Hotjar, Smartlook, and Mouseflow all help teams understand what users do on a website, but they are not the same tool. Hotjar is now part of Contentsquare and focuses on heatmaps, session replay, funnels, surveys, and broader experience analytics. Smartlook is strong in session recordings, events, funnels, heatmaps, and mobile analytics, but its official site now says Smartlook will reach End of Sale on May 31, 2026. Mouseflow is still positioned as a behavior analytics platform with session replay, heatmaps, funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, and friction detection.
This comparison explains where each tool fits best, what changed in pricing and product status, and which option makes more sense for UX, CRO, product, or marketing teams.
This comparison needs one important update before we look at features. Hotjar is no longer presented as a fully separate pricing path: its pricing and plans now point users to Contentsquare, where the available structure is Free, Growth, Pro, and Enterprise. That matters because older Hotjar pricing rows can mislead readers who compare tools by cost.
Smartlook also needs a clear note. Its official pricing page says Smartlook will reach End of Sale on May 31, 2026. So Smartlook can still be useful as a feature benchmark, especially for session recordings, events, funnels, heatmaps, and mobile analytics, but buyers should check long-term availability before choosing it.
Mouseflow is the most straightforward of the three from a pricing-table point of view. Its current public pricing lists Free, Essential, Advanced, Premium, and Enterprise plans, with 500 monthly sessions on the free plan and paid plans starting from 25/month on the pricing page.
Choose Hotjar/Contentsquare if you want a broad experience analytics platform with heatmaps, session replay, funnels, surveys, user tests, and integrations in one ecosystem.
Choose Smartlook only if your team already uses it or needs to compare web and mobile behavior analytics features. New buyers should be careful because Smartlook’s own site says the product will reach End of Sale on May 31, 2026.
Choose Mouseflow if you need behavior analytics focused on session replay, click and scroll heatmaps, conversion funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, and friction detection with transparent public pricing.
Heatmaps
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Popup Forms
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Feedback & NPS
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Session Recording
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Conversion Funnels
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
SEO Checker
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Google Search Console integration
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Event / Goals Tracking
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Sales Performance
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
A/B Testing tool
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Macro conversion
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Other settings
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Pricing
Hotjar
Smartlook
Mouseflow
Hotjar's ability to observe user behavior makes it a uniquely powerful tool for providing marketers with the insights they need to build engaging websites.
Oliver P. Digital Marketing Manager
Hotjar makes recording user interactions with your website simple. We record every new page and get high-quality recordings almost immediately. These recordings are invaluable for understanding how our customers use our product.
Joseph S. Product Manager
Because I use WordPress, installing and configuring hotjar on my website was a breeze. I went live with hotjar in less than 5 minutes. The entire setup procedure was extremely simple. In addition, we can view recordings of users' visits to our websites. We can see their clicks, where they wait, and almost everything else they do.
Nitesh G. Web Developer
I recently began using Smartlook for my website and am very pleased with the app. The user-friendly interface makes it easy for me to navigate and comprehend information. In addition, Smartlook's in-depth visitor recordings, which provide valuable insights into user behavior, are my favorite. This has enabled me to make more informed decisions about how to improve my website.
M. P. Marketing Agency Owner
It's very simple to use; I was introduced to it when I started at the company in March, and I picked it up and learned it in about a week. As a designer, it greatly aids my understanding of user behavior.
Priya P. Product designer
It is currently used in the organization's marketing, design, and web development departments to monitor how users interact with our websites and mobile apps. So far, there have been no problems. It is an excellent tool for user analytics and real-time experience comprehension; we can view real-time recordings of user sessions, track events, gather contextual information, and much more.
Sumant R. Software Engineer
Very simple to set up and get results and insights quickly. Compared to other medium-sized organizations/websites, its cost/function ratio is superior.
Andre M. Digital Hub Manager
Identifying gaps and developing a solution to improve the user interface is simple. Furthermore, journeys can be easily sliced and diced to understand the reasons for drop offs.
Nainan M. Head of Digital
Mouseflow integrates easily with your preferred landing page builder, in my case, Unbounce. They get along well. Given the number of user agents the software must track, I've found that the data provided by Mouseflow is quite accurate.
Josh M. Media Buyer
Hotjar is now part of Contentsquare, so the comparison should not describe it like an old standalone heatmap tool only. The current product direction is broader: heatmaps, session replay, funnels, surveys, user tests, feedback, and integrations. For UX and marketing teams, Hotjar/Contentsquare makes sense when the goal is to combine user behavior data with feedback and journey analysis.
The main downside is pricing clarity. Older Hotjar pricing rows are no longer reliable because Hotjar’s pricing path now points users to Contentsquare plans. So if price is a key factor, the page should tell readers to check the current Contentsquare plan structure instead of trusting old Observe Plus or Business numbers.
Smartlook is a behavior analytics tool for websites and mobile apps. Its strongest areas are session recordings, events, funnels, heatmaps, behavior flows, and crash reports. This makes it useful for product teams that need to see what users do before they drop off, especially across web and mobile experiences.
