Softwr

Software · head to head

Castos vs Hotjar

Castos logo

Castos

Software

Simple podcast hosting for WordPress sites

From
$13/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: Castos transcripts are metered by tier, at 10 a month on Essentials and 100 on Pro; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • They diverge on capability: Castos covers Unlimited hosting, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Castos and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where Castos and Hotjar differ
AttributeCastosHotjar
Starting price$13/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, WordpressWeb
Founded20162014

Identical on both: 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 Castos

  • Unlimited hosting
  • WordPress integration
  • Distribution
  • Analytics
  • Monetization
  • Email marketing
  • WordPress
  • All podcast platforms

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.

Castos

  • Podcast hosting with unlimited episodes and downloadsnot Hotjar
  • Private and subscriber-only podcastsnot Hotjar
  • Automatic transcription of episodesnot Hotjar
  • Republishing episodes to YouTubenot Hotjar
  • WordPress-integrated podcast publishingnot Hotjar

Hotjar

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

Where each one falls short

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

Castos

  • Transcripts are metered by tier, at 10 a month on Essentials and 100 on Pro
  • Private podcast subscribers are capped, at 100 on Essentials and 500 on Pro
  • Video hosting and the uptime SLA require the Pro tier at $99 a month
  • SSO and a dedicated account manager are Premium only, from $499 a month
  • Team seats are limited by tier, at 5 on Growth and 10 on Pro

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

Castos

$13/month
  • Podcaster$13/month
    • Unlimited hosting
    • Automatic distribution
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$29/month
    • All Podcaster features
    • Advanced analytics
    • Email marketing

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Castos if

  • You need unlimited hosting.
  • You work on Web, Wordpress.
  • You also want wordpress integration.
Castos review

Choose Hotjar if

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

Questions people ask

Is Castos or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. Castos starts at $13/month and Hotjar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Castos or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $13/month for Castos and Free for Hotjar.
Does Castos or Hotjar run on more platforms?
Castos runs on Web, Wordpress. Hotjar runs on Web.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Yes. Hotjar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Castos starts at $13/month.
What is Castos best used for?
Castos is most often used for podcast hosting with unlimited episodes and downloads, private and subscriber-only podcasts, automatic transcription of episodes, republishing episodes to youtube. Of those, podcast hosting with unlimited episodes and downloads and private and subscriber-only podcasts are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
What can Castos do that Hotjar cannot?
Castos covers Unlimited hosting, WordPress integration, Distribution, Analytics. 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
Share

Related pages

More on Castos

More on Hotjar

Keep looking

Other head to heads