Best Hotjar Alternatives for SaaS Startups in 2025

I used Hotjar for my early SaaS product to watch how users clicked and scrolled. It was magical for seeing […]

I used Hotjar for my early SaaS product to watch how users clicked and scrolled. It was magical for seeing friction points. But as we scaled—adding more complex flows, mobile screens, multi-step funnels—I felt Hotjar’s limits bite me. Data got stale, cross-device views were weak, and integrating feedback with behavior was messy.

So if you’re sitting there, Googling Hotjar Alternatives, you’re not alone. Many founders hit the same wall. You want session replays, heatmaps, click tracking, funnel insights  maybe even AI-driven insights  but you don’t want to rebuild from scratch.

Here’s the deal: every alternative has trade-offs. What works best depends on your product, team, and scale. In this article, I’ll walk you through the top Hotjar alternatives for 2025, compare their strengths/weaknesses, and help you pick the one that fits your SaaS startup’s growth stage.

Also Read: Best Fathom Alternatives for SaaS Startups

What to Look for in a Hotjar Alternative

Before I jump into the tools, here’s a mini checklist I use when evaluating behavior analytics and session-replay products. Keep this list in your back pocket as you compare options.

Core features

Essential capabilities that most teams rely on to understand behavior.

  • 1Session replay / recordings
  • 2Heatmaps (click, move, scroll)
  • 3Scroll maps & click maps
  • 4Form analytics (drop-offs & errors)

Event-level & funnel tracking

Make sure you can measure flows, conversion funnels, and where users drop off.

  • 5Custom events and funnels
  • 6Path analysis & conversion cohorts

Mobile / cross-device support

Unified behavior across screens is crucial if you have web + mobile users.

  • 7Mobile SDKs for native apps
  • 8Cross-device session stitching

Feedback & surveys

Link qualitative feedback with quantitative behavior to know the “why”.

  • 9In-page surveys & microsurveys
  • 10Feedback widgets and NPS

Scalability & data storage

Understand session limits, sampling behavior, and export options.

  • 11Session retention & export
  • 12Server-side ingestion & large-scale pipelines

Privacy & compliance

Key for GDPR, CCPA, and enterprise customers who demand stricter controls.

  • 13IP anonymization & PII masking
  • 14Self-hosting or EU-only storage

Integration & extensibility

How well the tool plugs into your analytics stack and workflows.

  • 15APIs & webhooks
  • 16Data export to warehouse or analytics tools

Usability & learning curve

Will your team adopt it quickly, or will it add friction?

  • 17Clear UI & searchable recordings
  • 18Good docs, SDK guides, and onboarding
Quick tip: before committing, test with a real funnel for a week — capture recordings + funnels + a short in-page survey. That combo answers both what users did and why they did it.

Top Hotjar Alternatives for SaaS in 2025

Below are the standout tools I’ve tested, read about, or recommended. Each fills a gap Hotjar has, with pros and trade-offs.

Hotjar Alternatives

FullStory

Why it’s compelling: FullStory offers robust session replay, heatmaps, event segmentation, and AI-powered insights. Many teams view it as a “Hotjar + product analytics” combo. According to Zapier’s list of session replay tools, FullStory is one of the top picks.

Best for: SaaS teams needing “see everything users do” visibility and the ability to correlate behavior with analytics data.

Trade-offs: It can get expensive, especially for high-traffic sites — and there’s a bit of a learning curve for first-time users.

Mouseflow

If your goal is conversion optimization — forms, funnels, and drop-offs — Mouseflow is one of the most mature Hotjar alternatives out there.

Strengths:

  • Session recordings + detailed form analytics
  • Funnel tracking and drop-off visualization
  • Heatmaps (click, scroll, and movement)

Caveats: Some advanced features are gated to higher plans, and the UI can feel slightly heavier than Hotjar’s.

Smartlook

Smartlook is tailored for both web and mobile — it’s a top choice in most “behavior analytics tools” lists for 2025.

Strengths:

  • Excellent scale and performance on mobile apps
  • Heatmaps and session replays for detailed user insight
  • Retroactive event analytics for tracking past user behavior

Trade-offs: Free or lower-tier plans may limit session history, and some advanced analytics features are only available on premium tiers.

Matomo

Matomo is the go-to choice if privacy and full control matter — especially for SaaS teams handling sensitive user data. It’s a robust analytics platform that also offers UX-focused features.

Strengths:

  • Self-hosting option — you fully own and control your data
  • Plugins and modules for heatmaps, session replays, and form analytics
  • GDPR-friendly with zero third-party data sharing

Weaknesses: Setup and maintenance require some technical know-how, and the UX modules may feel less polished compared to Hotjar’s modern interface.

Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg is a lighter, more visual Hotjar alternative focused on heatmaps and scrollmaps. It’s designed for marketers and UX teams who want to quickly see where users click, scroll, and engage on landing pages.

Best for: Marketing and landing page optimization — ideal when you need fast visual feedback to identify “hot zones” and improve conversions.

Trade-offs: Crazy Egg places less emphasis on session-level replays or deep funnel analytics compared to more full-featured platforms like Hotjar or FullStory.

Lucky Orange

Lucky Orange combines live chat and behavioral analytics in a single, easy-to-use product — perfect for small SaaS teams or early-stage startups that need to both understand and interact with users in real time.

