Heatmaps and session replay
Hotjar vs PostHog: which should you use in 2026?
Updated
Key takeaways: Hotjar vs PostHog
Pick Hotjar if…
- Non-technical teams (UX, CRO, marketing) will run it day to day.
- You want feedback widgets and surveys designed for website visitors, with interview-style research workflows.
- You want zone-based heatmaps and journey analysis built for conversion optimization.
- A free plan with 200K sessions and 10K replays a month covers your traffic.
Pick PostHog if…
- You want to jump from a funnel drop-off straight into the replays of users who dropped off.
- You also need product analytics, feature flags, A/B tests and error tracking — one tool, one SDK.
- You want mobile session replay and console/network logs for debugging.
- Open source matters: PostHog is MIT-licensed and can be self-hosted.
Hotjar vs PostHog at a glance
Facts from each vendor's public pages, checked October 2026.
| Feature | Hotjar | PostHog |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | HotjarExperience analytics: heatmaps, replay, surveys, funnels, journeys | PostHogProduct platform: analytics, replay, heatmaps, flags, experiments, surveys |
| Free plan (monthly) | Hotjar200K sessions, 10K replays, 1 project | PostHog5K recordings, 1M events, 1,500 survey responses |
| Paid pricing unit | HotjarSessions (Growth from $49/mo at 7K sessions) | PostHogPer recording — $0.005 each for 5K–15K, falling to $0.0015 above 500K |
| Heatmaps | HotjarClick, scroll, move, zone-based | PostHogClick, scroll and rage-click heatmaps from autocapture |
| Surveys | HotjarYes — priced separately (100 responses/mo free) | PostHogYes — 1,500 responses/mo free, then usage-based |
| Product analytics | HotjarFunnels and journeys; not a full event-analytics tool | PostHogFull event analytics, funnels, retention, cohorts, SQL |
| Replay retention | Hotjar1 month by default | PostHog1 month on Free, 3 months on paid |
| Hosting / data location | HotjarEU customers in the EU, US customers in the US | PostHogUS Cloud or EU Cloud (Frankfurt) |
| Self-hosting / open source | HotjarNo | PostHogYes — MIT; self-host officially unsupported |
| Cookies / consent | HotjarFirst-party cookies; no cookieless mode | PostHogCookie + localStorage by default; cookieless_mode option |
| Learning curve | HotjarEasy for core tools | PostHogModerate — broad platform aimed at engineers |
Hotjar vs PostHog for privacy and GDPR
Session replay records what people do on your pages, so both tools mask form inputs by default and let you mask more elements. Both set identifiers in the browser by default, which in the EU usually means consent first. Contentsquare hosts EU customers in the EU, keeps IP addresses for three days by default, and is certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework.
PostHog offers an EU Cloud in Frankfurt (with IP capture off by default for new EU projects), a cookieless mode for anonymous counting, and self-hosting if you want recordings never to leave your own infrastructure.
Hotjar vs PostHog pricing at three traffic levels
The pricing units differ: Contentsquare charges by monthly sessions with a replay allowance; PostHog charges per recording (and per event for analytics). Here's the monthly cost if you record every session, list prices as of October 2026:
| Monthly traffic | 10K sessions/mo | 100K sessions/mo | 1M sessions/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotjar | 10K sessions/mo: $0 on Free, or $69 on Growth | 100K sessions/mo: $0 on Free (10K replays) or $409 on Growth (20K replays) | 1M sessions/mo: Pro — custom |
| PostHog | 10K sessions/mo: ≈ $25 (5K free + 5K paid recordings) | 100K sessions/mo: ≈ $273 | 1M sessions/mo: ≈ $1,718 |
PostHog figures are computed from its graduated per-recording rates; most teams sample or filter recordings, which cuts costs sharply. Contentsquare's Growth plan caps replays at 20K/mo even on higher session tiers. Both bill surveys separately.
Setting up Hotjar vs PostHog
Hotjar/Contentsquare installs with one tag (or Google Tag Manager, WordPress, Shopify) and is no-code from there: heatmaps, surveys and widgets are configured in the UI. PostHog installs with its JavaScript snippet or SDKs for web, iOS, Android, React Native and Flutter; replay is a toggle once the SDK is in, and you can set sampling, minimum duration and URL triggers to control cost.
Who each one is for
Hotjar/Contentsquare fits marketing, UX and CRO teams on content and ecommerce sites who want qualitative insight without involving engineers. PostHog fits SaaS product teams who want replay as one lens on product analytics — and who would otherwise also buy a flags tool, an A/B testing tool and a survey tool.
Moving from Hotjar to PostHog
Recordings and heatmaps can't be migrated between the two. Run PostHog in parallel, rebuild the surveys you still need, set up replay sampling and triggers, then remove the Hotjar tag. Export survey responses from Hotjar before you cancel.
Hotjar vs PostHog: frequently asked questions
Is PostHog a good Hotjar alternative?
Yes, for product and engineering teams. PostHog has session replay, heatmaps and surveys like Hotjar, plus product analytics, feature flags and experiments; Hotjar is easier for non-technical UX and marketing teams.
Does PostHog have heatmaps?
Yes. PostHog builds click, scroll and rage-click heatmaps from its autocaptured events, viewable through its toolbar on your live site.
How much does PostHog session replay cost?
The first 5,000 recordings each month are free; after that PostHog charges $0.005 per recording up to 15K, then lower graduated rates down to $0.0015 above 500K recordings.
Is Hotjar free?
Hotjar is now sold as Contentsquare, which has a free plan with 200K sessions, 10K replays and one project per month. Paid Growth plans start at $49/mo for 7K sessions.
Can PostHog be self-hosted?
Yes, under the MIT license, but PostHog says self-hosting is officially unsupported and paid features are Cloud-only. Hotjar/Contentsquare can't be self-hosted.
Do Hotjar and PostHog need a cookie banner?
Usually, in the EU. Both set browser identifiers by default; PostHog's cookieless mode can count visitors without cookies, but replay and identity features rely on persistence.
Sources and methodology
Prices and features were checked on each vendor's public pages in October 2026. Vendors change plans often — confirm on the official pricing page before you buy. VisitTrack publishes this comparison and competes with some of these tools; we have no affiliate relationship with either vendor.
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