Smartlook vs Hotjar: Complete Feature Comparison [2026]

Quick Verdict: Hotjar is the best choice for website-focused teams prioritizing user feedback, heatmaps, and ease of use. Smartlook is engineered for mobile app teams and product developers who need comprehensive mobile analytics, advanced session replay, and detailed technical insights across iOS, Android, and web platforms.

Both Smartlook and Hotjar capture user sessions and provide behavior analytics, but they serve different primary audiences. Hotjar focuses on website optimization with powerful heatmaps and survey capabilities. Smartlook emphasizes mobile app analytics with granular replay, rage click detection, and performance metrics tailored for mobile teams.

This comprehensive guide breaks down the key differences, helping you choose the right platform based on your primary use case—whether you're optimizing a website, launching mobile apps, or managing both.

Quick Comparison Table

| Feature | Smartlook | Hotjar | |---------|-----------|--------| | Primary Focus | Mobile app analytics + web | Website behavior + feedback | | Native Mobile SDKs | iOS, Android (comprehensive) | Limited mobile web only | | Session Recording | Advanced (with technical data) | Standard (pure replay) | | Heatmaps | Basic (web only) | Advanced (click, scroll, move) | | Rage Click Detection | Yes (mobile-focused) | Yes | | Dead Click Detection | Yes | Yes | | Surveys/Feedback | No | Yes (comprehensive) | | User Feedback Widget | Basic | Advanced | | Performance Monitoring | Yes (mobile-focused) | Limited | | Crash Reports | Yes (app crashes) | No | | Funnel Analysis | Yes | Yes | | Data Retention | 3 months (free), unlimited (paid) | 365 days standard | | Starting Price | Free tier available | $32/month (Observe) | | API Access | Yes (robust) | Limited | | Integration Count | 60+ | 100+ | | Best For | Mobile app teams, product development | Website optimization, marketing teams |

Company Backgrounds

Smartlook: The Mobile Analytics Specialist (Founded 2016)

Smartlook was founded in 2016 in Brno, Czech Republic by developers specifically focused on solving mobile app analytics challenges. The platform emerged from frustration with existing tools that treated mobile as an afterthought. Today, Smartlook serves thousands of companies across mobile apps, websites, and hybrid applications with a particular strength in capturing the nuances of mobile user behavior.

The founding team's mobile-first philosophy shaped the product's architecture—Smartlook was built from the ground up to handle native iOS and Android, not adapted from a web-first product.

Hotjar: The User Behavior Pioneer (Founded 2014)

Hotjar launched in 2014 and quickly became the industry standard for understanding website visitor behavior. Founded by David Darmanin in Malta, Hotjar is now part of the Contentsquare group (acquired 2019) and serves over 1 million websites globally.

Hotjar's strength lies in simplicity—non-technical users can set up comprehensive behavior analytics in minutes. The platform excels at answering the "why" behind user behavior through integrated surveys and feedback tools.

Feature-by-Feature Deep Dive

Session Recording: Technical Depth vs Visual Fidelity

Smartlook Recording Capabilities:

Smartlook's session recordings capture:

• Full interactive replay of app interactions (iOS, Android, web)
• Network requests and API calls (with payloads and responses)
• Console logs and JavaScript errors
• Performance metrics (frame rate, CPU usage, memory consumption)
• Custom events and user properties
• User touches and gestures (mobile-specific)
• App crash data with stack traces
• Keyboard input (with masking for sensitive fields)

The platform particularly excels at mobile replay—you see exactly what the user experienced on their specific device, including navigation flows that don't exist in traditional web navigation.

Hotjar Recording Capabilities:

Hotjar captures:

• Pure visual replay of user clicks, scrolls, and navigation
• Page transitions and form interactions
• Mouse movements and pointer behavior
• Timestamps and session duration
• Device and browser information
• Geographic location

Hotjar's recordings are pure "what did they do" replay without technical context like network errors or performance metrics.

