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Hotjar vs PostHog
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Hotjar and PostHog.
| Feature | Hotjar | PostHog |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing Model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes |
| Monthly Cost (Solo) | $0 | $0 |
| Target Audience | startups, creators, small-business | solopreneurs, startups, developers |
| Verified | No | Yes |
| Solo-Friendly | Yes | Yes |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Editorial Rating | 4.2/5 | 4.4/5 |
| Categories | Analytics, Marketing | Analytics, Developer Tools |
| Key Features | Heatmaps (click, scroll, move), Session recordings, Feedback surveys, User interviews, Funnel analysis | Product analytics, Session replay, Feature flags, A/B testing, Surveys |
| Free Tier Quality | good | excellent |
Pricing Breakdown
Hotjar
Basic (Free): 35 daily sessions, unlimited heatmaps. Plus: $39/month (100 sessions). Business: $99/month (500 sessions). Scale: $213/month (unlimited).
PostHog
Free: 1M events/month, 5K recordings. Usage-based: $0.000045/event beyond free. Self-hosted: free (open source). No per-seat pricing.
Integration Overlap
Shared Integrations (3)
Only in Hotjar (7)
Only in PostHog (7)
Use Case Fit
Overlapping Use Cases (1)
Hotjar
- * Website heatmap analysis
- * User feedback collection
- * Conversion rate optimization
- * UX research and usability testing
PostHog
- * Product usage analytics
- * Feature flags and rollouts
- * A/B testing and experimentation
- * User surveys and feedback
Hotjar
Pros
- + Generous free tier (35 daily sessions)
- + Visual insights beyond numbers
- + Easy to install (one script tag)
- + Feedback and survey tools included
Cons
- - Session recordings can feel voyeuristic
- - Limited integration options
- - Sampling on free tier misses data
- - GDPR compliance requires careful setup
PostHog
Pros
- + All-in-one product analytics
- + Generous free tier (1M events/mo)
- + Open source and self-hostable
- + Session replay included
Cons
- - UI less polished than Amplitude
- - Learning curve
- - Self-hosting requires resources
Editorial Verdict
PostHog takes the lead for solo founders — it offers better value and is explicitly solo-friendly. Hotjar may still be the right pick if you need deep Analytics features or plan to scale to a larger team.
Sarah Chen
Editor-in-Chief