Heap vs Hotjar in 2026: Quantitative autocapture analytics vs qualitative heatmaps and session replay, now under the same parent
Both were acquired by Contentsquare, but they still answer different questions: Heap tells you what users did and why it matters statistically, Hotjar shows you the session so you can watch it happen.
Heap
Hotjar- Both tools are now owned by Contentsquare, and both ship a shared AI layer: Heap has Sense Chat, Hotjar has Sense AI, and both are converging toward a unified platform roadmap.
- Heap's free tier caps at 10,000 monthly sessions with 6 months of data history. Hotjar's free tier is far more generous at 200,000 monthly sessions, though with more limited session replay retention.
- Heap autocaptures and retroactively defines events for quantitative funnel and journey analysis; Hotjar's core strength is heatmaps, session replay, and survey feedback for qualitative behavior understanding.
- Hotjar has an MCP connector on every plan, including free, letting teams query behavioral data from Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot. Heap does not list an equivalent MCP integration.
- Heap's Growth, Pro, and Premier plans all require a sales conversation with no published pricing. Hotjar publishes a starting price of €39/month for Growth, with Scale and Enterprise as contact-sales tiers.
- Heap has native iOS and Android SDKs for mobile autocapture. Hotjar's feature set as documented is focused on web and SPA tracking rather than native mobile apps.
Heap and Hotjar are now sibling products under Contentsquare, which makes this comparison less about picking a winner and more about understanding what each one is actually for. Heap autocaptures every interaction and lets you define events retroactively, then uses Heap Illuminate to statistically surface which behaviors correlate with conversion and retention. Hotjar is built around watching and asking: heatmaps and session replay show exactly where users click and scroll, and its survey tools let you ask them why in the same platform. Heap's pricing beyond the free tier requires a sales conversation on every paid plan; Hotjar has a transparent Growth tier starting at €39/month. If you need statistical rigor on product behavior, Heap wins. If you need to see and understand a session in minutes with no developer setup, Hotjar wins.
The tools at a glance
Heap
Autocapture product analytics that records every user interaction automatically, so you never miss data from before you knew what to track.
Heap's defining idea is autocapture: a single script records every click, pageview, and form interaction from day one, and you define which events matter retroactively rather than planning a tracking taxonomy in advance. This solves the recurring product analytics problem where a team wishes it had tracked something six months ago and simply cannot, because manual instrumentation tools like Mixpanel and Amplitude only have data for events someone explicitly coded.
Heap Illuminate adds a data science layer on top of that captured data, automatically surfacing which user behaviors correlate most strongly with conversion or retention rather than requiring an analyst to hypothesize a funnel first. Combined with over 100 integrations and native mobile SDKs, it is built for teams that want statistically grounded answers about product behavior at scale.
The friction point is pricing transparency. Free caps at 10,000 monthly sessions and 6 months of history, and every paid tier above that (Growth, Pro, Premier) requires talking to sales before you see a number, which slows down evaluation for teams comparing options on a deadline.
| Feature | Free $0 | Growth Contact sales | Pro Contact sales | Premier Contact sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly sessions | Up to 10k | Custom | Custom | Custom |
| Autocapture and retroactive events | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sense AI assistant | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Session replay / heatmaps | No | No | Add-on | Add-on |
| Data warehouse sync | No | No | Add-on | Yes |
Hotjar
Heatmaps, session replay, and user feedback tools that show you what happens on your site and why.
Hotjar is the fastest path to qualitative behavioral data on a website: a snippet-based setup that takes under 10 minutes generates heatmaps and session recordings with no developer sprint required. It has been used on over 1.3 million websites, and the free tier covering 200,000 monthly sessions is genuinely usable rather than a crippled trial.
What sets Hotjar apart from a pure quantitative tool is that surveys and feedback widgets live in the same platform as the replay and heatmap data, so a team can watch a confusing session and immediately follow up by asking real users why they behaved that way. The MCP connector, available even on the free plan, lets teams query Contentsquare data in natural language from Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot.
