Softwr

Software · head to head

CrowdTangle vs Hotjar

C

CrowdTangle

Software

Social media insights and content monitoring platform

From
On request
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: CrowdTangle crowdTangle was retired by Meta on 14 August 2024, per Meta's own transparency page (Internet Archive capture, 12 December 2024), with Meta Content Library and Content Library API offered as replacements; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • They diverge on capability: CrowdTangle covers Social listening, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CrowdTangle and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where CrowdTangle and Hotjar differ
AttributeCrowdTangleHotjar
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
Founded20112014

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 CrowdTangle

  • Social listening
  • Viral content tracking
  • Competitor monitoring
  • Brand mention tracking
  • Trending alerts
  • Custom dashboards
  • Team collaboration
  • Report generation

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.

CrowdTangle

  • Viral content trackingnot Hotjar
  • Social listeningnot Hotjar
  • Competitor analysisnot Hotjar
  • Trend identificationnot Hotjar

Hotjar

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

Where each one falls short

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

CrowdTangle

  • CrowdTangle was retired by Meta on 14 August 2024, per Meta's own transparency page (Internet Archive capture, 12 December 2024), with Meta Content Library and Content Library API offered as replacements

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

CrowdTangle

On request
  • Custom Plan$undefined/custom
    • Social monitoring
    • Competitor analysis
    • Trending content tracking

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose CrowdTangle if

  • You need social listening.
  • You also want viral content tracking.
CrowdTangle review

Choose Hotjar if

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

Questions people ask

Is CrowdTangle or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. CrowdTangle 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, CrowdTangle or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CrowdTangle and Free for Hotjar.
Does CrowdTangle 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. CrowdTangle starts at On request.
What is CrowdTangle best used for?
CrowdTangle is most often used for viral content tracking, social listening, competitor analysis, trend identification. Of those, viral content tracking and social listening are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
What can CrowdTangle do that Hotjar cannot?
CrowdTangle covers Social listening, Viral content tracking, Competitor monitoring, Brand mention tracking. 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 CrowdTangle

More on Hotjar

Keep looking

Other head to heads