Still, Smartlook needs a very clear warning in this comparison. Its official site says Smartlook will reach End of Sale on May 31, 2026. That does not make the tool irrelevant for comparison, but it changes the buying advice. Existing users may still compare features, while new buyers should be careful before building a long-term analytics stack around it.
Mouseflow is the most direct CRO-focused option in this comparison. It covers session replay, heatmaps, conversion funnels, journey analytics, form analytics, feedback surveys, and friction detection. That mix is useful for teams that do not just want to watch recordings, but also want to find drop-offs, rage clicks, form problems, and weak page elements.
Mouseflow also has clearer public pricing than the other two tools in this comparison. Its current pricing page lists a free plan, Essential, Advanced, Premium, and Enterprise options, with monthly session limits and feature differences shown on the page.
The real difference between Hotjar, Smartlook, and Mouseflow is not only the feature list. It is the type of team each tool serves best.
Hotjar, now connected with Contentsquare, is moving toward a broader digital experience analytics platform. It is a better fit when a team wants heatmaps, session replay, funnels, surveys, user feedback, and integrations in one larger ecosystem. This can be useful for UX, product, and marketing teams that want more than simple click maps.
Smartlook is still strong from a feature perspective. It combines session recordings, events, funnels, heatmaps, behavior flows, crash reports, and web plus mobile analytics. But the End of Sale notice changes the buying decision. If your company is choosing a new long-term tool, this point should not be ignored.
Mouseflow feels more focused on practical CRO work. It gives teams session replay, click and scroll heatmaps, conversion funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, friction detection, journey analytics, and transparent pricing. For teams that want to find where users get stuck and fix conversion leaks, Mouseflow is probably the clearest direct option among these three.
So the choice is simple enough. Hotjar/Contentsquare is better for broader experience analytics. Smartlook is useful as a web and mobile analytics benchmark, but risky for new long-term adoption. Mouseflow is better when your main job is to analyze sessions, forms, funnels, friction, and conversion problems.
Hotjar, Smartlook, and Mouseflow are mainly used to understand user behavior. That is useful, but many marketing teams also need tools for lead capture, SEO checks, conversion tracking, and website testing in the same workflow.
This is where Plerdy can be a better fit. Plerdy combines heatmaps, session recordings, conversion funnel analysis, popup forms, SEO analysis, event tracking, and A/B testing tools. So instead of using one tool for UX behavior, another for lead capture, and another for SEO checks, teams can keep more CRO and website optimization tasks inside one platform.
Use Plerdy if your goal is not only to compare Hotjar vs Smartlook vs Mouseflow, but to improve the full path from traffic to conversion.
Hotjar, now part of Contentsquare, is better if you need broader experience analytics, surveys, user feedback, and a larger product ecosystem. Mouseflow is better if your main focus is CRO work with session replay, heatmaps, funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, and friction detection.
Smartlook is strong for session recordings, events, funnels, heatmaps, behavior flows, and mobile analytics. Hotjar is stronger if a team wants surveys, user feedback, user tests, and broader experience analytics inside the Contentsquare ecosystem.
Mouseflow is often a clearer option for CRO teams because it includes session replay, heatmaps, conversion funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, and friction detection. Smartlook is still useful for web and mobile behavior analytics, but new buyers should carefully check its current product status before choosing it for long-term use.
Hotjar, Smartlook, and Mouseflow all support heatmap-style analysis. Hotjar is better for broader experience analytics, Smartlook is useful for web and mobile behavior tracking, and Mouseflow is strong for click maps, scroll maps, movement maps, attention maps, and friction-related behavior insights.
All three tools offer session replay, but they fit slightly different needs. Hotjar is better when replay is part of a wider experience analytics workflow. Smartlook is useful when teams need recordings with event tracking and mobile analytics. Mouseflow is a strong choice when teams want to connect replays with funnels, forms, friction signals, and conversion problems.
Mouseflow is probably the clearest option among these three for conversion optimization because it combines session replay, heatmaps, funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, and friction detection. If your team also needs SEO analysis, popup forms, event tracking, and A/B testing in one workflow, Plerdy can be a better alternative to compare as well.
The main difference is the product focus. Hotjar is now connected with the larger Contentsquare ecosystem and fits broader experience analytics. Smartlook focuses on session recordings, events, funnels, heatmaps, and mobile analytics. Mouseflow focuses more directly on CRO, form analytics, funnels, friction detection, and website behavior analysis.
Choose Hotjar if you want broader experience analytics with feedback tools and surveys. Choose Smartlook if you already use it or need to compare web and mobile behavior analytics. Choose Mouseflow if your priority is finding user friction, form issues, funnel drop-offs, and conversion problems on a website.
If you are new to these tools and are debating whether to get this deal or another similar heatmap (or scrollmap, user-video-recording-analysis) type product, I recommend getting this one.
You get less junk data and fewer perplexing clicks. It delivered on my promise when I first heard about heatmaps. This alone makes it a fantastic find for me.
I was initially skeptical, but after using Plerdy, I realized I had a powerful tool. Heatmaps, session replays, and popups are all included. I'm very impressed.