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E-Commerce · head to head

Hotjar vs Qlik Sense

Hotjar logo

Hotjar

E-Commerce

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Qlik Sense logo

Qlik Sense

Business Intelligence

Self-service data analytics and visualization

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; Qlik Sense expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes
  • They diverge on capability: Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hotjar and Qlik Sense actually diverge.

Attributes where Hotjar and Qlik Sense differ
AttributeHotjarQlik Sense
PlatformsWebWeb (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android)
CategoryE-CommerceBusiness Intelligence
Founded20141993

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), 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 Qlik Sense

  • Associative Engine
  • AI Insights
  • Augmented Analytics
  • Natural Language
  • Alerting
  • SAP
  • Salesforce
  • ServiceNow

What people use each for

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

Hotjar

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

Qlik Sense

  • Self-service analyticsnot Hotjar
  • Data explorationnot Hotjar
  • Ad-hoc reportingnot Hotjar
  • Collaborative analysisnot Hotjar
  • Embedded analyticsnot 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

Qlik Sense

  • Expensive pricing structure, particularly for enterprise users and large data volumes
  • Performance degradation when working with very large datasets
  • Limited field capacity and strict 10 GB data limit on Starter plan ($300/month)
  • Weak date handling in set analysis compared to other BI tools
  • Poor API usability, particularly for Python scripts and integration workflows

Pricing, plan by plan

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Qlik Sense

Free
  • Qlik Sense Business (Desktop)Free
    • Personal dashboards
    • No content sharing
    • Desktop only
  • Starter$300/month
    • 10 users
    • 10 GB data for analysis
    • Cloud-based
  • Standard$825/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 25 GB data for analysis
    • Advanced analytics
  • Premium$2750/month
    • Unlimited users
    • 50 GB data for analysis
    • Enhanced 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 Qlik Sense if

  • You need associative engine.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android).
  • You also want ai insights.
Qlik Sense review

Questions people ask

Is Hotjar or Qlik Sense better?
Neither clearly leads. Hotjar starts at Free and Qlik Sense at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hotjar or Qlik Sense?
Hotjar starts at Free and Qlik Sense at Free.
Does Hotjar or Qlik Sense run on more platforms?
Hotjar runs on Web. Qlik Sense runs on Web (Cloud), Desktop (Windows), Mobile (iOS/Android).
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 Qlik Sense is typically brought in for.
What can Hotjar do that Qlik Sense cannot?
Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Qlik Sense covers Associative Engine, AI Insights, Augmented Analytics, Natural Language.

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
Qlik Sense: Does Qlik Sense have a free tier?

Qlik Sense Business (Desktop) is permanently free for individual users for creating personal dashboards, though content cannot be shared. Qlik Cloud Analytics offers a 30-day free trial with full features.

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
Qlik Sense: What is the entry price for Qlik Cloud Analytics?

Qlik Cloud Analytics Starter plan starts at $300 per month (annual billing) for 10 users and 10 GB of data. Standard is $825/month for 25 GB with unlimited users. Premium is $2,750/month for 50 GB.

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
Qlik Sense: How many users can access Qlik Sense?

The Starter plan is limited to 10 users. Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plans include unlimited users and charge based on data capacity (gigabytes) rather than seat count.

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
Qlik Sense: What is the Associative Engine in Qlik Sense?

The Associative Engine is Qlik's proprietary technology that automatically discovers and explores all possible relationships between data points, enabling intuitive analysis compared to traditional query-based BI tools.

Source
Qlik Sense: Does Qlik Sense support self-service analytics?

Yes, Qlik Sense is designed for self-service business intelligence, allowing business users to create dashboards and explore data without extensive technical knowledge, though complex implementations require expertise.

Source
Qlik Sense: Is Qlik Sense available on-premises?

Yes, Qlik offers both cloud-based (Qlik Cloud Analytics) and on-premises deployment options, though on-premises licensing requires a separate quote.

Source
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