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E-Commerce · head to head

Hotjar vs Yellowfin

Hotjar logo

Hotjar

E-Commerce

Understand how users behave on your site

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Yellowfin logo

Yellowfin

Business Intelligence

Action-based business intelligence

From
$50/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; Yellowfin the pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • They diverge on capability: Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hotjar and Yellowfin actually diverge.

Attributes where Hotjar and Yellowfin differ
AttributeHotjarYellowfin
Starting priceFree$50/month
Pricing modelUnknownsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Mobile, Embedded
CategoryE-CommerceBusiness Intelligence
Founded20142003

Identical on both: 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 Yellowfin

  • Automated Analysis
  • Data Stories
  • Collaboration
  • Signals
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • SQL Server
  • Oracle

Both cover

  • Google Analytics

What people use each for

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

Hotjar

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

Yellowfin

  • Embedding white-labelled dashboards and analytics into a software productnot Hotjar
  • Enterprise reporting with automated business monitoring and alertingnot Hotjar
  • Data storytelling and guided natural language querying for business usersnot 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

Yellowfin

  • The pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • One of the three embedded models is a revenue share, so Yellowfin takes a cut of the revenue your analytics module earns
  • Another model prices by server core, so scaling deployment hardware raises the licence cost independently of users
  • Getting a quote requires submitting a form with a marketing consent checkbox and a user-count band rather than seeing a rate card

Pricing, plan by plan

Hotjar

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.

Yellowfin

$50/month
  • Team$50/month
    • Dashboards
    • Stories
    • Collaboration
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced Features
    • Embedding
    • Custom SLA

Which should you pick?

Choose Hotjar if

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

Choose Yellowfin if

  • You need automated analysis.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
  • You also want data stories.
Yellowfin review

Questions people ask

Is Hotjar or Yellowfin better?
Neither clearly leads. Hotjar starts at Free and Yellowfin at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hotjar or Yellowfin?
Hotjar has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Hotjar and $50/month for Yellowfin.
Does Hotjar or Yellowfin run on more platforms?
Hotjar runs on Web. Yellowfin runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
Can I use Hotjar for free?
Yes. Hotjar has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Yellowfin starts at $50/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 Yellowfin is typically brought in for.
What can Hotjar do that Yellowfin cannot?
Hotjar covers Heatmaps, Session recordings, Feedback widgets, Surveys. Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis, Data Stories, Collaboration, Signals. Both handle Google Analytics.

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
Yellowfin: What pricing models does Yellowfin offer?

Yellowfin offers three flexible models for embedded analytics: Aligned Utility Model (price per unit), Revenue Share Model (based on analytics revenue value), and Server Core (fixed price based on server deployment).

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
Yellowfin: Is Yellowfin pricing predictable and scalable?

Yes, Yellowfin pricing is simple, predictable and scalable with no hidden costs or surprises.

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
Yellowfin: Are there limits on user access or development environments?

No limitations exist on access to functionality across users. There are also no limits on dev and test licenses, ensuring DevOps is covered.

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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