Winner: Smartlook for technical teams and mobile app development. Hotjar for pure UX observation and behavior understanding.

Heatmaps: Depth of Visualization

Smartlook Heatmaps:

Smartlook provides:

• Click heatmaps (showing tap locations on mobile)
• Scroll heatmaps (depth visualization)
• Mobile gesture heatmaps (swipes, pinches)
• Limited to web and mobile web (not native app heatmaps)

The heatmaps are serviceable but not Smartlook's strength—the team prioritized mobile app session replay over advanced heat visualization.

Hotjar Heatmaps:

Hotjar's heatmaps are among the industry's best:

• Click maps (showing exact interaction locations)
• Scroll maps (depth and completion percentage)
• Move maps (mouse tracking)
• Engagement zone heatmaps (combining interaction types)
• Segment comparison (A/B variant heatmaps side-by-side)
• Filter by traffic source, device, and behavior

Hotjar's heatmap engine is specifically engineered for granular analysis of website interactions.

Winner: Hotjar decisively. This is a core differentiator where Hotjar invests heavily while Smartlook treats heatmaps as a secondary feature.

Mobile App Analytics: Native SDKs and Crash Reporting

Smartlook Mobile Capabilities:

Smartlook's native SDKs for iOS and Android capture:

• Full app session replay (every interaction recorded)
• Crash reports with stack traces
• Network monitoring (API calls, payloads, responses)
• Performance metrics (frame rate, memory, CPU)
• Custom events tied to specific user flows
• Mobile-specific gestures (swipes, pinches, rotation)
• App permissions and device information
• Background vs foreground state transitions

This is Smartlook's territory—the comprehensive mobile app analytics platform that web-first tools can't replicate.

Hotjar Mobile Capabilities:

Hotjar focuses on web analytics. Mobile support includes:

• Mobile web analytics (responsive sites viewed on phones)
• Mobile web session recordings (limited)
• Mobile web heatmaps
• No native iOS or Android SDKs

Hotjar can analyze mobile web usage but not native mobile apps.

Winner: Smartlook by a massive margin. If you're building iOS/Android apps, Smartlook is purpose-built; Hotjar isn't competing in this space.

Surveys, Feedback, and Qualitative Research

Smartlook Feedback Capabilities:

Smartlook includes:

• Basic in-app surveys (limited question types)
• User feedback widget
• NPS polls
• No advanced survey logic or branching
• No dedicated interview features

Feedback is available but not sophisticated compared to specialized tools.

Hotjar Feedback Capabilities:

Hotjar's feedback suite is comprehensive:

• On-page surveys with multiple question types
• NPS (Net Promoter Score) polls
• Feedback widgets with rich customization
• Exit-intent surveys (capture abandoning users)
• Targeted surveys based on behavior, location, device
• Conditional logic and survey branching
• Engage feature for scheduling video interviews
• Survey analytics and response analysis
• Multivariate feedback testing

Hotjar treats feedback as a first-class citizen—the platform is specifically designed to bridge the gap between "what users did" and "why they did it."

Winner: Hotjar decisively. Survey and feedback tools are Hotjar's competitive advantage; Smartlook treats them as checkbox features.

Performance Monitoring and Technical Metrics

Smartlook Performance Tracking:

Smartlook provides:

• Network request monitoring (API call duration, status, payloads)
• JavaScript console error tracking
• Performance metrics (page load time, interaction latency)
• Mobile-specific metrics (frame rate, CPU usage, memory consumption)
• App crash reporting with full stack traces
• Custom performance events

The focus is mobile performance—understanding how your app performs on various devices and network conditions.

Hotjar Performance Tracking:

Hotjar provides:

• Basic page load time tracking
• Limited performance context in session replay
• No error tracking or debugging context
• No mobile app performance metrics

Hotjar captures behavior, not technical performance.

Winner: Smartlook. This is a major differentiator for engineering and product teams that care about performance.

