Comprehensive Comparison of Heatmap Software Solutions

By Sheila Morgan | Published: 2023-10-27 | Category: Heatmap Software

About Heatmap Software

Heatmap software visually represents user interaction data on web pages, showing clicks, mouse movements, and scroll depth. These tools help understand user behavior, identify usability issues, and optimize website design and conversion rates.

Scoring Criteria

  • Feature Set
  • Ease of Use
  • Integrations
  • Pricing/Value
  • Support & Documentation

The Best Heatmap Software

Plerdy #8

Plerdy

By Plerdy

A multifunction CRO and SEO platform offering heatmaps, session replay, pop-up forms, and SEO analysis tools.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web

Best For: CRO, UX Analysis, Lead Generation (Pop-ups), SEO Auditing, Sales Performance Tracking

Key Features

  • Heatmap Suite: Click, scroll, hover heatmaps with segmentation.
  • Session Replay: Records and replays user sessions.
  • Pop-up Forms & Net Promoter Score (NPS): Tools for lead generation and feedback collection.
  • SEO Checker: On-page SEO analysis tool.
  • Event Tracking: Tracks specific user interactions and goal completions.

Scorecard (Overall: 7.2 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 7.0
Feature Set 8.0
Integrations 6.0
Pricing/Value 8.0
Support & Documentation 7.0

Pricing

Free

Contact Vendor

  • 2,000 pageviews/day
  • Heatmaps, SEO checker basics
  • Limited reports

Limitations: Daily pageview limit, Feature limitations

ECO

$29.00 / Monthly

  • 30,000 pageviews/month
  • 10,000 active pages
  • Session replay (1k/day limit)

Limitations: Pageview and replay limits

Business

$59.00 / Monthly

  • 60,000 pageviews/month
  • 25,000 active pages
  • Session replay (2k/day limit)

Limitations: Pageview and replay limits

Premium

$99.00 / Monthly

  • 120,000 pageviews/month
  • Unlimited active pages
  • Session replay (4k/day limit)

Limitations: Pageview and replay limits

Pros

  • + Combines UX, SEO, and lead gen tools
  • + Competitive pricing
  • + Generous free plan pageview limit (daily)
  • + Good range of heatmap options

Cons

  • - Interface can be complex to navigate
  • - Fewer integrations than market leaders
  • - SEO tool is basic compared to dedicated solutions

Verdict

"A versatile tool offering good value by bundling heatmap/replay with SEO and pop-up features, suitable for users needing this specific combination."
Lucky Orange #7

Lucky Orange

By Lucky Orange LLC

An all-in-one CRO suite focused on real-time insights, including heatmaps, session recordings, live chat, polls, and announcements.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web

Best For: Real-time User Monitoring, CRO, Lead Generation, Customer Support, UX Analysis

Key Features

  • Dynamic Heatmaps: Click, move, and scroll heatmaps that update dynamically.
  • Session Recordings: Records visitor sessions with live viewing option.
  • Live Chat: Integrated chat functionality.
  • Conversion Funnels: Tracks user progress through key flows.
  • Polls & Announcements: Engages visitors directly on the site.

Scorecard (Overall: 7.6 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 8.0
Feature Set 8.0
Integrations 7.0
Pricing/Value 8.0
Support & Documentation 7.0

Pricing

Free

Contact Vendor

  • 500 pageviews/month
  • 1 website
  • Basic features

Limitations: Very low pageview limit, Limited data retention

Build

$18.00 / Monthly

  • 10,000 pageviews/month
  • 30 days storage
  • All core features

Limitations: Pageview limit

Grow

$35.00 / Monthly

  • 30,000 pageviews/month
  • 60 days storage
  • Multiple operators for chat

Limitations: Pageview limit

Scale

$70.00 / Monthly

  • 100,000 pageviews/month
  • 90 days storage
  • Advanced integrations

Limitations: Pageview limit

Pros

  • + Affordable pricing tiers
  • + Includes live chat and visitor profiles
  • + Real-time data dashboard
  • + Easy to set up and use

Cons

  • - Pageview based pricing can scale
  • - Interface feels a bit busy
  • - Fewer integrations than some larger platforms

Verdict

"Great value for small to medium businesses looking for a combined analytics, feedback, and live chat solution."
VWO (Visual Website Optimizer) #6

VWO (Visual Website Optimizer)

By Wingify

A comprehensive CRO platform offering A/B testing, multivariate testing, heatmaps, session recordings, funnels, and surveys.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web, Mobile App

Best For: A/B Testing, CRO, Personalization, UX Analysis, Mobile App Optimization

Key Features

  • Heatmaps & Clickmaps: Visualizes user clicks and scroll behavior.
  • Session Recordings: Records user interactions.
  • VWO Testing: Robust A/B, split URL, and multivariate testing tools.
  • VWO Insights: Includes funnels, form analysis, and on-page surveys.
  • VWO Personalize: Delivers personalized experiences to website visitors.

