Hotjar vs Plausible 2026: Behaviour Suite vs Privacy Pageviews
Quick verdict: Plausible is our overall pick for Hotjar vs Plausible.
Plausible has no free tier at all (30-day trial, then $9/mo — verified): it is paid privacy-first pageviews. Hotjar's free plan is the opposite trade — 200K sessions/mo of recordings in exchange for heavier data capture.
| Tool | Rating | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotjar Best free Best for teams | 3.9/5 | Free $39/mo | Hotjar is the behaviour-analytics layer — heatmaps, session replays, funnels and surveys —… |
| Plausible Best overall | 4.2/5 | $9/mo | Plausible is lightweight, privacy-first website analytics without cookies and built for co… |
Bottom line: Plausible (4.2/5) when cookie-free pageview analytics and a lightweight script are the whole job — from $9/mo (10K pageviews), 30-day trial, no free tier but free self-hosting. Hotjar (3.9/5) when you need to see the session itself — replays, heatmaps and surveys — and can carry the consent burden that recordings require (EU DPA paper and default masking are real strengths). These answer different questions: how many, versus what happened.
Pricing and details
Hotjar · 3.9/5
Free plan available · $39/mo
Free: 200,000 sessions/mo, 1 project, replay + heatmaps + funnels + basic surveys (100 responses/mo), MCP/LLM integration; Growth from $39/mo annual ($49 monthly): up to 10M sessions, 3 projects, Sense AI summaries; Plus and Scale are sales-quoted (typical 10x jump from Growth); old per-session tiers ($39 = 100 daily sessions) were restructured under Contentsquare — many 2026 reviews still quote them
Growth from $39/mo (€39) billed annually
Hotjar is the behaviour-analytics layer — heatmaps, session replays, funnels and surveys — now sold and billed by Contentsquare, with the category's largest free session allowance.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Free plan gives 200,000 sessions/mo with replay, heatmaps, funnels and basic surveys (100 responses/mo) — a behaviour suite at $0, not a crippled demo (verified 2026-09-09).
- Qualitative loop rivals cannot match at this price: watch the session, then survey the same visitor (MCP/LLM analysis hook included on free).
- Pricing: Growth from $39/mo billed annually ($49 monthly) covers up to 10M sessions and 3 projects.
- GDPR posture is a named strength across sources: EU DPA paper trail, default field masking, IP anonymization on by default.
Cons
- Under Contentsquare, existing Hotjar orgs auto-switch to Contentsquare Growth unless the account owner opts out — 30 days of dual collection, then Hotjar data deleted after a 90-day read-only window (verified from 2026 reviews).
- Plus and Scale are sales-quoted only, and the step-up from Growth is reported around 10x — the self-serve ladder ends at $39-49.
- Old session-count pricing ($39 = 100 daily sessions) still circulates in 2026 reviews; the Contentsquare restructure invalidated it.
Pricing verified 2026-09-09
Plausible · 4.2/5
30-day free trial · $9/mo
Starter $9/mo (10k pageviews; $14 Growth 100k, $19 Business 1M); yearly = 10x monthly (2 months free); 30-day trial; free self-hosted edition (AGPL)
Plausible is lightweight, privacy-first website analytics without cookies and built for compliance.
Score breakdown
Pros
- Best dimension: Ease of use at 5/5 — backed by verification against the official site & pricing.
- Second strong point: Stability at 5/5.
- Pricing: paid-only, paid from $9/mo — Starter (10k pageviews); yearly = 10x monthly; free self-hosted edition (AGPL)
- Positioning: Plausible is lightweight, privacy-first website analytics without cookies and built for compliance.
Cons
- Weakest dimension: Collaboration at 2/5.
- No free tier — budget teams must plan around the paid entry.
- Weigh collaboration features for larger teams before committing.
Pricing verified 2026-08-31
Frequently asked questions
Which is better overall, Hotjar or Plausible?
Plausible is our overall pick (4.2/5 vs 3.9/5). Plausible has no free tier at all (30-day trial, then $9/mo — verified): it is paid privacy-first pageviews. Hotjar's free plan is the opposite trade — 200K sessions/mo of recordings in exchange for heavier data capture.
Do Hotjar and Plausible offer free plans?
Hotjar has a free tier. Hotjar paid plans start at $39/mo; Plausible paid plans start at $9/mo.
What does Plausible cost?
$9/mo — Starter $9/mo (10k pageviews; $14 Growth 100k, $19 Business 1M); yearly = 10x monthly (2 months free); 30-day trial; free self-hosted edition (AGPL). Prices were last verified on 2026-09-09.