Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Hotjar vs PlanetScale

Hotjar logo

Hotjar

E-Commerce

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
PlanetScale logo

PlanetScale

Databases

The MySQL-compatible serverless database

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; PlanetScale pricing varies significantly across 17+ AWS and GCP regions
  • They diverge on capability: Hotjar covers Heatmaps, PlanetScale covers Database Branching.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hotjar and PlanetScale actually diverge.

Attributes where Hotjar and PlanetScale differ
AttributeHotjarPlanetScale
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsWebCloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure)
CategoryE-CommerceDatabases
Founded20142018

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

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

Only in PlanetScale

  • Database Branching
  • Non-blocking Schema Changes
  • Insights
  • Horizontal Scaling
  • Connection Pooling
  • Query Caching
  • Automatic Backups
  • Global Replication

Both cover

  • GDPR
  • SOC2
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Hotjar

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

PlanetScale

  • MySQL-compatible applications requiring horizontal scalingnot Hotjar
  • PostgreSQL deployments with custom cluster configurationsnot Hotjar
  • Multi-region database deployments on AWS or GCPnot Hotjar
  • Applications requiring transparent sharding via Vitessnot 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

PlanetScale

  • Pricing varies significantly across 17+ AWS and GCP regions
  • Additional costs for EBS storage beyond base tier, backup storage, and egress
  • Dedicated PgBouncer and replicas incur separate charges
  • Metal tier pricing increases sharply with larger configurations

Pricing, plan by plan

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

PlanetScale

Free
  • Postgres EBS Single-Node (ARM64 PS-5)$5/month
    • 512 MiB RAM
    • Single-node configuration
    • EBS storage included
  • Postgres EBS HA (ARM64 PS-5)$15/month
    • 512 MiB RAM
    • 3-node high-availability setup
    • 1 primary + 2 replicas
  • Postgres Metal (M-10)$50/month
    • 1/8 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM
    • 3-node HA configuration
    • 10 GiB NVMe storage included
  • Vitess Non-Metal 3-Node$39/month
    • Sharding-capable database
    • x86-64 architecture
    • 3-node configuration

Which should you pick?

Choose Hotjar if

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

Choose PlanetScale if

  • You need database branching.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
  • You also want non-blocking schema changes.
PlanetScale review

Questions people ask

Is Hotjar or PlanetScale better?
Neither clearly leads. Hotjar starts at Free and PlanetScale at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hotjar or PlanetScale?
Hotjar starts at Free and PlanetScale at Free.
Does Hotjar or PlanetScale run on more platforms?
Hotjar runs on Web. PlanetScale runs on Cloud-hosted (AWS, GCP, Azure).
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 PlanetScale is typically brought in for.
What can Hotjar do that PlanetScale cannot?
Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. PlanetScale covers Database Branching, Non-blocking Schema Changes, Insights, Horizontal Scaling. Both handle GDPR, SOC2, Cloud deployment.

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
PlanetScale: How much does a PlanetScale Postgres database cost per month?

PlanetScale Postgres pricing starts at $5/month for single-node ARM64 configurations with 512 MiB RAM and $15/month for the same specs in high-availability mode with 1 primary and 2 replicas. Metal tier starts at $50/month for M-10 configuration (1/8 vCPU, 1 GiB RAM). Exact pricing depends on cluster size, node architecture (ARM64 vs x86-64), storage configuration, and selected AWS/GCP region.

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
PlanetScale: Is there a free tier for PlanetScale?

PlanetScale offers a free tier for development and testing workloads. After free tier limits are reached, usage-based pricing applies starting at $5/month for the smallest Postgres single-node configuration, with costs scaling based on cluster size, compute, storage, and additional features like dedicated PgBouncer or replicas.

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
PlanetScale: What is the difference between PlanetScale ARM64 and x86-64 pricing?

ARM64 instances cost significantly less than x86-64 equivalents. For example, a Postgres EBS HA cluster with 512 MiB RAM costs $15/month on ARM64 but $39/month on x86-64. This pricing difference extends across all cluster sizes, with larger x86-64 configurations reaching up to $5,599/month compared to ARM64 alternatives.

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
PlanetScale: What is included in a PlanetScale cluster price versus additional costs?

The advertised cluster price covers the base compute and configured storage. Additional charges apply for EBS storage beyond the base allocation, backup storage, data egress, optional dedicated PgBouncer connections, and replicas beyond the base high-availability configuration. Regional pricing varies across 17+ AWS and GCP zones.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Hotjar

More on PlanetScale

Keep looking

Other head to heads