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Bye Bye Hotjar, Hello Clarity

6 min read
Microsoft ClarityHotjarWeb AnalyticsUser ExperienceHeatmaps

If you've been in the web analytics game for a while, you've probably used or at least heard of Hotjar—one of the most popular tools for heatmaps, session recordings, and user behavior tracking. But in recent years, Microsoft Clarity has quietly risen to dominance, offering similar features for free.

This article breaks down how Microsoft Clarity disrupted the industry, why it gained traction, and why many businesses (including myself) have switched from Hotjar.

What is Microsoft Clarity?

Microsoft Clarity is a free behavioral analytics tool that provides website owners with heatmaps, session recordings, error tracking, and AI-driven insights to help understand user behavior. Unlike Hotjar, which operates on a freemium pricing model, Clarity is completely free—no hidden costs, no limitations on usage.

Key Features of Microsoft Clarity:

  1. Heatmaps – See where users are clicking, scrolling, and interacting.
  2. Session Recordings – Watch real users navigate your site.
  3. Error Tracking & Debugging – Automatically detect JavaScript errors in session recordings to understand friction points.
  4. AI-Powered Insights – Automatic detection of rage clicks, dead clicks, and excessive scrolling.
  5. No Data Sampling – Unlike Hotjar’s free tier, Clarity does not limit the number of page views.
  6. GDPR & CCPA Compliance – Ensures user data privacy with built-in compliance features.
  7. Integration with Google Analytics – Easily link Clarity with GA for deeper insights.

How Microsoft Clarity Disrupted Hotjar

1. Price: The Biggest Deal Breaker

One of the main reasons Hotjar users started jumping ship was pricing. Hotjar’s free plan is extremely limited, only offering 300 session recordings per month and basic heatmaps. If you want more data, you’ll have to pay $39/month (at minimum)—and the pricing scales up quickly.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Clarity is completely free with no recording limits. For businesses running high-traffic websites, this was a no-brainer.

2. Unlimited Session Recordings and Heatmaps

Hotjar's pricing model limits the number of session recordings and heatmaps based on your plan. This means businesses often have to pick and choose what to analyze.

In contrast, Clarity offers unlimited recordings and heatmaps for free. This alone made Clarity the better choice for large businesses, agencies, and developers who rely on deep behavioral analysis.

3. AI-Driven Insights (Rage Clicks, Dead Clicks, Scroll Depth)

Microsoft Clarity goes beyond traditional analytics by leveraging AI-powered insights, automatically detecting:

  • Rage Clicks (users repeatedly clicking out of frustration)
  • Dead Clicks (users clicking on non-interactive elements)
  • Excessive Scrolling (users struggling to find information)

These insights are invaluable, especially when debugging UX issues or improving conversion rates.

Hotjar lacks built-in AI-driven insights, requiring manual filtering and deeper analysis, which takes more time and effort.

4. Error Tracking in Session Recordings

One of Clarity’s biggest advantages over Hotjar is its built-in error tracking. With Clarity, you can:

  • See JavaScript errors directly in session recordings to diagnose broken features or failed API calls.
  • Identify form validation failures and why users abandon key workflows.
  • Filter session replays by errors to prioritize debugging and improve UX.

This is a game-changer for developers and product teams because it eliminates the guesswork when debugging UI/UX issues. Hotjar lacks this feature entirely, meaning developers must rely on separate error logging tools like Sentry or LogRocket.

5. Performance & Data Handling

Hotjar’s tracking scripts can slow down page load times, especially on high-traffic websites. It uses a sampling method, meaning you don’t get 100% of the data—just a subset of it.

Clarity, on the other hand:

  • Uses asynchronous tracking to avoid slowing down websites.
  • Provides full data capture without sampling.
  • Stores session recordings and heatmaps indefinitely.

For businesses that rely on data accuracy, this was another win for Clarity.

6. Seamless Integration with Google Analytics

Microsoft Clarity allows one-click integration with Google Analytics, giving you a more detailed view of user behavior. This means you can track Clarity session recordings directly inside GA dashboards.

Hotjar does not have native Google Analytics integration, forcing users to rely on workarounds or third-party connectors.

7. Privacy & Compliance: Microsoft’s Edge

With increasing concerns over GDPR and CCPA compliance, businesses need to be sure their analytics tools handle user data correctly. Microsoft Clarity automatically anonymizes personally identifiable information (PII) and adheres to strict privacy standards.

Hotjar, while also GDPR compliant, requires manual configuration to ensure PII is not collected—making Clarity the easier and safer choice for many businesses.

The Final Blow: Why Businesses are Abandoning Hotjar

The moment Microsoft Clarity launched, businesses had to ask themselves a simple question:

Why pay for Hotjar when Clarity offers the same (or better) features for free?

For startups, agencies, and enterprise-level businesses, Clarity’s pricing model alone was enough to switch. Add in better performance, AI-driven insights, error tracking, and deeper Google Analytics integration, and Hotjar started to feel outdated and overpriced.

Is There Any Reason to Still Use Hotjar?

Despite Clarity’s advantages, Hotjar still has a few strengths:

  • Surveys & Polls – Hotjar allows direct user feedback via on-site surveys.
  • Funnel Analysis – While Clarity provides behavioral tracking, Hotjar offers conversion funnel tracking.
  • A/B Testing Support – If you’re running experiments, Hotjar has better support for A/B testing insights.

For UX teams focused on qualitative research, Hotjar might still be relevant. But for pure behavioral analytics? Microsoft Clarity is the better choice.

Microsoft Clarity has changed the game in behavioral analytics. It eliminates the need for expensive heatmap and session recording tools while providing deeper insights into user behavior—all at zero cost.

For businesses looking to optimize user experience, switching to Clarity is a no-brainer.

Key Takeaways:

  • Free forever – No hidden fees or data limitations.
  • Unlimited session recordings & heatmaps – No sampling or paywalls.
  • Built-in error tracking – See JavaScript errors directly in session recordings.
  • AI-powered insights – Rage clicks, dead clicks, excessive scrolling.
  • Better performance – Lightweight script, no impact on load times.
  • Seamless integration with Google Analytics – Data-rich insights at your fingertips.

If you're still using Hotjar, it's time to ask yourself: Is it worth paying for features that Clarity offers for free? 🚀