Funnel and Conversion Analysis

Smartlook Funnels:

Smartlook provides:

• Multi-step funnel analysis
• Funnel segmentation by custom properties
• Visual drop-off visualization
• Funnel comparison (how changes impact conversion)
• Mobile app funnel support (in-app flows)

Funnels are well-implemented for both web and mobile app use cases.

Hotjar Funnels:

Hotjar provides:

• Multi-step funnel creation
• Segmentation by traffic source, device, behavior
• Visual drop-off display
• Funnel heatmap (see where users drop off)

Funnel analysis is solid in both—neither has a major advantage here.

Winner: Tie. Both tools provide good funnel analysis.

Pricing Comparison

Smartlook Pricing (2026):

Free Tier:

• Unlimited websites and apps
• 3,000 sessions/month
• 3-month data retention
• All heatmaps and recordings
• Basic dashboard

Standard ($29/month):

• 50,000 sessions/month
• Unlimited data retention
• All features
• Priority support

Professional ($99/month):

• 500,000 sessions/month
• Unlimited retention
• Advanced features
• Dedicated support

Custom:

• Enterprise volumes
• Custom terms
• SLA guarantees

Smartlook's free tier is genuinely useful—3,000 sessions/month and 3-month retention is legitimate free access. Paid plans scale affordably.

Hotjar Pricing (2026):

Observe (Heatmaps & Recordings):

• Basic (Free): $0/month, 35 daily sessions
• Plus: $32/month, 100 daily sessions, 365-day retention
• Business: $80/month, 500 daily sessions, 365-day retention
• Scale: $171/month, unlimited sessions, 365-day retention

Ask (Surveys):

• Basic (Free): $0/month, 20 responses/month
• Plus: $48/month, 250 responses/month
• Business: $64/month, 500 responses/month
• Scale: $128/month, unlimited responses

Engage (User Interviews):

• Engage: $19-64/month depending on tier

Hotjar offers more granular tiering and separates products, but basic plans have strict session/response caps.

Comparison Examples:

• Small website (2,000/month sessions): Smartlook free is sufficient; Hotjar free (35 daily ≈ 1,050/month) would require Plus ($32).
• Mid-market SaaS (100,000/month sessions): Smartlook Standard ($29) vs. Hotjar Business+Ask ($80 + $64 = $144).
• Mobile app + website team: Smartlook Professional ($99) covers mobile SDK + web; Hotjar requires separate mobile web tool.

Winner: Smartlook for mobile-centric teams and larger session volumes. Hotjar for website-only teams prioritizing surveys (though pricing is higher).

Performance Impact and Implementation

Smartlook Implementation:

Setup varies by platform:

• Web: JavaScript snippet, 5 minutes
• iOS: CocoaPods SDK integration, 15-30 minutes
• Android: Gradle SDK integration, 15-30 minutes
• React Native: NPM package, 10-20 minutes

Smartlook's SDKs are lightweight (minimal impact on app performance). The company has optimized to avoid battery drain or performance degradation.

Hotjar Implementation:

• Web: Single JavaScript snippet, 5 minutes
• Mobile: No native integration; mobile web only

Hotjar's web implementation is trivial. Mobile requires viewing your site on mobile devices.

Winner: Tie for web. Smartlook advantage for mobile apps.

Ease of Use: Learning Curve and Setup

Smartlook Ease of Use:

Smartlook is developer-friendly but requires some technical knowledge:

• Dashboard is intuitive once configured
• Native SDKs require mobile development experience
• Session replay is easy to understand
• Funnel setup is straightforward
• Documentation is good but less polished than Hotjar's

Non-technical users can understand session recordings and heatmaps, but mobile SDK integration requires developers.

Hotjar Ease of Use:

Hotjar is famous for simplicity:

• Add JavaScript snippet, done
• Heatmaps are immediately available
• Survey builder is drag-and-drop
• Feedback UI is self-explanatory
• Non-technical users can set everything up independently
• Documentation is excellent

Hotjar's primary selling point is that non-technical stakeholders can access insights independently.

