Software · head to head
Lucky Orange vs Hotjar
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Lucky Orange session-based pricing scales poorly during traffic spikes or successful campaigns; Hotjar website performance impact - Hotjar tracking code can cause noticeable slowdowns affecting site speed and Google rankings
- They diverge on capability: Lucky Orange covers Session Recordings, Hotjar covers Session recordings.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Lucky Orange and Hotjar actually diverge.
| Attribute | Lucky Orange | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2012 | 2014 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Unknown), free tier (Yes), 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 Lucky Orange
- Session Recordings
- Live Chat
- Form Analytics
- Shopify
- WordPress
- BigCommerce
- Wix
- Google Tag Manager
Only in Hotjar
- Session recordings
- Feedback widgets
- User interviews
- Conversion funnels
- Form analytics
- Rage click detection
- Google Analytics
- Segment
Both cover
- Heatmaps
- Surveys
- HubSpot
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Lucky Orange
- User experience analysisnot Hotjar
- Bug reproductionnot Hotjar
- Conversion optimization
- Customer journey mappingnot Hotjar
- Usability testing
Hotjar
- User behavior analysisnot Lucky Orange
- Conversion optimization
- UX researchnot Lucky Orange
- Customer feedbacknot Lucky Orange
- Usability testing
Both are used for conversion optimization, usability testing, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Lucky Orange
- Session-based pricing scales poorly during traffic spikes or successful campaigns
- Lacks A/B testing capabilities that competitors like Crazy Egg offer
- Less privacy-focused than Hotjar for session recording data
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
Pricing, plan by plan
Lucky Orange
Free- FreeFree
- 100 monthly sessions
- 30 days data retention
- Basic features
- Build$32/month
- 5,000 monthly sessions
- Live chat
- Heatmaps
- Grow$72/month
- 15,000 monthly sessions
- All Build features
- Expand$184/month
- 50,000 monthly sessions
- All features
Hotjar
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Hotjar review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Lucky Orange if
- You need session recordings.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want live chat.
Choose Hotjar if
- You need session recordings.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want feedback widgets.
Questions people ask
- Is Lucky Orange or Hotjar better?
- Neither clearly leads. Lucky Orange starts at Free and Hotjar at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Lucky Orange or Hotjar?
- Lucky Orange starts at Free and Hotjar at Free.
- Does Lucky Orange or Hotjar run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- Can I use Lucky Orange for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Lucky Orange best used for?
- Lucky Orange is most often used for user experience analysis, bug reproduction, conversion optimization, customer journey mapping. Of those, user experience analysis and bug reproduction are not what Hotjar is typically brought in for.
- What can Lucky Orange do that Hotjar cannot?
- Lucky Orange covers Session Recordings, Live Chat, Form Analytics, Shopify. Hotjar covers Session recordings, Feedback widgets, User interviews, Conversion funnels. Both handle Heatmaps, Surveys, HubSpot.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Lucky Orange: What is Lucky Orange's pricing based on?
Lucky Orange uses session-based pricing tiers. The Free plan tracks 100 monthly sessions; Build plan ($32/mo) tracks 5,000 sessions; Grow ($72/mo) tracks 15,000 sessions, up to Scale ($839/mo) for 300,000 sessions.
SourceHotjar: 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.
SourceLucky Orange: Does Lucky Orange include live chat?
Yes, unlike pure heatmap tools, Lucky Orange includes live chat with canned responses, operator transfers, co-browsing, and typing preview in all paid plans.
SourceHotjar: 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.
SourceLucky Orange: Can I get a 7-day free trial?
Yes, Lucky Orange offers a 7-day free trial with all features on every plan and no credit card required to start.
SourceHotjar: 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.
SourceLucky Orange: Does Lucky Orange track session recordings?
Yes, Lucky Orange provides dynamic heatmaps and visitor session recordings showing customer behavior, including drop-offs in conversion funnels.
SourceHotjar: 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.
SourceLucky Orange: How is Lucky Orange different from Hotjar?
Lucky Orange combines heatmaps with integrated live chat for real-time support, while Hotjar focuses more on feedback collection and UX research with better privacy defaults.
Source