Since the Contentsquare acquisition, pricing has moved to the Contentsquare pricing page and the roadmap is shifting upmarket, with journey analysis, impact quantification, and zone-based heatmaps gated behind the Growth tier and above. Funnel analysis remains page-level rather than event-level on lower tiers, which is simpler to set up but less granular than a dedicated product analytics tool.
| Feature | Free €0/mo | Growth From €39/mo | Scale Contact sales | Enterprise Contact sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly sessions | 200,000 | From 7,000 (custom) | Custom | Custom |
| Replays and heatmaps | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MCP connector (LLM access) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Journey analysis | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Data access (sessions) | Limited | 13 months | Custom | Custom |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Heap | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | €0/mo |
| Free tier limit | 10,000 monthly sessions | 200,000 monthly sessions |
| Autocapture (no event planning) | Yes | No (heatmap/replay based, not event autocapture) |
| Session replay and heatmaps | Add-on (Pro/Premier only) | Yes, included from free tier |
| Surveys and feedback widgets | No | Yes, included from free tier |
| AI assistant (Sense) | Yes (Sense Chat) | Yes (Sense AI) |
| MCP / LLM connector | Not listed | Yes, including free plan |
| Data warehouse sync | Yes (Heap Connect, add-on/included on Premier) | Not listed |
| Native mobile SDKs | Yes (iOS and Android) | Not listed |
| Pricing transparency above free tier | No, all paid tiers require sales contact | Yes, Growth tier published at €39/mo |
Which should you choose?
HeapHotjarHotjarHeapHotjarHeapSince both tools now sit under Contentsquare, the real question is not which company to trust but which analytical approach fits your immediate need. Heap is quantitative first: it captures everything and lets data science surface what matters. Hotjar is qualitative first: it shows you the session and lets you ask the user directly. Many teams that use one eventually want the other, which is likely why Contentsquare is converging the roadmap rather than keeping them fully separate.
Bottom line
Choose Heap if your priority is retroactive, statistically grounded product analytics and you are willing to go through a sales conversation for paid tiers. Choose Hotjar if you want heatmaps, session replay, and survey feedback running within 10 minutes at a published starting price, and you value the MCP connector for querying data from an AI assistant on day one.
Frequently asked questions
Are Heap and Hotjar the same company now?
Both Heap and Hotjar were acquired by Contentsquare, Heap in 2023 alongside Hotjar, and the two products are converging toward a shared platform with common AI tooling (Sense). They still operate as distinct products with different core strengths: Heap for quantitative autocapture analytics, Hotjar for qualitative heatmaps and session replay.
Can I get session replay and heatmaps on Heap without also paying for Hotjar?
Yes, but only as an add-on. Session replay and heatmaps are available on Heap's Pro and Premier plans as add-ons rather than included features, whereas Hotjar includes replay and heatmaps starting on its free tier. If replay and heatmaps are your primary need, Hotjar is the more direct and cheaper path to that specific capability.
Which tool is better for a team with no dedicated data analyst?
Hotjar is the easier starting point for teams without a dedicated analyst, since heatmaps and session replay require no event planning or query building to get useful answers. Heap's autocapture also requires no planning to collect data, but getting full value from Heap Illuminate and retroactive event definitions benefits from someone comfortable interpreting statistical correlation data.
Does either tool publish pricing without needing to talk to sales?
Hotjar publishes a starting price of €39 per month for its Growth tier, with Scale and Enterprise requiring a sales conversation. Heap requires contacting sales for every tier above its free plan, including Growth, making Hotjar the more transparent option for teams evaluating on a deadline.
Is the MCP connector on Hotjar actually useful for day-to-day analytics work?
Yes, the MCP connector lets teams query Contentsquare behavioral data in natural language directly from Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot, which removes the step of building a dashboard or report just to answer a quick question. It is available even on Hotjar's free plan, and Heap does not list an equivalent connector in its current feature set.