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News & Media · head to head

ConvertKit vs Hotjar

ConvertKit logo

ConvertKit

News & Media

The creator platform for digital professionals

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: ConvertKit the free Newsletter plan allows only one basic visual automation, so sequences beyond a single flow require paying; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • They diverge on capability: ConvertKit covers Email marketing, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ConvertKit and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where ConvertKit and Hotjar differ
AttributeConvertKitHotjar
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
CategoryNews & MediaE-commerce
Founded20132014

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 ConvertKit

  • Email marketing
  • Landing pages
  • Subscriber tagging
  • Automation workflows
  • Digital product sales
  • Broadcast emails
  • Subscriber segments
  • Email templates

Only in Hotjar

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

Both cover

  • Zapier
  • Slack

What people use each for

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

ConvertKit

  • Sending newsletters and email sequences to an audiencenot Hotjar
  • Selling paid subscriptions and digital products to a mailing listnot Hotjar

Hotjar

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

Where each one falls short

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

ConvertKit

  • The free Newsletter plan allows only one basic visual automation, so sequences beyond a single flow require paying
  • The free plan is a single user, and the Creator plan at $33 a month allows two
  • Subscriber signals, engagement analytics and paid recommendations are Pro only, at $66 a month
  • A/B testing is capped at 2 subject lines below Pro, which allows 5
  • Paid pricing is banded by subscriber count, so the published figures apply only at the smallest band

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

ConvertKit

On request
  • Creator$29/month
    • Up to 10K subscribers
    • Email campaigns
    • Landing pages
  • Creator Pro$79/month
    • Unlimited subscribers
    • Advanced automation
    • Digital products

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ConvertKit if

  • You need email marketing.
  • You also want landing pages.
ConvertKit review

Choose Hotjar if

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

Questions people ask

Is ConvertKit or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. ConvertKit 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, ConvertKit or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ConvertKit and Free for Hotjar.
Does ConvertKit 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. ConvertKit starts at On request.
What is ConvertKit best used for?
ConvertKit is most often used for sending newsletters and email sequences to an audience, selling paid subscriptions and digital products to a mailing list. Of those, sending newsletters and email sequences to an audience and selling paid subscriptions and digital products to a mailing list are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
What can ConvertKit do that Hotjar cannot?
ConvertKit covers Email marketing, Landing pages, Subscriber tagging, Automation workflows. Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Both handle Zapier, 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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Related pages

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