Hotjar vs FullStory: Which Session Analytics Tool?
Hotjar is accessible and affordable. FullStory is powerful and enterprise-grade. Here's how to choose.
Quick Verdict
Choose Hotjar
- You're a small to mid-size business
- You want an affordable starting point
- You need surveys and feedback collection
- Simpler needs, not complex product debugging
Choose FullStory
- You're an enterprise with budget
- You need deep session search and replay
- You have complex products requiring debugging
- You want tagless autocapture for retroactive analysis
Consider Clickyard
- You want insights without watching recordings
- You need conversion optimization, not debugging
- You want enterprise insights at SMB pricing
- You don't have dedicated analysts
Feature Comparison
Side-by-side comparison of Hotjar, FullStory, and Clickyard
| Feature | Hotjar | FullStory | Clickyard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session replay | Good | Industry-leading | No (AI analysis) |
| Heatmaps | |||
| Surveys | Yes (Ask) | ||
| Error tracking | Frustration signals | Yes (deep) | |
| AI insights | Basic | StoryAI | Actionable recommendations |
| Pricing | Free → $213+/mo | $5,000-$150k/yr | Free → $299/mo |
| Setup complexity | Easy | Moderate | 60 seconds |
Detailed Overview
Hotjar Overview
Hotjar is a popular, accessible behavior analytics tool ideal for small to mid-size businesses. It provides heatmaps, recordings, and surveys without enterprise complexity.
Strengths
- Affordable and accessible
- Easy to set up and use
- Built-in feedback collection
- Good free tier
- No technical expertise required
Weaknesses
- Session recording limits
- Not as powerful for complex debugging
- Limited search across sessions
- No mobile app support
SMBs wanting visual behavior analytics with feedback collection
Free → $39/mo → $99/mo → $213+/mo
FullStory Overview
FullStory is an enterprise digital experience intelligence platform. It excels at deep session replay, powerful search, and retroactive event analysis via tagless autocapture.
Strengths
- Best-in-class session replay
- Powerful session search
- Tagless autocapture (retroactive analysis)
- Strong frustration detection
- Mobile app support
- StoryAI for session summaries
Weaknesses
- Expensive ($5,000-$150k/year)
- Requires sales conversation for pricing
- Can be complex to maximize value
- Overkill for simple use cases
Enterprise product teams needing deep session intelligence
Free (5k sessions) → ~$5,000/yr (Business) → $150k+/yr (Enterprise)
Get Insights Without Watching Recordings
Both tools require session review. Clickyard's AI does the analysis for you.
Free to start. No credit card required.
Hotjar vs FullStory FAQ
For enterprise product teams needing deep debugging, yes. For conversion optimization and smaller teams, Hotjar or Clickyard often provide better value.
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