Winner: Hotjar. Hotjar is specifically designed for non-technical users. Smartlook is developer-friendly but requires technical involvement.

Customer Support and Community

Smartlook Support:

Smartlook provides:

• Email support (typically 24-hour response)
• Live chat (business hours)
• Comprehensive knowledge base
• Community Slack channel
• Video tutorials and webinars
• Dedicated support for Enterprise tiers

Support is responsive and knowledgeable but not as extensive as Hotjar's.

Hotjar Support:

Hotjar provides:

• Email support (rapid response)
• Live chat (business hours)
• Comprehensive help center (1000+ articles)
• Community forum (very active)
• Video guides and academy courses
• Dedicated account managers (Enterprise)
• Regular product webinars

Hotjar's support and community are larger and more established.

Winner: Hotjar. The scale of Hotjar's community and documentation is larger, though Smartlook's support is adequate.

Pros and Cons Analysis

Smartlook Pros

• Native Mobile SDKs - Comprehensive iOS and Android support without compromise
• Mobile Performance Metrics - Frame rate, CPU, memory, battery impact visibility
• Crash Reporting - App crashes with full stack traces integrated into sessions
• Network Monitoring - API calls, payloads, and response times visible in replay
• Affordable Free Tier - 3,000 sessions/month is genuinely useful
• Scalable Pricing - Professional plan at $99 is excellent value for mobile teams
• Technical Depth - Session replay includes developer-relevant context

Smartlook Cons

• Limited Heatmaps - Heatmap functionality is basic compared to dedicated tools
• No Surveys - Feedback collection is limited; requires separate tool for NPS/surveys
• Less Intuitive UI - Dashboard has steeper learning curve than Hotjar
• Smaller Community - Fewer resources and community discussions
• Mobile App Only - No advantage for website-only teams
• Limited Integrations - 60+ integrations vs. Hotjar's 100+
• Less Polished Documentation - Help center is functional but less comprehensive

Hotjar Pros

• Advanced Heatmaps - Among the best heatmap visualizations in the industry
• Comprehensive Surveys - Built-in feedback collection solves the "why" question
• User Interviews (Engage) - Recruit and interview users directly in platform
• Simplicity - Non-technical users can set up and understand everything
• Strong Community - Active forums, extensive documentation, many templates
• Integration Ecosystem - 100+ integrations cover most tools teams use
• Monthly Billing - Flexible scaling without annual commitments
• Free Tier - 35 daily sessions covers many small websites

Hotjar Cons

• No Mobile App Support - Native iOS/Android apps are out of scope
• Limited Technical Context - Session replay doesn't include error logs or network data
• Higher Website Pricing - Plan structure can be expensive for high-volume sites
• 365-Day Data Limit - No unlimited retention except with archived reports
• No Performance Metrics - Can't monitor page load time or technical performance
• Surveys Are Separate Product - Adding Ask (surveys) requires additional subscription
• Less Technical Focus - Engineering teams may find it lacks debugging tools

Who Should Choose Smartlook?

Mobile App Development Teams Native iOS and Android apps are your primary product. Smartlook's mobile SDKs and crash reporting are purpose-built for your needs.

Performance-Conscious Product Teams You need to understand not just what users did, but how your app performed (frame rate, memory, CPU). Smartlook provides these metrics natively.

Cross-Platform Organizations You manage both iOS/Android apps and websites. Smartlook covers both with consistent tooling.

API-Heavy Applications You want to correlate user behavior with backend API calls. Smartlook's network monitoring shows payloads and response times.

High-Volume Session Recording You need to capture many sessions affordably. Smartlook's free tier and $29 Standard plan are excellent value.

Engineering-Led Product Teams Your team values technical context—network requests, console errors, performance metrics. Smartlook integrates these into session replay.

Who Should Choose Hotjar?

Website Optimization Teams Your primary goal is understanding and improving website visitor behavior. Hotjar's heatmaps are industry-leading.

