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Software · head to head

Hotjar vs Medusa

H

Hotjar

Software

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medusa logo

Medusa

Software

Open source Shopify alternative

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings; Medusa the managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • They diverge on capability: Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Medusa covers Open source.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hotjar and Medusa actually diverge.

Attributes where Hotjar and Medusa differ
AttributeHotjarMedusa
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Founded20142020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Hotjar

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

Only in Medusa

  • Open source
  • Modular architecture
  • Multi-region support
  • Plugin system
  • Admin dashboard
  • Order management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Payment integrations

What people use each for

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

Hotjar

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

Medusa

  • Building a custom ecommerce backend on an open source headless platformnot Hotjar
  • Running a self hosted or managed commerce API with a custom storefrontnot Hotjar

Where each one falls short

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

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

Medusa

  • The managed cloud meters four separate resources: edge requests, emails, compute hours and database storage
  • The Develop plan at $29 a month applies a hard limit of 1,000 emails, so it stops rather than bills
  • Compute hours are capped at 600 on Develop and 800 on Launch
  • Edge request overage is $0.3 per million and storage $0.5 per GB month above the plan allowance
  • Background workers and priority support require the Scale plan at $299 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Medusa

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full source code
    • Self-hosted
    • Community support
  • Cloud$50/month
    • Managed hosting
    • Automatic updates
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Hotjar if

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

Choose Medusa if

  • You need open source.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want modular architecture.
Medusa review

Questions people ask

Is Hotjar or Medusa better?
Neither clearly leads. Hotjar starts at Free and Medusa at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hotjar or Medusa?
Hotjar starts at Free and Medusa at Free.
Does Hotjar or Medusa run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Hotjar best used for?
Hotjar is most often used for user behavior analysis, conversion optimization, ux research, customer feedback. Of those, user behavior analysis and conversion optimization are not what Medusa is typically brought in for.
What can Hotjar do that Medusa cannot?
Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Medusa covers Open source, Modular architecture, Multi-region support, Plugin system.

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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