Softwr

Software · head to head

GiveWP vs Hotjar

GiveWP logo

GiveWP

Software

WordPress donation plugin for nonprofits

From
$199/year
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: GiveWP recurring donations and fee recovery only available in Pro and Elite tiers; Essentials tier ($199/year) limited to one-time donations; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
  • They diverge on capability: GiveWP covers Donation forms, Hotjar covers Heatmaps.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GiveWP and Hotjar actually diverge.

Attributes where GiveWP and Hotjar differ
AttributeGiveWPHotjar
Starting price$199/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites)Web
Founded20122014

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 GiveWP

  • Donation forms
  • Recurring donations
  • Donor management
  • Fundraising campaigns
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Mailchimp
  • WordPress support

Only in Hotjar

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

Both cover

  • Zapier

What people use each for

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

GiveWP

  • WordPress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database)not Hotjar
  • Organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Apple Pay, Google Pay)not Hotjar

Hotjar

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

Where each one falls short

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

GiveWP

  • Recurring donations and fee recovery only available in Pro and Elite tiers; Essentials tier ($199/year) limited to one-time donations
  • Email marketing integrations (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Salesforce) require Pro tier or higher
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising only available in Elite tier ($599/year); not in lower tiers

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

GiveWP

$199/year

No published plan breakdown. See the GiveWP review.

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Which should you pick?

Choose GiveWP if

  • You need donation forms.
  • You work on WordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites).
  • You also want recurring donations.
GiveWP review

Choose Hotjar if

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

Questions people ask

Is GiveWP or Hotjar better?
Neither clearly leads. GiveWP starts at $199/year and Hotjar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GiveWP or Hotjar?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $199/year for GiveWP and Free for Hotjar.
Does GiveWP or Hotjar run on more platforms?
GiveWP runs on WordPress plugin (self-hosted on WordPress sites). Hotjar runs on Web.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Yes. Hotjar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GiveWP starts at $199/year.
What is GiveWP best used for?
GiveWP is most often used for wordpress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database), organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (stripe, paypal, square, apple pay, google pay). Of those, wordpress-hosted nonprofits managing donors with self-hosted data (no third-party donor database) and organisations needing text-to-give and multi-gateway payment processing (stripe, paypal, square, apple pay, google pay) are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
What can GiveWP do that Hotjar cannot?
GiveWP covers Donation forms, Recurring donations, Donor management, Fundraising campaigns. Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Both handle Zapier.

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 GiveWP

More on Hotjar

Keep looking

Other head to heads