Scorecard (Overall: 7.8 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 7.0
Feature Set 9.0
Integrations 9.0
Pricing/Value 6.0
Support & Documentation 8.0

Pricing

Free (Testing Starter)

Contact Vendor

  • Up to 50k visitors/month for testing
  • Basic testing features

Limitations: Limited visitors, No Insights features in free tier

Web Insights Plans

$199.00 / Monthly

  • Starts at 10k visitors/month
  • Heatmaps, Recordings, Funnels, Forms, Surveys

Limitations: Visitor limits based pricing

Web Testing Plans

$299.00 / Monthly

  • Starts at 10k visitors/month
  • A/B testing, Split URL, MVT

Limitations: Visitor limits based pricing

FullStack & Enterprise

$-1.00 / Annual

  • Higher limits
  • Advanced features
  • Mobile/Server-side testing
  • Personalization

Limitations: Requires quote

Pros

  • + Comprehensive optimization suite
  • + Powerful A/B testing capabilities
  • + Good integration options
  • + Supports web and mobile

Cons

  • - Can be expensive, especially for full suite
  • - More complex than simpler heatmap tools
  • - Heatmaps/Recordings are part of a broader platform, not the sole focus

Verdict

"Ideal for organizations focused heavily on A/B testing and CRO that want behavioral analytics integrated within the same platform."
FullStory #5

FullStory

By FullStory, Inc.

A Digital Experience Intelligence (DXI) platform focusing on high-fidelity session replay, with heatmaps derived from aggregated replay data.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web, Mobile App (iOS, Android)

Best For: Product Analytics, Bug Reproduction, UX Research, Support Ticket Resolution, Mobile App Analysis

Key Features

  • Pixel-Perfect Session Replay: High-fidelity recording of user sessions, including DOM state.
  • Click Maps: Generated from aggregated session replay data.
  • Scroll Maps: Visualizes scroll depth based on session data.
  • Error Tracking & Console Logs: Captures technical details during sessions.
  • Advanced Segmentation & Search: Powerful filtering based on user events, attributes, and behavior.

Scorecard (Overall: 8.0 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 7.0
Feature Set 9.0
Integrations 9.0
Pricing/Value 6.0
Support & Documentation 9.0

Pricing

Free

Contact Vendor

  • 1,000 sessions/month
  • Basic features
  • 3 user seats

Limitations: Low session limit, Limited data retention

Business

$-1.00 / Annual

  • Custom session volume
  • Advanced analytics
  • Integrations
  • Longer data retention

Limitations: Requires quote - typically higher cost

Enterprise

$-1.00 / Annual

  • Highest session volumes
  • Premium support
  • Advanced security features

Limitations: Requires quote - enterprise pricing

Pros

  • + Best-in-class session replay fidelity
  • + Powerful search and segmentation
  • + Captures extensive technical data
  • + Supports web and mobile apps

Cons

  • - Heatmaps are secondary to replay
  • - Can be significantly more expensive than competitors
  • - Steeper learning curve for advanced features

Verdict

"Top choice for product and engineering teams needing deep session replay analysis and bug reproduction capabilities, especially for complex applications."
Mouseflow #4

Mouseflow

By Mouseflow

Provides heatmaps, session replay, conversion funnels, and form analytics to analyze and improve website UX.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web

Best For: CRO, UX Analysis, Form Optimization, Funnel Analysis, User Segmentation

Key Features

  • Heatmaps Suite: Click, Scroll, Attention, Movement, and Geo heatmaps.
  • Session Replay: Detailed recording of user sessions.
  • Funnels: Tracks user journeys through defined steps.
  • Form Analytics: Analyzes user interaction with forms to identify drop-off points.
  • Feedback Campaigns: Collects user feedback via on-site surveys.

Scorecard (Overall: 8.0 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 8.0
Feature Set 9.0
Integrations 8.0
Pricing/Value 7.0
Support & Documentation 8.0

Pricing

Free

Contact Vendor

  • 500 recordings/month
  • Unlimited pageviews on 1 website
  • All heatmap types

Limitations: Recording limit, Limited data retention

Starter

$39.00 / Monthly

  • 5,000 recordings/month
  • 3 months storage
  • Basic support

Limitations: Recording limit

Growth

$129.00 / Monthly

  • 15,000 recordings/month
  • 6 months storage
  • Form analytics
  • Funnel analysis

Limitations: Recording limit

Pro

$399.00 / Monthly

  • 50,000+ recordings/month
  • 12 months storage
  • API access
  • Priority support

Limitations: Scaled pricing

Pros

  • + Comprehensive feature set including form analytics
  • + Good range of heatmap types
  • + Useful free plan
  • + Filters and segmentation are powerful

Cons

  • - Pricing tiers primarily based on recording volume
  • - Interface can feel dense initially

Verdict

"A powerful and feature-rich platform, particularly strong for those needing in-depth form and funnel analysis alongside standard heatmap tools."
Crazy Egg #3

Crazy Egg

By Crazy Egg, Inc.

