What is the difference between Hotjar and Matomo?

Hotjar is best for Teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings, while Matomo is best for Organizations wanting full Google Analytics replacement with privacy. Hotjar starts at Free and Matomo starts at Free.

Is Hotjar or Matomo cheaper?

Hotjar starts at Free with a free tier. Matomo starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Matomo?

Both Hotjar and Matomo offer free tiers.

Hotjar vs Matomo

Hotjar is behavior analytics tool with heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback surveys, while Matomo is open-source web analytics platform that gives you full control over your data. Matomo is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Hotjar is built for teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings, whereas Matomo targets organizations wanting full google analytics replacement with privacy.

At a glance

	Hotjar	Matomo
Best for	Teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings	Organizations wanting full Google Analytics replacement with privacy
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Funnels	✓	—
GDPR	—	✓
Heatmaps	✓	✓
Open Source	—	✓
Self-Hosted	—	✓
Session Recordings	✓	—
Surveys	✓	—

Hotjar

Strengths

Includes Heatmaps as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes Session Recordings as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Free for 35 sessions/day — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 12+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Hotjar → Full review

Matomo

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results

Try Matomo → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Hotjar and Matomo are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Hotjar offers Funnels, Session Recordings and Surveys that Matomo lacks. Matomo brings GDPR, Open Source and Self-Hosted that Hotjar does not have. Both share Heatmaps.

Team fit: Hotjar is geared toward small teams teams, while Matomo is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Matomo is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Hotjar is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Hotjar's biggest strengths are: includes heatmaps as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes session recordings as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. Matomo's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development.

Watch out for: With Hotjar, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Matomo, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Hotjar if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings
You specifically need Funnels and Session Recordings
You care about includes session recordings as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Hotjar is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 35 sessions/day

Choose Matomo if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: organizations wanting full google analytics replacement with privacy
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need GDPR and Open Source
You care about open-source codebase gives you full transparency and community-driven development
Your team size fits the any size profile Matomo is designed for