Hotjar and Smartlook are both popular behavior analytics tools for heatmaps, session replay, funnels, and user behavior analysis. But the comparison changed in 2026. Hotjar is now part of Contentsquare, while Smartlook has announced its End of Sale. Plerdy is a stronger long-term option if you need heatmaps, session replay, funnels, SEO checks, popups, A/B testing, ecommerce analytics, and CRO tools in one platform.
Important 2026 Update: Smartlook will reach End of Sale on May 31, 2026. If you are comparing Hotjar vs Smartlook today, also check long-term alternatives like Plerdy before choosing a tool. Smartlook на своїх сторінках прямо показує повідомлення про End of Sale 31 May 2026, а Cisco EOL announcement підтверджує, що останній день замовлення Smartlook — 31 May 2026, останній день renewal/add-on — 31 August 2026, а Last Date of Support — 31 August 2027.
Product Status in 2026
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Heatmaps
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Popup Forms
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Feedback, Surveys & NPS
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Session recording
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Conversion Funnels
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
SEO Checker
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Google Search Console integration
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Event / Goals Tracking
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Sales Performance
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
A/B Testing tool
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Macro conversion
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Other settings
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Pricing
Hotjar
Smartlook
Plerdy
Plerdy is not only a heatmap or session recording tool. It combines CRO, UX, SEO, and ecommerce analytics in one platform. This matters because many teams do not just want to watch recordings. They want to understand which elements help sales, which content users ignore, which pages need SEO fixes, and which changes should be tested.
For a small team, this can replace several separate tools: a heatmap tool, a session replay tool, a popup tool, an SEO checker, and an A/B testing tool. That makes Plerdy more practical when the goal is not just analytics, but conversion growth.
Leandro Chaves, Analista de sistemas at Autônomo:
I like Smartlook because it offers heat maps of website consumption and recordings of users' navigation. Smartlook solves all the problems at a fair price. But using Smartlook, I missed the option of creating folders or tagging the recordings.
Sarah Bellaiche, Product Design/Development Engineer at Garantme:
I love the funnel functionality at Smartlook. With it, Smartlook helped us to see the step our users dropped the most. The dashboard at Smartlook is well done. Events are also very well done at Smartlook to check actions precise page.
Francesco Tonti, Development Director at Udacity:
I like that Smartlook shows what users click on and how interact with the website.
Moreover, Smartlook doesn't slow down the website. I recommend everybody to try Smartlook.
Tony Spencer, Independent Entrepreneur:
Hotjar was easy to integrate. But I think Hotjar isn't solving any problems. Hotjar crippled the original product. I don`t recommend you use Hotjar.
Emily Schreiber, Retention Marketing at Simon & Schuster:
Hotjar is excellent for small businesses and agencies. I can admit that Hotjar integrates with lots of other tools. But I dislike that Hotjar is not always user-friendly when generating heatmaps.
Oliver Pearson, Digital Marketing Manager at Risilience:
It's challenging to find things to dislike about Hotjar. Hotjar is a tool that fulfills everything it promises. I recommend you to try Hotjar.
Hotjar is a behavior analytics and feedback tool for teams that want to understand how people interact with a website. Its main features include heatmaps, session replay, funnels, surveys, and feedback tools. Hotjar is useful when marketers, UX designers, and product teams need quick visual insights without building a complex analytics setup.
In 2026, Hotjar is no longer positioned as just a separate standalone brand. It is now part of Contentsquare, and the product is being presented as part of a larger experience intelligence platform. For users, this can be good if they want more enterprise-level analytics. But it can also make pricing and product positioning less simple than before.
Smartlook is a product analytics and visual user insights tool with session recordings, heatmaps, events, funnels, behavior flows, mobile app analytics, and crash reports. It was a strong choice for SaaS, app, and product teams that needed to connect user behavior with specific events.
However, Smartlook announced that it will gradually wind down as a standalone product. New Smartlook subscriptions will not be sold after May 31, 2026, and the platform is planned to be decommissioned on September 30, 2027. This makes Smartlook less attractive for new teams that want a long-term UX analytics stack.
Choose Hotjar if you mainly need heatmaps, session replay, surveys, feedback, and a simple way to understand why users behave in a certain way. It is a familiar tool for UX and marketing teams, but now it sits inside the wider Contentsquare ecosystem.
Choose Smartlook only if you already use it or need short-term access to its product analytics, mobile analytics, events, funnels, behavior flows, or crash reports. For new users, Smartlook is risky because of its announced End of Sale and planned platform decommission.
Choose Plerdy if you want one platform for website heatmaps, session replay, funnels, event tracking, popups, SEO analysis, A/B testing, and ecommerce conversion analysis. This is especially useful for ecommerce, SaaS, and marketing teams that do not want to pay for separate UX, CRO, SEO, and popup tools.
Hotjar is usually better for simple website behavior analysis, heatmaps, session replay, funnels, surveys, and feedback. Smartlook was stronger for some product analytics and mobile app analytics use cases, but its End of Sale makes it less attractive for new long-term users.
Smartlook is still available for now, but it has announced End of Sale on May 31, 2026. Existing customers should check official Smartlook and Cisco updates before renewing or planning long-term analytics work.
Many users still search for Hotjar Observe Plus €32 per month pricing, but Hotjar pricing has moved into the Contentsquare ecosystem. Treat this as a legacy pricing reference and check the current pricing before making a decision.
Yes, Hotjar can track multiple subdomains if the same tracking code is installed on the relevant subdomains. If you need separate reporting for each subdomain, you may need to configure them as separate sites.
Plerdy is a strong Hotjar alternative if you need heatmaps, session replay, funnels, popups, SEO analysis, A/B testing, and ecommerce conversion analytics in one platform.
Plerdy is a good Smartlook alternative for website teams that need behavior analytics, CRO tools, SEO checks, session replay, heatmaps, and conversion tracking without relying on a product that is moving toward End of Sale.
“I don’t use Hotjar because of poor website performance. Although I lose some performance with Plerdy, the data I’m getting is worth it”
“Plerdy’s session recording feature is what I use most. Thanks to the layout, you can see how people interact with the website. Customer movement, click, page scroll, and keyboard indicators allow easily scanning long videos”