Marketing-Focused Organizations You need surveys, feedback widgets, and user insights. Hotjar's Ask product is comprehensive.

Small Businesses and Startups You need simple, no-code setup without engineering overhead. Hotjar is the easiest to implement.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) Teams Heatmaps, session recordings, and A/B test context are your core needs. Hotjar excels here.

Non-Technical Stakeholders Marketers, product managers, and business users need to access insights independently. Hotjar's UI is the most intuitive.

Budget-Conscious Website Teams For pure website analytics, Hotjar's free tier and Plus plan ($32) are affordable entry points.

Integrated Feedback Needs You want heatmaps + surveys + interviews in one platform. Hotjar's Observe + Ask + Engage combination is powerful.

When to Use Both Together

Large Organizations with Diverse Needs:

Many teams use both:

• Smartlook for mobile app analytics and technical performance monitoring
• Hotjar for website behavior and user feedback

The tools complement rather than compete when you need both mobile and web analytics.

Product Teams Managing Multiple Platforms:

Teams developing iOS apps, Android apps, and websites can justify both subscriptions if the insight from each is valuable.

Alternatives to Consider

LogRocket ($99-299/month)

LogRocket combines session replay with frontend error tracking and performance monitoring. It's positioned between Hotjar and Smartlook, with strong debugging capabilities.

Best for: Development teams prioritizing error context and performance in session replay.

Microsoft Clarity (Free)

Microsoft's completely free session recording and heatmap tool offers unlimited usage at no cost. It lacks native mobile support and surveys but is excellent for basic behavior analytics.

Best for: Budget-conscious teams needing basic analytics without either Hotjar or Smartlook.

Mouseflow ($29+/month)

Mouseflow combines session replay, heatmaps, surveys, and form analytics. It's an affordable alternative positioned similarly to Hotjar.

Best for: Budget-conscious teams wanting surveys without Hotjar's complexity.

Pendo ($999+/year)

Pendo combines in-app guidance, analytics, and feedback. It's mobile-app focused (iOS and Android) with built-in feature adoption tracking.

Best for: Mobile app teams wanting analytics plus in-app user guidance and feature adoption.

Contentsquare (Custom pricing)

Contentsquare is the enterprise platform combining digital experience analytics with Hotjar's feedback tools (they acquired Hotjar in 2019).

Best for: Enterprise organizations needing comprehensive, FedRAMP-certified digital experience analytics.

Head-to-Head Scenarios

Scenario 1: E-Commerce SaaS Website Team

Business: Selling B2B software online, optimizing conversion funnel.

Need: Understand where visitors drop off, why they abandon, and which page elements drive action.

Choice: Hotjar wins decisively.

• Advanced heatmaps identify problem areas
• Surveys capture why users abandon checkout
• Funnel analysis shows conversion drop-off points
• No need for mobile app analytics
• Monthly billing ($32-171) fits project budgets
• Non-technical marketing team can use it independently

Scenario 2: Mobile App Development Studio

Business: Building iOS and Android apps for clients, need session replay and crash reporting.

Need: Understand user flows, find bugs, monitor performance, track crashes.

Choice: Smartlook wins decisively.

• Native iOS and Android SDKs are essential
• Crash reporting with stack traces is critical
• Network monitoring helps debug API issues
• Performance metrics (FPS, memory) matter for app quality
• Free tier or $29 Standard plan is affordable for multiple projects
• Technical team understands and values the engineering focus

Scenario 3: Product Team Managing Web + Mobile App

Business: SaaS platform available as website and iOS/Android apps.

Need: Understand user behavior across all platforms, collect feedback.

Choice: Probably both.

• Smartlook for iOS/Android native apps and technical monitoring
• Hotjar for website behavior and user feedback collection
• Combined cost ($29 + $32 = $61) is still affordable
• Each tool does its best work in its domain

Scenario 4: Bootstrapped Startup

Business: Early-stage SaaS with one website and no mobile app yet.

Need: Get basic behavior analytics without much spending.

