conversion funnels, and detailed user feedback tools. Microsoft Clarity gives you the essential behavior data with AI-powered insights and unlimited usage — all free. For many SEOs, this choice depends on whether you need Hotjar's advanced user research capabilities or if basic heatmaps and recordings are sufficient.
Feature Comparison
Both platforms deliver the core functionality SEOs need: click heatmaps, scroll maps, and session recordings to identify UX issues that hurt rankings. Hotjar's heatmaps include move heatmaps (where users hover) and provide more granular filtering options by device, traffic source, and custom segments. Clarity's heatmaps focus on clicks and scrolls but include rage click detection and dead click identification out of the box. Where Hotjar pulls ahead is user feedback collection. You get on-site surveys, feedback widgets, and user interview recruitment tools that help understand the "why" behind user behavior. Hotjar's conversion funnel analysis also provides clearer insights into where users drop off during key journeys. Microsoft Clarity counters with AI-powered insights that automatically surface unusual user patterns and potential issues, plus Smart Events that track specific interactions without manual setup. Session recording quality differs significantly. Hotjar's recordings include console logs and network activity, making them more useful for technical debugging. Clarity's recordings load faster and handle high-traffic sites better, but lack the technical depth developers often need for troubleshooting Core Web Vitals issues.
Pricing Comparison
Microsoft Clarity is completely free with unlimited sessions, heatmaps, and data retention. No usage caps, no feature restrictions, no hidden costs. Hotjar starts free for 35 sessions per day, then jumps to $32/month for 100 sessions daily on their Basic plan. Their Business plan at $80/month removes session limits and adds advanced filtering. This pricing gap is massive for high-traffic sites. A site getting 10,000 daily visitors would need Hotjar's Business plan at $960/year, while Clarity handles the same traffic at zero cost. However, Hotjar's paid tiers include features Clarity lacks entirely: surveys, feedback widgets, and interview recruitment that can be worth the premium for conversion optimization projects.
Best For
Hotjar works best for teams doing comprehensive user research and conversion optimization. If you're running A/B tests, need user surveys for content strategy, or want detailed funnel analysis to improve e-commerce performance, Hotjar's advanced features justify the cost. The platform excels when you need to present behavior data to stakeholders or collaborate across marketing teams. Microsoft Clarity is ideal for SEOs who primarily need to identify technical UX issues affecting rankings. If you want to spot slow-loading elements, find broken interactions, or understand scroll behavior without budget constraints, Clarity delivers everything necessary. It's perfect for agencies managing multiple client sites or startups prioritizing free tools.
The Verdict
Choose Microsoft Clarity unless you specifically need Hotjar's advanced user research features. For most SEO use cases — identifying UX problems, understanding user flow, spotting technical issues — Clarity provides identical core functionality at zero cost. Only upgrade to Hotjar if you're doing serious conversion optimization work that requires surveys, feedback collection, or detailed stakeholder reporting.