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Software · head to head

Hotjar vs Ruler Analytics

H

Hotjar

Software

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ruler Analytics logo

Ruler Analytics

Software

Closed-loop marketing attribution

From
£299/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Hotjar has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings; Ruler Analytics no free plan or trial available, requiring custom quote for pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Ruler Analytics covers Multi-touch attribution.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hotjar and Ruler Analytics actually diverge.

Attributes where Hotjar and Ruler Analytics differ
AttributeHotjarRuler Analytics
Starting priceFree£299/month
Free tierYesNo
Founded20142012

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 Ruler Analytics

  • Multi-touch attribution
  • Call tracking
  • Form tracking
  • Revenue attribution
  • Customer journey tracking
  • CRM integration
  • Marketing ROI
  • Custom reporting

Both cover

  • Google Analytics
  • HubSpot
  • SOC2
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Hotjar

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

Ruler Analytics

  • Marketing attributionnot Hotjar
  • ROI measurementnot Hotjar
  • Lead trackingnot Hotjar
  • Revenue attributionnot 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

Ruler Analytics

  • No free plan or trial available, requiring custom quote for pricing
  • Advanced features like marketing mix modeling only available on Advanced plan at 1,499 GBP per month
  • Pricing scales with monthly traffic volume, making costs unpredictable
  • Setup requires manual integration with CRM and data sources

Pricing, plan by plan

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Ruler Analytics

£299/month
  • Small$299/month
    • Up to 10,000 monthly visits
    • Form tracking
    • Call tracking
  • Medium$499/month
    • Up to 50,000 monthly visits
    • Data-driven attribution
    • Segmentation
  • Advanced$1499/month
    • 100k+ monthly visits
    • Marketing mix modeling
    • AI agents for analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Hotjar if

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

Choose Ruler Analytics if

  • You need multi-touch attribution.
  • You also want call tracking.
Ruler Analytics review

Questions people ask

Is Hotjar or Ruler Analytics better?
Neither clearly leads. Hotjar starts at Free and Ruler Analytics at £299/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hotjar or Ruler Analytics?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hotjar and £299/month for Ruler Analytics.
Does Hotjar or Ruler Analytics 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. Ruler Analytics starts at £299/month.
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 Ruler Analytics is typically brought in for.
What can Hotjar do that Ruler Analytics cannot?
Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Ruler Analytics covers Multi-touch attribution, Call tracking, Form tracking, Revenue attribution. Both handle Google Analytics, HubSpot, 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
Ruler Analytics: What does Ruler Analytics track?

Ruler Analytics tracks forms, calls, live chat, offline conversions, and CRM data to connect marketing activity directly to revenue outcomes.

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
Ruler Analytics: Does Ruler Analytics offer a free plan?

No, Ruler Analytics does not offer a free plan. Pricing starts at 299 GBP per month for the Small plan supporting up to 10,000 monthly website visits.

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
Ruler Analytics: What attribution models does Ruler Analytics support?

Ruler supports multi-touch attribution, data-driven attribution, impression attribution, and marketing mix modeling for measuring campaign ROI across channels.

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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