What is the difference between Hotjar and Simple Analytics?

Hotjar is best for Teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings, while Simple Analytics is best for Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics. Hotjar starts at Free and Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo.

Is Hotjar or Simple Analytics cheaper?

Hotjar starts at Free with a free tier. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo.

Is there a free alternative to Simple Analytics?

Yes, Hotjar offers a free tier (Free for 35 sessions/day).

Hotjar vs Simple Analytics

Hotjar is behavior analytics tool with heatmaps, session recordings, and user feedback surveys, while Simple Analytics is privacy-first analytics that doesn't track users or use cookies. The biggest difference up front: Hotjar is free, while Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. Hotjar is built for teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings, whereas Simple Analytics targets privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics.

At a glance

	Hotjar	Simple Analytics
Best for	Teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings	Privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics
Starting price	Free	$9/mo
Free tier	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	—
Open source	—	—
Events	—	✓
Funnels	✓	—
GDPR Compliant	—	✓
Goals	—	✓
Heatmaps	✓	—
No Cookies	—	✓
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

Simple Analytics

Strengths

Includes No Cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes GDPR Compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Affordable at $9/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the analytics category
Includes events alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

No free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it
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 Simple Analytics → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Hotjar is completely free (Free for 35 sessions/day), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Simple Analytics starts at $9/mo. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Hotjar offers Funnels, Heatmaps and Session Recordings that Simple Analytics lacks. Simple Analytics brings Events, GDPR Compliant and Goals that Hotjar does not have.

Team fit: Both tools target small teams teams, so the decision hinges on features and workflow fit rather than scale.

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. Simple Analytics's biggest strengths are: includes no cookies as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows.

Watch out for: With Hotjar, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Simple Analytics, the main complaint is that no free plan — you need to pay $9/mo from day one to use it.

Choose Hotjar if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams wanting heatmaps and session recordings
Budget is a hard constraint — Hotjar is free, Simple Analytics is not
You specifically need Funnels and Heatmaps
You care about includes session recordings as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
The free tier works for you: free for 35 sessions/day

Choose Simple Analytics if...

You need a tool built for privacy-conscious teams wanting ethical analytics
You specifically need Events and GDPR Compliant
You care about includes gdpr compliant as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows