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News & Media · head to head

Cision vs Hotjar

Cision logo

Cision

News & Media

The complete PR and earned media platform

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.
  • They diverge on capability: Cision covers Media monitoring, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cision and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where Cision and Hotjar differ
AttributeCisionHotjar
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
CategoryNews & MediaE-commerce
Founded18672014

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 Cision

  • Media monitoring
  • PR Newswire distribution
  • Media database
  • Analytics & reporting
  • Influencer identification
  • Salesforce
  • Microsoft 365
  • Web support

Only in Hotjar

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

Both cover

  • Google Analytics
  • Slack

What people use each for

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

Cision

  • Press release distributionnot Hotjar
  • Media monitoringnot Hotjar
  • PR measurementnot Hotjar
  • Media outreachnot Hotjar
  • Crisis communicationsnot Hotjar

Hotjar

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

Where each one falls short

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

Cision

Nothing recorded yet. See the Cision review.

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

Cision

On request
  • Cision Communications CloudFree
    • Media monitoring
    • Media database
    • PR analytics
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Full platform access
    • PR Newswire distribution
    • Custom integrations

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Cision if

  • You need media monitoring.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want pr newswire distribution.
Cision review

Choose Hotjar if

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

Questions people ask

Is Cision or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. Cision 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, Cision or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Cision and Free for Hotjar.
Does Cision or Hotjar run on more platforms?
Cision runs on Web, Ios, Android. Hotjar runs on Web.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Yes. Hotjar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cision starts at On request.
What is Cision best used for?
Cision is most often used for press release distribution, media monitoring, pr measurement, media outreach. Of those, press release distribution and media monitoring are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
What can Cision do that Hotjar cannot?
Cision covers Media monitoring, PR Newswire distribution, Media database, Analytics & reporting. Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Both handle Google Analytics, Slack.

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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