Specializes in heatmap visualizations (click, scroll, confetti, overlay, list reports) and also offers recordings and A/B testing.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web

Best For: Landing Page Optimization, UX Analysis, A/B Testing, Understanding Click Behavior

Key Features

  • Multiple Heatmap Types: Includes Confetti (segmented clicks), Overlay (clicks per element), and List reports.
  • Session Recordings: Records user sessions.
  • A/B Testing Tool: Integrated testing functionality.
  • Error Tracking: Identifies JavaScript errors encountered by users.

Scorecard (Overall: 7.6 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 8.0
Feature Set 8.0
Integrations 7.0
Pricing/Value 7.0
Support & Documentation 8.0

Pricing

Basic

$29.00 / Monthly

  • 30,000 pageviews
  • 25 snapshots (heatmaps)
  • 100 recordings/month

Limitations: Limits on pageviews, snapshots, recordings

Standard

$49.00 / Monthly

  • 75,000 pageviews
  • 50 snapshots
  • 500 recordings/month

Limitations: Limits on pageviews, snapshots, recordings

Plus

$99.00 / Monthly

  • 150,000 pageviews
  • 75 snapshots
  • 1,000 recordings/month
  • Priority support

Limitations: Scaled pricing

Pros

  • + Excellent variety of heatmap reports
  • + Relatively easy to use
  • + Includes A/B testing features
  • + Good visual presentation of data

Cons

  • - Snapshot-based system can be limiting
  • - Pricing based on pageviews can get expensive
  • - Interface feels slightly dated compared to some competitors

Verdict

"A strong contender, especially if diverse heatmap visualization options are a priority. The A/B testing is a useful addition."
Microsoft Clarity #2

Microsoft Clarity

By Microsoft

A completely free tool providing session recordings, heatmaps, and automated insights to understand user interactions.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web

Best For: UX Analysis, Bug Identification, Understanding User Frustration, Basic CRO

Key Features

  • Heatmaps: Clickmaps and scrollmaps.
  • Session Recordings: Records user sessions with detailed interaction data.
  • Insights Dashboard: Automatically surfaces potential issues like rage clicks, dead clicks, and excessive scrolling.
  • Google Analytics Integration: Connects Clarity data with Google Analytics.

Scorecard (Overall: 7.8 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 9.0
Feature Set 7.0
Integrations 6.0
Pricing/Value 10.0
Support & Documentation 7.0

Pricing

Free

Contact Vendor

  • Unlimited heatmaps
  • Unlimited session recordings
  • No traffic limits
  • Automated insights

Limitations: No sampling options (processes all data), Fewer integration options than paid tools, Limited filtering capabilities compared to premium tools

Pros

  • + Completely free with no traffic limits
  • + Easy setup and integration with Google Analytics
  • + Automated insights are helpful
  • + Clean interface

Cons

  • - Fewer heatmap types than competitors
  • - Limited advanced segmentation
  • - Support primarily through documentation

Verdict

"Unbeatable value proposition. Ideal for anyone wanting core heatmap and session recording functionality without any budget."
#1

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Hotjar #1

Hotjar

By Hotjar Ltd.

An integrated platform offering heatmaps, session recordings, surveys, and feedback widgets to understand user behavior.

Platforms & Use Cases

Platforms: Web

Best For: UX Analysis, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), User Feedback Collection, Feature Prioritization

Key Features

  • Heatmaps: Visualizes clicks, moves, and scroll depth.
  • Session Recordings: Records anonymous user sessions for playback.
  • Surveys: On-site and external surveys to gather direct user input.
  • Feedback Widgets: Allows users to provide instant feedback on specific page elements.
  • Funnels: Tracks user progression through key conversion paths.

Scorecard (Overall: 8.6 / 10.0)

Ease of Use 9.0
Feature Set 9.0
Integrations 8.0
Pricing/Value 8.0
Support & Documentation 9.0

Pricing

Basic

Contact Vendor

  • Automatic data capture
  • Up to 35 daily sessions
  • Unlimited heatmaps

Limitations: Limited session capture, Basic filtering

Plus

$39.00 / Monthly

  • 100 daily sessions
  • Event tracking
  • User attributes filtering

Limitations: Session limits

Business

$99.00 / Monthly

  • Starts at 500 daily sessions
  • Custom integrations
  • Identify API

Limitations: Scaled pricing based on sessions

Pros

  • + All-in-one toolset
  • + Very user-friendly interface
  • + Generous free tier
  • + Easy setup

Cons

  • - Can slow down page load slightly
  • - Session limits on lower tiers
  • - Funnels feature less robust than dedicated analytics tools

Verdict

"Excellent all-around choice, particularly strong for teams needing a combination of qualitative analytics tools without a steep learning curve."
Sheila Morgan

Written By

Sheila Morgan

UX & Community Manager

Final Thoughts

The heatmap software market offers diverse solutions, from free basic tools to comprehensive enterprise platforms. Hotjar stands out for its blend of usability and features, making it a strong all-rounder. Microsoft Clarity provides exceptional value as a free tool, while options like FullStory excel in session replay depth, and VWO leads in integrated A/B testing.

🏆 Best Overall Hotjar
💲 Best Value Microsoft Clarity
✨ [FullStory] Best for high-fidelity session replay and deep technical analysis, favoured by product/dev teams.