Hotjar vs PostHog
Hotjar focused on heatmaps and session recordings and does them really well. PostHog built an entire product analytics suite - analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, and more - and made it open source. They started from different places and now overlap significantly.
Updated 2025-01-15 · 2026
Hotjar
Heatmaps and session recordings to understand user behavior
Strengths
- +Heatmaps are best-in-class - click, scroll, move tracking
- +Session recordings are smooth and easy to filter
- +Feedback widgets and surveys built right in
Weaknesses
- -$39/mo for 100 daily sessions - volume caps feel tight
- -No product analytics - can't do funnels or retention analysis
- -No feature flags or A/B testing
Best for
UX teams and marketers who want to visualize exactly how users interact with their site through heatmaps and recordings.
PostHog
Open-source product analytics suite with session replay, feature flags, and more
Strengths
- +All-in-one: analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B tests, surveys
- +Generous free tier - 1M events, 5K sessions, 1M flag requests per month
- +Open source and self-hostable
Weaknesses
- -Heatmaps are newer and not as mature as Hotjar's
- -More complex to set up and configure properly
- -Can be overwhelming - lots of features to learn
Best for
Product and engineering teams who want analytics, session replay, and experimentation in one open-source platform.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ||
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39/mo (Plus) | Free up to generous limits |
| Heatmaps | Yes - click, scroll, move maps | Yes (newer, still maturing) |
| Session recordings | Yes, 100/day on Plus | Yes, 5,000/mo free |
| Product analytics | No | Yes - funnels, retention, paths, trends |
| Feature flags | No | Yes, 1M requests/mo free |
| A/B testing | No | Yes, built-in |
| Surveys | Yes, built-in | Yes, built-in |
| Feedback widgets | Yes | Yes (via surveys) |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes |
| Event tracking | Limited to recordings context | Full event analytics with autocapture |
| Data warehouse | No | Yes, query your data directly |
| Setup complexity | Low - add script, done | Moderate - more configuration needed |
The Verdict
PostHog gives you dramatically more functionality than Hotjar at a lower price point. Product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, and surveys - all in one platform with a generous free tier. Hotjar's remaining advantage is focused: if all you want is beautiful heatmaps and clean session recordings with zero setup friction, Hotjar still does that specific thing better. But for most product teams, paying $39/mo for just heatmaps and recordings when PostHog offers the full analytics toolkit for free doesn't make financial sense. PostHog is the better value unless heatmaps are literally your only need.