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News & Media · head to head

Arc Publishing vs Hotjar

Arc Publishing logo

Arc Publishing

News & Media

The enterprise publishing platform for news organizations

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
H

Hotjar

E-commerce

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hotjar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Arc Publishing now sold as Arc XP, and arcpublishing.com redirects there; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • They diverge on capability: Arc Publishing covers Modular CMS, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arc Publishing and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where Arc Publishing and Hotjar differ
AttributeArc PublishingHotjar
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, MobileWeb
CategoryNews & MediaE-commerce
Founded20162014

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Arc Publishing

  • Modular CMS
  • Content creation
  • Publishing workflow
  • Paywall management
  • Subscription billing
  • Analytics dashboard
  • API framework
  • Commerce integration

Only in Hotjar

  • Heatmaps
  • Session recordings
  • Feedback widgets
  • Surveys
  • User interviews
  • Conversion funnels
  • Form analytics
  • Rage click detection

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Arc Publishing

  • Content management for news and digital publishersnot Hotjar
  • Subscription and paywall managementnot Hotjar
  • Video publishing alongside articlesnot Hotjar
  • Multi-site delivery for broadcast and B2B publishersnot Hotjar

Hotjar

  • User behavior analysisnot Arc Publishing
  • Conversion optimizationnot Arc Publishing
  • UX researchnot Arc Publishing
  • Customer feedbacknot Arc Publishing
  • Usability testingnot Arc Publishing

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Arc Publishing

  • Now sold as Arc XP, and arcpublishing.com redirects there
  • Pricing is not published
  • Built for media companies, so the editorial workflow assumptions do not suit a general business site

Hotjar

  • Website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • Session recording limits - free and lower-tier plans have monthly session recording caps that must be sampled above the limit
  • Inaccurate heatmaps on dynamic pages - heatmaps fail to display correctly on pages with modals, sticky navigation bars, and pop-up overlays
  • No mobile app - only web-based access available
  • Not real-time analytics - includes slight data processing delay

Pricing, plan by plan

Arc Publishing

On request
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Custom CMS
    • Paywall integration
    • Advanced analytics

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Arc Publishing if

  • You need modular cms.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want content creation.
Arc Publishing review

Choose Hotjar if

  • You need heatmaps.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want session recordings.
Hotjar review

Questions people ask

Is Arc Publishing or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. Arc Publishing starts at On request and Hotjar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Arc Publishing or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Arc Publishing and Free for Hotjar.
Does Arc Publishing or Hotjar run on more platforms?
Arc Publishing runs on Web, Mobile. Hotjar runs on Web.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Yes. Hotjar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Arc Publishing starts at On request.
What is Arc Publishing best used for?
Arc Publishing is most often used for content management for news and digital publishers, subscription and paywall management, video publishing alongside articles, multi-site delivery for broadcast and b2b publishers. Of those, content management for news and digital publishers and subscription and paywall management are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
What can Arc Publishing do that Hotjar cannot?
Arc Publishing covers Modular CMS, Content creation, Publishing workflow, Paywall management. Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hotjar: Does Hotjar have a free tier?

Yes. Hotjar's free plan (now under Contentsquare) includes 200,000 monthly sessions, 10,000 session replays, and unlimited heatmaps, with no time limit on the free tier.

Source
Hotjar: Can I export my data from Hotjar?

Yes. Hotjar allows exporting heatmaps as JPG images, survey responses as CSV files, and session recording metadata. Advanced export options are available through the Hotjar API.

Source
Hotjar: Does Hotjar provide real-time analytics?

No. Hotjar has a slight delay in data processing and does not offer true real-time analytics compared to some competitors.

Source
Hotjar: What integrations does Hotjar support?

Hotjar integrates with Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Slack, HubSpot, Jira, Linear, Microsoft Teams, Zapier, and hundreds of other tools through its API and partner integrations.

Source
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Related pages

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