Hotjar

Merged

Hotjar is a behavior analytics tool for session recordings, heatmaps and surveys that merged into the Contentsquare group on 1 July 2025. New Hotjar accounts can no longer be created; the tracker uses cookies, data is stored in Ireland, and plans were priced by sessions.

Successor: Contentsquare. Existing Hotjar accounts are being moved to Contentsquare Growth from 26 August 2026.

  • Heatmaps & replay
  • Cloud
  • Based in Malta
  • Founded 2014
  • Checked 17 Sep 2026

Status

Now sold as Contentsquare; new Hotjar accounts cannot be created

Plans
No longer sold
last billed by sessions
Tracking file
Not measured
the service is closed
Vendor announcement ↗

Privacy and data

Cookies
Used
set by default
Data location
EU
Cloud
Self-hosting
No
Source code
Closed

What happened

Hotjar Ltd, a company based in Malta, merged into the Contentsquare group on 1 July 2025. The Hotjar website now redirects to Contentsquare, and new Hotjar accounts can no longer be created.

From 26 August 2026, existing accounts are being moved to Contentsquare Growth in stages. According to the help center, both services run side by side for 30 days. Hotjar then stops collecting data and stays available read-only for 90 days, after which the account and its data are deleted. For now, account owners can still decline the move and stay on Hotjar.

What it offered

  • Session recordings, heatmaps and on-site surveys, with funnels and trends built from events.
  • Dashboards with top pages, traffic channels, new and returning visitors, technology and top countries, filterable by device, browser, referrer and UTM parameters.
  • Keystrokes are masked and IP addresses are not stored, according to the help center.
  • Data is stored on Amazon Web Services in Ireland.
  • An official WordPress plugin and a weekly email summary of your sites.

What to check now

  • Recordings and heatmaps are kept for 365 days and survey responses until they are deleted, so save what you need before the read-only period ends.
  • The tracking code sets cookies, including a user cookie that lasts 365 days, and Hotjar does not track visitors who block cookies. The vendor advises telling users about Hotjar and checking the cookie consent question with a lawyer.
  • Plans were priced per site, and a subdomain counted as a separate site with its own subscription.
  • The Hotjar API covers survey responses and looking up or deleting users, not reports.
  • The vendor itself says Hotjar is not an alternative to Google Analytics, and sessions are captured as a sample within the plan limit.
  • Funnels were part of the Scale plan, the Events API needed Plus or higher, and filters by traffic channel needed Business or Scale.

Your account and data

Existing accounts are moved to Contentsquare Growth in stages. During the first 30 days both tools collect data; after that Hotjar stops recording, and the account stays read-only for 90 days before it is deleted.

For accounts in the move, the existing Hotjar tracking code also loads a Contentsquare tag. If you plan to leave, export the data you want to keep while the account is still readable, and remove the Hotjar code, or the WordPress plugin, once you no longer need it.

Moving to another tool

The vendor’s own path is Contentsquare Growth, which also bills by sessions. If you move to another tool instead, plan the switch before Hotjar stops collecting data, because recordings and heatmaps remain only in the old account until it is deleted.

Features

As documented on the vendor’s own pages. “Partly” means the feature has limits or is only on some plans.

Tracking & Reporting

  • Pageviews & visitorsPartly
  • Live visitor count: no
  • Top pages report: yes
  • Top referrersPartly
  • UTM campaign trackingPartly
  • Country & city breakdownPartly
  • Device, browser, OS: yes
  • Bounce / engagementPartly
  • Time on site: yes
  • Custom eventsPartly
  • Goals / conversionsPartly
  • FunnelsPartly
  • Outbound link trackingPartly
  • File download tracking: no
  • 404 / error tracking: no

Pricing & Plans

  • Unlimited sites on entry plan: no

Privacy & Compliance

  • Cookieless by default: no
  • No personal data collected (vendor’s position): no
  • No consent banner needed (vendor’s position): no
  • Data hosted in EU: yes
  • Data hosted in US: no
  • Self-hostable: no
  • Open source: no
  • Data retention1 year
  • Bot & spam filteringPartly

Setup & Integrations

  • Single-snippet install: yes
  • WordPress plugin: yes
  • Proxy / first-party domain: no
  • Public APIPartly
  • Data export (CSV/JSON): yes
  • Google Search Console connector: no
  • Email digests: yes
  • Slack / webhook alertsPartly
  • Public shareable dashboardPartly

Platforms & frameworks

What the vendor documents. A platform that is not listed has no guide, plugin or package from the vendor.

  • Shopify: yes
  • WooCommercePartly
  • GhostPartly
  • Webflow: yes
  • Squarespace: yes
  • Wix: yes
  • DrupalPartly
  • Google Tag Manager: yes
  • Server-side tracking: no

Questions and answers

Can I still sign up for Hotjar?

No. Hotjar merged into the Contentsquare group on 1 July 2025, and the vendor states that new Hotjar accounts can no longer be created. The Hotjar website redirects to Contentsquare.

What happens to an existing Hotjar account?

From 26 August 2026 accounts are moved to Contentsquare Growth in stages. Both tools run for 30 days, then Hotjar stops collecting data and stays read-only for 90 days before the account and its data are deleted. Owners can still decline the move for now.

Where is Hotjar data stored?

On Amazon Web Services in Ireland, according to the help center. Some of Hotjar’s subprocessors are outside the EU.

Does Hotjar use cookies?

Yes. The tracking code sets first-party cookies, including a user cookie that lasts 365 days, and Hotjar does not track visitors who have cookies disabled.

Recent changes

  1. Hotjar starts moving existing accounts to Contentsquare Growth; new Hotjar accounts can no longer be created. Source ↗

Full market log →

Sources and checks

Status
Now sold as Contentsquare; new Hotjar accounts cannot be created, checked 17 Sep 2026 · source ↗
Prices
Checked 17 Sep 2026 on the vendor’s pricing page ↗
Tracking script
Not measured: the service is closed
Features
From the vendor’s pages, checked 18 Sep 2026
This page
Text updated 18 Sep 2026

How each value is collected: methodology. Why tools get no overall score: our reasoning.

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