If you are comparing Hotjar vs Plerdy, the first thing to know is that the comparison itself has changed: Hotjar is no longer a standalone product you can sign up for — it is now part of Contentsquare, and new accounts are created directly on Contentsquare's platform. Plerdy is still an independent, self-serve platform that combines heatmaps, session replay, pop-ups, funnels, A/B testing, and an on-page SEO checker in one dashboard — which matters if the reason you are comparing these two tools is to keep conversion research and technical SEO in a single workflow instead of stitching two subscriptions together.
This guide compares both tools feature by feature — heatmaps, session recordings, forms, funnels, SEO checks, A/B testing, and pricing — shows what changed after the Hotjar/Contentsquare merger, and points out where Plerdy is the more practical fit if your team also owns on-page SEO.
Best For
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
Heatmaps
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
Session Replay
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
Funnels And Analytics
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
Feedback, Surveys And Forms
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
SEO And CRO Tools
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
Integrations And Privacy
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
Pricing
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
Plerdy
This is the single biggest structural gap between the two tools: Hotjar/Contentsquare is a behavior-analytics platform with no on-page technical SEO layer, while Plerdy ships heatmaps, session replay, and SEO monitoring under one login — useful if the same person or small team owns both CRO and SEO.
Hotjar built its reputation on simple heatmaps, session recordings, and on-site surveys for marketing and UX teams. As of 2026 it operates as part of Contentsquare's experience-analytics platform: new users can no longer create a standalone Hotjar account — sign-up happens on Contentsquare, and the free plan now includes heatmaps, Attention Maps, session replay, surveys, error monitoring, funnels, and 10+ integrations at 200,000 sessions per month.
Hotjar pros:
Hotjar cons:
Plerdy is a conversion-rate-optimization and on-page SEO platform built for marketing, UX, and SEO teams that want one dashboard instead of three separate subscriptions. It combines behavior analytics (heatmaps, session replay, funnels), conversion tools (pop-ups, A/B testing, ecommerce tracking), and an automatic SEO checker with Google Search Console data.
Plerdy pros:
Plerdy cons:
Hotjar built its reputation on simple heatmaps, session recordings, and on-site surveys for marketing and UX teams. As of 2026 it operates as part of Contentsquare's experience-analytics platform. It is best suited for product/UX teams at mid-size to enterprise companies that need deep, AI-assisted behavior analytics and are comfortable adopting the broader Contentsquare platform.
Key features:
Use cases: product and UX research teams; mid-market to enterprise companies that want an all-in-one digital experience analytics suite beyond simple heatmaps.
Plerdy is a conversion-rate-optimization and on-page SEO platform built for marketing, UX, and SEO teams that want one dashboard instead of three separate subscriptions. It combines behavior analytics, conversion tools, and an automatic SEO checker with Google Search Console data.
Key features:
Use cases: in-house marketing/CRO teams that also own SEO; ecommerce teams diagnosing cart and checkout drop-off; agencies managing heatmap, funnel, and SEO reporting for multiple client sites without paying for three tools per client.
Neither tool is objectively "better" — they now serve different-shaped teams. Hotjar, as part of Contentsquare, is the stronger pick for product and UX research teams inside mid-size to enterprise companies that want AI-assisted session analysis and are comfortable with quote-based enterprise pricing. Plerdy is the more practical choice for marketing, CRO, and SEO teams that want heatmaps, session replay, pop-ups, funnels, A/B testing, and an SEO checker under one transparent, self-serve subscription.
If the reason you searched "Hotjar vs Plerdy" is to stop paying for a behavior-analytics tool and a separate SEO tool, Plerdy's pricing page is the fastest way to see whether one platform can replace both.
If you are moving off the old, standalone Hotjar (rather than staying on the merged Contentsquare product), here is what to plan for:
If your last experience with Hotjar was its classic 35-sessions-a-day free plan, the product has changed significantly. Contentsquare — an enterprise experience-analytics company — acquired Hotjar, and by 2026 the two products fully merged into a single platform sold under the Contentsquare brand. In practice, this means:
For anyone evaluating "Hotjar vs Plerdy" today, the more accurate framing is Contentsquare's free/entry tier vs Plerdy — not the standalone Hotjar most reviews from 2020-2023 still describe. Several third-party comparison pages have not caught up with this change yet, which is worth keeping in mind if you read an older "Hotjar vs Plerdy" write-up elsewhere.
Both tools are actively reviewed on independent software-comparison platforms. Scores move over time, so treat this as a snapshot rather than a permanent ranking — always check the live page before quoting a number.
Independent review platforms give a more grounded picture than either vendor's own marketing page:
Plerdy's review volume is still smaller than Hotjar's — Hotjar has more than a decade of reviews behind its brand name. But on every platform above, Plerdy's average score is equal to or higher than Hotjar's, which is worth factoring in alongside raw review count.
The practical difference: Plerdy publishes every tier's price on its pricing page, so you can budget without talking to sales. Hotjar's free tier is generous after the Contentsquare merger, but anything beyond it is quote-based — check the current numbers on Contentsquare's pricing page before comparing totals, since enterprise SaaS pricing changes without notice.
Hotjar (Contentsquare): Free tier provides 200,000 sessions/month, heatmaps, session replay, surveys, funnels, and error monitoring. Any paid tier above the entry free offering requires a sales conversation and custom quote.
Plerdy: Free plan includes 100 heatmaps/day, 500 video sessions, 5,000 SEO audits, 100 pop-ups, and unlimited A/B testing. Startup starts from $21/month (billed annually), Scale from $42/month, Thrive from $70/month, and Enterprise from $97/month with scaling up to 50,000 heatmaps/day.
“Plerdy SEO checker is great. It gives you an overview of user devices over time.”
“Plerdy has a fair pricing policy compared to the alternative solutions.”
No. As of 2026, Hotjar and Contentsquare have merged into a single platform. New users sign up through Contentsquare, and Hotjar's classic features — heatmaps, recordings, surveys — are now part of the Contentsquare product.
Yes, if you want heatmaps and session replay alongside pop-ups, funnels, A/B testing, and an on-page SEO checker in one self-serve platform. It is a closer fit for teams that own both CRO and SEO than for pure product-research teams needing Contentsquare's AI-assisted enterprise analytics.
Yes. Plerdy's Session Replay Software records visitor sessions and flags rage clicks, similar to Hotjar's recordings feature.
Both have a free plan. Beyond free, Plerdy publishes fixed self-serve prices starting around $21/month, while Hotjar's paid tiers are now folded into Contentsquare's quote-based enterprise pricing — you need to contact sales for an exact number.
Plerdy includes an automatic SEO checker and Google Search Console integration inside the same dashboard as its heatmaps. Hotjar/Contentsquare does not offer on-page technical SEO auditing.
Session recordings, heatmaps, and funnel definitions do not transfer between platforms. Export any historical reports you need, then run both tools in parallel for one to two weeks while you rebuild funnels and events in Plerdy.