Softwr

Software · head to head

BigCommerce vs Hotjar

BigCommerce logo

BigCommerce

Software

Enterprise ecommerce platform for ambitious merchants

From
$29.95/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
H

Hotjar

Software

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: BigCommerce listed on G-Cloud 14 by reseller CTI Digital Limited at £14,000 per instance for a managed BigCommerce implementation; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • They diverge on capability: BigCommerce covers Multi-channel selling, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BigCommerce and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where BigCommerce and Hotjar differ
AttributeBigCommerceHotjar
Starting price$29.95/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
Founded20092014

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 BigCommerce

  • Multi-channel selling
  • Built-in SEO
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Customer segmentation
  • Marketing automation
  • B2B functionality
  • API access
  • Advanced security

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.

BigCommerce

No use cases recorded yet. See the BigCommerce review.

Hotjar

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

Where each one falls short

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

BigCommerce

  • Listed on G-Cloud 14 by reseller CTI Digital Limited at £14,000 per instance for a managed BigCommerce implementation

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

BigCommerce

$29.95/month
  • Standard$29.95/month
    • Unlimited products
    • 2 staff accounts
    • Basic reports
  • Plus$79.95/month
    • All Standard features
    • Up to 5 staff accounts
    • Advanced reports

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose BigCommerce if

  • You need multi-channel selling.
  • You also want built-in seo.
BigCommerce review

Choose Hotjar if

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

Questions people ask

Is BigCommerce or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month and Hotjar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BigCommerce or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29.95/month for BigCommerce and Free for Hotjar.
Does BigCommerce or Hotjar run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Yes. Hotjar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigCommerce starts at $29.95/month.
What can BigCommerce do that Hotjar cannot?
BigCommerce covers Multi-channel selling, Built-in SEO, Abandoned cart recovery, Customer segmentation. 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
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on BigCommerce

More on Hotjar

Keep looking

Other head to heads