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E-Commerce · head to head

Hotjar vs Shopify

Hotjar logo

Hotjar

E-Commerce

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shopify logo

Shopify

E-Commerce

The most trusted ecommerce platform to start, grow, and scale your business

From
$24/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; Shopify using any payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee on top of the card rate, at 2% on Basic falling to 0.2% on Plus
  • They diverge on capability: Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hotjar and Shopify actually diverge.

Attributes where Hotjar and Shopify differ
AttributeHotjarShopify
Starting priceFree$24/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
Founded20142006

Identical on both: platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

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 Shopify

  • Hosted ecommerce platform
  • Payment processing
  • Inventory management
  • Order tracking
  • Marketing automation
  • Apps and integrations
  • Multi-channel selling
  • SSL certificate

What people use each for

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

Hotjar

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

Shopify

  • Running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilmentnot Hotjar
  • Selling across online, in person and social channels from one cataloguenot 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

Shopify

  • Using any payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee on top of the card rate, at 2% on Basic falling to 0.2% on Plus
  • That fee makes the cheapest plan the most expensive place to use an outside processor, which is the opposite of how plans usually work
  • Card rates also improve with the plan, from 2.9% on Basic to 2.7% on Advanced
  • Amex is charged at a higher rate than other cards on every plan below Plus
  • Plus starts at $2,300 a month
  • The advertised lower monthly prices require paying a year up front

Pricing, plan by plan

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Shopify

$24/month
  • Basic$24/month
    • For solo entrepreneurs
    • $32/month on monthly billing
    • 2.9% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
  • Grow$69/month
    • For small teams
    • $92/month on monthly billing
    • 2.8% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
  • Advanced$299/month
    • For global reach
    • $399/month on monthly billing
    • 2.7% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
  • Plus$2300/month
    • For complex businesses
    • most competitive transaction rates

Which should you pick?

Choose Hotjar if

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

Choose Shopify if

  • You need hosted ecommerce platform.
  • You also want payment processing.
Shopify review

Questions people ask

Is Hotjar or Shopify better?
Neither clearly leads. Hotjar starts at Free and Shopify at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hotjar or Shopify?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hotjar and $24/month for Shopify.
Does Hotjar or Shopify 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. Shopify starts at $24/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 Shopify is typically brought in for.
What can Hotjar do that Shopify cannot?
Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform, Payment processing, Inventory management, Order tracking.

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
Shopify: How much does Shopify cost?

Shopify's Basic tier is $24/month (or $32/month monthly), Grow is $69/month (or $92/month monthly), Advanced is $299/month (or $399/month monthly), and Plus starts at $2,300/month. Annual subscriptions include 25% discount versus monthly billing.

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
Shopify: Does Shopify offer a free trial?

Yes, Shopify offers 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months without requiring a credit card.

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
Shopify: What payment processing fees does Shopify charge?

Transaction rates vary by plan: Basic charges 2.9% + AED1.00 (standard cards), Grow charges 2.8% + AED1.00, Advanced charges 2.7% + AED1.00, and Plus offers the most competitive rates. American Express charges 0.1% higher across all plans.

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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