Strengths:

✔ Real-time session tracking
✔ Heatmaps & recordings
✔ Chat / live support tied to user behavior

Trade-offs: Its advanced analytics features may feel limited compared to dedicated tools like FullStory, and the interface can feel a bit overwhelming for non-analytics users.

UXtweak

UXtweak is highly regarded among UX designers as a complete UX and user research platform that rivals tools like Hotjar, FullStory, and Maze.

Strengths:

✔ Usability testing + behavioral tracking
✔ Affordable plans for small teams
✔ Built-in UX research tools and analytics

Caveats: While UXtweak is great for usability and research, its deeper behavioral analytics can lag behind larger enterprise platforms.

PostHog (with Heatmap / Session Addons)

PostHog is primarily a product analytics platform, but with its heatmap and session replay modules, it doubles as a strong hybrid alternative to Hotjar — especially for data-driven SaaS teams.

Strengths:

✔ Event, funnel, and UX tracking in one place
✔ Open-source and highly extensible
✔ Full control with integration into your existing data stack

Trade-offs: Requires manual setup for UX modules, and configuration can be more complex than plug-and-play tools.

Comparison Table: Hotjar Alternatives

Tool Best Use Case / Ideal For Strengths Weakness / Consideration
FullStory Enterprise UX & behavior insight AI insights, replay + segmentation Cost, learning curve
Mouseflow Conversion / funnel analysis Form analytics, drop-offs, heatmaps Feature gating, heavier UI
Smartlook Cross-platform / mobile + web Mobile support, retro analytics Limits on free tiers
Matomo Privacy, self-host, data ownership Full control, GDPR-first design Maintenance overhead, UX polish
Crazy Egg Visual analytics for pages / marketing Heatmaps, scroll maps Less session detail, lighter depth
Lucky Orange Small teams needing all-in-one Chat + live sessions + analytics Less depth for enterprise contexts
UXtweak UX & usability testing + behavior Usability add-ons, affordable May lack deep product analytics
PostHog Combine UX + product analytics Unified tool, extensibility Need to configure UX modules

Real-World Mini Case: SaaS Founder Anna

Meet Anna, the founder of a fast-growing productivity SaaS. She began with Hotjar because it was dead simple — she could watch recordings, view heatmaps, and fix obvious UX issues quickly.

But as her startup expanded to a mobile version with multiple onboarding flows, she started noticing blind spots. Heatmaps and recordings weren’t giving her the full picture anymore.

That’s when she switched to FullStory — gaining unified web + mobile session replay and segmentation. The turning point came when she correlated a session replay with a drop-off in a funnel metric inside her analytics dashboard — her “aha” moment.

Interestingly, Anna didn’t ditch Hotjar-style insights completely — she kept Crazy Egg for quick landing-page heatmap snapshots. That lightweight mix gave her clarity without overcomplicating her workflow.

If I were in her shoes, I’d probably start with Smartlook + Matomo (for privacy) or PostHog from Day 1 — so I wouldn’t run into analytics ceilings later on.

How to Choose the Right Alternative (for Your SaaS)

Define your priority:

  • UX & session playback focus → FullStory, Smartlook, Lucky Orange
  • Conversion / funnel optimization → Mouseflow, Crazy Egg
  • Privacy & control → Matomo
  • Unified product + UX → PostHog

Scale vs cost trade-off:
Tools can get expensive at higher session volumes — always review pricing tiers and sampling limits.

Team & infrastructure readiness:
Self-hosting means you handle servers and maintenance. Cloud is easier, but with less control.

Integration needs:
Want to export data or connect to your BI stack? Ensure APIs and data export options are available.

Pilot test two tools in parallel:
Run Hotjar + one candidate for 2–4 weeks. Compare insights, usability, and ease of adoption across your team.

Conclusion

Hotjar is a stellar tool, especially early on  but it isn’t the end game. As your SaaS scales, you’ll want deeper funnels, session correlation, cross-platform analysis, and more data control. That’s where Hotjar alternatives like FullStory, Mouseflow, Smartlook, Matomo, Crazy Egg, Lucky Orange, UXtweak, or PostHog step in.

Pick a tool that matches your growth stage and team capacity. Start small with a pilot, then commit. If you like, I can help you build a migration plan from Hotjar to your chosen tool (step by step). Just tell me which one you’re leaning toward.

FAQ (Common Questions About Hotjar Alternatives)

What are good Hotjar alternatives?

Tools like FullStory, Mouseflow, Smartlook, Matomo, Crazy Egg, and PostHog are among the top choices.

Can I get heatmaps + session replays for free?

Yes — Microsoft Clarity is a free option that includes both session replay and heatmaps.

Do these tools support mobile app analytics?

Yes. Smartlook, FullStory, and PostHog all support mobile and cross-device tracking.

Is switching from Hotjar hard?

Not really. Run your new tool in parallel with Hotjar, map key events, and migrate gradually to ensure consistent tracking.

Which alternative is best for privacy / GDPR?

Matomo (self-hosted) is the best option if you need full data control and strict privacy compliance.

Picture of Khadin Akbar

Khadin Akbar

I am a Branding, PR & Marketing Strategy Consultant and Udemy instructor with 200,000+students on Udemy. I am founder of Webified Hub, SaasPedia and FeaturedForge. I help Saas Founders, Entrepreneurs and Agencies in Branding, PR & SEO to Generate Inbound enquires and Outbound Sales to fuel finances as well. I already have helped 30+ with Organic Growth and Cold Outreach.

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