Choice: Smartlook free tier or Hotjar free tier.

• Smartlook free: 3,000 sessions/month, 3-month retention, unlimited heatmaps
• Hotjar free: 35 daily sessions (≈1,050/month), 20 survey responses
• Smartlook free is more generous for session volume
• Hotjar free is better if you need surveys from day one
• Upgrade path: Smartlook Standard ($29) or Hotjar Plus ($32) as you grow

FAQ

Which tool is better for mobile app analytics?

Smartlook decisively. It has native iOS and Android SDKs with comprehensive capabilities like crash reporting, performance monitoring, and mobile-specific gesture tracking. Hotjar doesn't support native mobile apps at all.

Can I use both Smartlook and Hotjar together?

Yes. Many organizations use Smartlook for mobile app analytics and Hotjar for website behavior + feedback. The tracking scripts don't conflict, and the dual perspective provides comprehensive insights across all platforms.

Which has better heatmaps?

Hotjar's heatmaps are more advanced with more visualization types (click, scroll, move, engagement zones) and better segmentation. Smartlook's heatmaps are basic but functional.

Which is easier to implement?

Hotjar is easier for websites (single JavaScript snippet, 5 minutes). Smartlook requires developer involvement for mobile apps but is also straightforward once integrated.

How much data do the free tiers capture?

Smartlook free: 3,000 sessions/month with 3-month retention. Hotjar free: 35 daily sessions (≈1,050/month) with basic features. Smartlook's free tier is more generous for session volume.

Can I compare Smartlook with Hotjar's Engage feature?

Hotjar Engage (user interviews) and Smartlook's feedback tools aren't directly comparable. Engage recruits and interviews users; Smartlook offers basic in-app surveys. For qualitative research, Engage is more comprehensive.

Which tool has better API access?

Smartlook has more robust API access for custom integrations. Hotjar's API is more limited and primarily for data export. For custom workflows, Smartlook is better.

How does data retention differ?

Hotjar: 365 days standard (with archived reports available). Smartlook: 3 months free, unlimited with paid plans. Smartlook gives better long-term retention.

Which integrates with more tools?

Hotjar integrates with 100+ tools (Slack, HubSpot, Zapier, Google Analytics). Smartlook integrates with 60+. For integration needs, Hotjar has the broader ecosystem.

Which has better mobile web analytics?

Both capture mobile web sessions. Hotjar's heatmaps work on mobile web. Smartlook provides better technical context (network, performance). For mobile web specifically, Hotjar is sufficient; for native mobile apps, Smartlook is required.

Should I choose based solely on price?

No. Both tools have free tiers, but your primary use case matters more:

• Mobile app focus → Smartlook (no other choice that's as good)
• Website optimization → Hotjar (better heatmaps and surveys)
• Technical debugging → Smartlook (network and error context)
• User feedback → Hotjar (surveys are comprehensive)

Choose based on features first, then negotiate on price.

Conclusion

Smartlook is the specialized mobile analytics platform for teams building iOS and Android apps, or cross-platform applications where mobile performance and crash reporting are critical. The comprehensive native SDKs, crash detection, and performance metrics make it essential for mobile-first organizations. Smartlook's technical depth and affordable pricing ($29 standard plan) make it excellent value for engineering-focused teams.

Hotjar is the accessible, user-friendly platform for website teams prioritizing heatmaps, user feedback, and ease of use. The advanced survey and feedback tools, combined with industry-leading heatmaps, make Hotjar the definitive choice for conversion optimization and user research. Non-technical teams can implement and use Hotjar independently.

The pragmatic choice: If you're building mobile apps, choose Smartlook—there's no better alternative. If you're optimizing a website, choose Hotjar. If you manage both (apps + website), both subscriptions are justified and complement each other.

Looking for a smarter way to understand user behavior? UXHeat is launching soon with AI-powered analytics that automatically surface important patterns in user behavior and session recordings—eliminating hours of manual analysis. Join the UXHeat waitlist to get early access.