Used For

• +**Your checkout page bleeds customers but you can't figure out where** → Watch recordings of people rage-clicking broken buttons or abandoning after scrolling forever looking for the CTA
• +**You're running A/B tests blind, changing random things hoping something works** → Heatmaps show exactly where people click most and surveys ask "What stopped you from buying?"
• +**Your boss wants to know why the redesign tanked conversions** → Session recordings become video proof of usability disasters
• +Records full user sessions automatically - no setting up complex tracking or writing code to capture interactions
• +Pop-up surveys grab instant feedback - users tell you "this form is confusing" right when they're frustrated

Best For

• >Your landing page has a 40% bounce rate and Google Analytics just shows traffic, not why people leave
• >You're arguing with your team about website changes based on opinions instead of data
• >Need to see exactly where users get stuck in your checkout without being a developer

Not For

• -Solo founders or tiny teams under 10 people — you'll hit the 500 daily session limit fast and pay $39/month for features you won't use
• -Anyone needing detailed form analytics — they killed that feature in 2020, so you can't see which form fields make people abandon
• -Budget-conscious startups — session limits mean surprise overage bills when your traffic spikes

Pairs With

• *Google Analytics (shows you the traffic numbers that Hotjar explains with actual user behavior)
• *WordPress (where most people install it via plugin instead of wrestling with header code)
• *Optimizely (for running A/B tests based on what Hotjar recordings reveal)
• *Intercom (where you follow up with users who gave negative feedback through Hotjar surveys)
• *Slack (where your team shares "holy shit look at this user recording" moments)
• *Insiteful (what teams switch to when they need the form tracking Hotjar killed)

The Catch

• !The tracking script slows your site by 100-500ms, which hurts SEO and user experience
• !Session limits are brutal - go over 500 daily sessions and you're paying overage fees that can double your bill
• !They retired their best features (Forms & Funnels) in 2020, so you can't track field-level dropoffs that competitors like Insiteful handle easily

Bottom Line

Shows you why visitors abandon your site through actual recordings, but costs enterprise money for basic features most small teams barely use.