JourneyLab vs Hotjar
Heatmaps, session recordings, surveys and a basic funnel.
Free, paid from about $32/mo (now part of Contentsquare)
Hotjar explains what people do on one page, which is one node in the graph. JourneyLab maps the entire business, so Hotjar is a natural complement: use it to lift the conversion of a single node inside a journey JourneyLab has already priced end to end.
What Hotjar does well
- Fast to set up and genuinely useful for seeing how people behave on a page.
- Session recordings, heatmaps and surveys that explain the why behind the numbers.
- A generous free tier, with behaviour analytics now backed by Contentsquare.
Where Hotjar leads
Session recordings, heatmaps and in-product surveys. JourneyLab does not record sessions or run surveys.
Where JourneyLab leads
Scope. Hotjar analyses one node in your graph, a single page, where heatmaps and recordings describe what people do. JourneyLab sketches your entire business as one graph, so you see how that node fits the whole machine, what it costs and where it leaks.
Capability by capability
Green is included, amber is partial or in beta, and grey is not present.
| Capability | Hotjar | JourneyLab |
|---|---|---|
| Map, analytics and economics in one graph | Missing | Included |
| Unit economics on the journey map | Missing | Partial |
| Stage conversion tracking | Partial | Included |
| CAC, LTV and LTV:CAC | Missing | Included |
| Payback period | Missing | Included |
| Per-node CapEx and OpEx | Missing | Included |
| Multi-touch marketing attribution | Missing | Included |
| Dated history and backdating | Missing | Partial |
| API and export | Partial | Partial |
| Transparent pricing | Included | Included |
| Self-serve signup | Included | Included |
The bottom line
Hotjar is a well-regarded behavioural analytics tool, and it is genuinely good at what it was built for. Session recordings, heatmaps and in-product surveys. JourneyLab does not record sessions or run surveys. Where they differ: Scope. Hotjar analyses one node in your graph, a single page, where heatmaps and recordings describe what people do. JourneyLab sketches your entire business as one graph, so you see how that node fits the whole machine, what it costs and where it leaks. If you already have your stack in place and only need that one job, Hotjar is excellent at it. If you want one system that sketches the whole machine, measures it and prices it with the same math, JourneyLab is the fit.