Marketing · head to head
Mautic vs Microsoft Clarity
Mautic
Marketing
The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Microsoft Clarity
Marketing
Free behaviour analytics tool with session recordings, heatmaps, and AI insights
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.; Microsoft Clarity no paid tier means no premium support; enterprise SLAs and dedicated account management are unavailable
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Mautic and Microsoft Clarity actually diverge.
| Attribute | Mautic | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Open source, no licence fee | free |
| Platforms | Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker | Web, iOS, Android |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).
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 Mautic
- Visual campaign builder
- Contact management and segmentation
- Landing pages and forms
- Lead scoring
- Dynamic web content
- Email builder and A/B testing
- Self-hosted data control
- No feature gating
Only in Microsoft Clarity
Nothing recorded that Mautic does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Mautic
- A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot Microsoft Clarity
- A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot Microsoft Clarity
- A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot Microsoft Clarity
- A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot Microsoft Clarity
Microsoft Clarity
- SaaS product teams identifying checkout and signup funnel frictionnot Mautic
- E-commerce sites optimising product discovery and purchase flowsnot Mautic
- Content websites understanding reading patterns and article engagementnot Mautic
- Mobile app teams (iOS/Android) analysing user journey and drop-off pointsnot Mautic
- B2B platforms optimising onboarding and feature discoverynot Mautic
- Agencies and consultants providing UX analysis to clients free of chargenot Mautic
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Mautic
- Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
- Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
- Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
- Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
- The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.
Microsoft Clarity
- No paid tier means no premium support; enterprise SLAs and dedicated account management are unavailable
- Dependency on JavaScript tracking; websites with strict CSP (content security policy) may struggle with integration
- Session replay is limited to browser-based interactions; native app behaviour in web wrappers is not captured
- AI Chat and summaries require adequate session volume; low-traffic sites lack sufficient data for meaningful pattern detection
- Privacy masking is automatic but lacks granular configuration; custom masking rules for proprietary data require workarounds
Pricing, plan by plan
Mautic
Free- Self-hosted communityFree
- GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
- All features included, no paid edition
- You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
- Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
- Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
- Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
- Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project
Microsoft Clarity
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft Clarity review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Mautic if
- You need visual campaign builder.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
- You also want contact management and segmentation.
Choose Microsoft Clarity if
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
Questions people ask
- Is Mautic or Microsoft Clarity better?
- Neither clearly leads. Mautic starts at Free and Microsoft Clarity at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Mautic or Microsoft Clarity?
- Mautic starts at Free and Microsoft Clarity at Free.
- Does Mautic or Microsoft Clarity run on more platforms?
- Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker. Microsoft Clarity runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Mautic for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Mautic best used for?
- Mautic is most often used for a marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact saas pricing at scale, a european university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controls, a company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where saas per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budget, a team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do so. Of those, a marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact saas pricing at scale and a european university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controls are not what Microsoft Clarity is typically brought in for.
- What can Mautic do that Microsoft Clarity cannot?
- Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Mautic: Is Mautic free?
Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.
Microsoft Clarity: Is Microsoft Clarity truly free?
Yes. Microsoft Clarity is completely free with no traffic limits, no paid tier, and no restrictions based on session volume. It integrates with web properties via a single tracking snippet.
SourceMautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?
Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.
Microsoft Clarity: Does Clarity comply with GDPR and CCPA?
Yes. Clarity automatically masks sensitive form field data before transmission and supports privacy-by-default configuration. EU and California data residency options are available.
SourceMautic: What breaks most often?
Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.
Microsoft Clarity: Can Clarity track mobile apps?
Yes. Clarity provides native SDKs for iOS and Android, as well as support for React Native and Flutter apps.
SourceMautic: Can it handle large contact lists?
Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.
Related pages
More on Microsoft Clarity
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