Amplitude is a product analytics platform focused on user behavior tracking and cohort analysis with advanced segmentation capabilities, while Hotjar is a behavior analytics and feedback tool emphasizing session recording, heatmaps, and user feedback collection. Amplitude excels for data-driven product teams needing deep behavioral insights, whereas Hotjar is better for UX researchers and conversion optimizers wanting to understand how users interact with specific pages.
Amplitude vs Hotjar — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose Amplitude if you're a product team needing sophisticated analytics, unlimited custom events, advanced cohort analysis, and predictive modeling to drive product decisions across millions of user interactions. Choose Hotjar if you're focused on conversion rate optimization, user experience research, or understanding how visitors interact with specific pages through session recordings, heatmaps, and direct user feedback collection.
Product analytics platform for tracking user behavior and building data-driven product strategies.
Behavior analytics and user feedback platform featuring session recordings, heatmaps, and survey tools.
Structured comparison data for Amplitude vs Hotjar with 176 attributes.
Setup Time (implementation to first insights)
Learning Curve (Beginner-Friendly Rating)
Session Recordings Per Month (Basic Plan)
Amplitude vs Hotjar — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Amplitude vs Hotjar.
Which tool is better for tracking conversion funnels?
Amplitude excels at funnel analysis with its advanced segmentation and 50+ pre-built templates, allowing you to track complex multi-step conversion paths. Hotjar can track funnels but is better suited for identifying where users drop off visually through session recordings and heatmaps rather than building sophisticated funnel analyses.
Can I see individual user sessions with both tools?
Hotjar's core strength is session recording—you can replay full user interactions. Amplitude focuses on aggregate behavioral patterns and cohort analysis rather than individual session playback, though you can track individual user journeys through detailed event data.
What's the actual cost difference for a growing SaaS company?
Amplitude's minimum is $1,495/month ($17,940/year with annual commitment), while Hotjar starts at $99/month. For a company analyzing 10 million monthly events, Hotjar typically runs $199-299/month, making it 5-10x cheaper. However, Amplitude's unlimited event tracking makes it more economical as you scale to hundreds of millions of events.
Which requires more technical implementation?
Hotjar requires minimal technical setup—install one code snippet and you're tracking within 15 minutes. Amplitude requires more involved event instrumentation, custom event definition, and typically needs developer resources to properly track user behaviors, though it provides SDKs for most platforms.
Yes, many teams use both complementarily. Amplitude provides quantitative behavioral insights and predictive analytics, while Hotjar provides qualitative visual feedback on user experience. You can integrate Hotjar segments into Amplitude for deeper analysis, though this requires manual setup since their native integration is limited.