Microsoft Clarity

Active

Microsoft Clarity is a free hosted tool for session recordings and heatmaps, with data in Microsoft’s US data centers. It sets cookies by default, which can be turned off per project, and since October 2025 it has set no cookies for visitors from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland without a consent signal.

Heatmaps & replay
Cloud
Based in United States
Founded 2020
Checked 17 Sep 2026

Visit website ↗Pricing details Similar tools

Tracking script

0.51 KB compressed

0.86 KB uncompressed · measured 17 Sep 2026 · loader file

This file only loads the main script, so it is not ranked against full scripts.

This file only loads Clarity’s main script, which is downloaded next; the total is larger.

Price

FromFree

At 100k sessionsFree

Billed by sessions · checked 17 Sep 2026

FreeFree

All plans and prices →

Privacy and data

Cookies: Optional
Data location: US
Self-hosting: No
Source code: Closed

Plans

Free plan: Yes
Billing unit: Sessions
Sites on entry plan: Unlimited
Data retention: 9 months

Strengths

Free with no traffic limits, and the pricing page lists unlimited heatmaps, websites and team members at no cost.
Masks content before upload: the default Balanced mode hides numbers and email addresses, input boxes are masked in every mode, and Strict mode masks all page content.
Smart events detect actions such as purchases, sign-ups, form submissions and downloads without code, and funnels are assembled from those events or page visits under Settings > Funnels.
Bot detection is on by default and removes bot sessions from session counts and analytics, and the dashboard shows how many sessions were excluded.
Filters include country, state and city, UTM source, medium and campaign, and the dashboard shows how many users are live, with recordings you can watch as they happen.

Watch-outs

Sets first-party and third-party cookies by default, including Microsoft’s MUID, which the documentation lists for advertising and site analytics. With cookies off, page views are no longer joined into sessions.
Since 31 October 2025, Clarity needs a consent signal for full functionality on visits from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, passed through its Consent API or a supported consent platform.
Under the terms, you and Microsoft each act as a separate controller, and Microsoft may use personal data from Clarity to improve its products and to create user profiles for purposes that include advertising.
Recordings are kept for 30 days unless you label or favorite them, and Clarity keeps at most 100,000 recordings per project a day, sampling above that.
The Data Export API is limited to 10 requests per project a day, returns only the last one to three days and caps each response at 1,000 rows.

Who it suits

Microsoft Clarity records sessions, builds heatmaps and shows a traffic dashboard at no cost. The pricing page promises no traffic limits and no forced upgrade to a paid version, and it explains that Clarity is one of the ways Microsoft gathers anonymous behavioral data to improve the machine learning models behind its products.

It fits sites that want to see how visitors use their pages, as long as they can accept Clarity’s terms. Those terms rule out use with sensitive material such as health care, financial services or government information, and the documentation says Clarity should not be used on sites or apps aimed at people under 18.

Beyond websites, SDKs cover Android, iOS, React Native, Flutter, Cordova and Ionic apps. Clarity is hosted only by Microsoft, and its data is stored in US data centers.

Setup

After creating a project, open Settings > Setup and pick an installation method: a supported platform such as Shopify, Squarespace, Wix or WordPress, the tracking code pasted into the head section, the npm package, or a copy of the code emailed to a teammate. Google Tag Manager is detected automatically, and Clarity can publish the tag in a container you select.

The Microsoft Clarity plugin for WordPress, published by Microsoft, connects a new or existing project after you sign in and shows Clarity reports in the WordPress admin. The cookie and bot detection switches sit under Advanced settings on the Setup page, and masking modes are under Settings > Masking. Mobile apps use Clarity’s SDKs instead.

Single snippet
WordPress plugin
Public API (partly)
Data export
Email reports
Slack or webhooks (partly)
Public dashboard (partly)

Features

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

Tracking & Reporting

Pageviews & visitors: yes
Live visitor count: yes
Top pages report: yes
Top referrers: yes
UTM campaign tracking: yes
Country & city breakdown: yes
Device, browser, OS: yes
Bounce / engagement: yes
Time on site: yes
Custom events: yes
Goals / conversions: yes
Funnels: yes
Outbound link trackingPartly
File download tracking: yes
404 / error trackingPartly

Pricing & Plans

Unlimited sites on entry plan: yes

Privacy & Compliance

Cookieless by defaultPartly
No personal data collected (vendor’s position): no
No consent banner needed (vendor’s position): no
Data hosted in EU: no
Data hosted in US: yes
Self-hostable: no
Open source: no
Data retention9 months
Bot & spam filtering: yes

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
Webflow: yes
Squarespace: yes
Wix: yes
DrupalPartly
Static sites (GitHub / GitLab Pages): yes
Google Tag Manager: yes

Questions and answers

Is Microsoft Clarity free?

Yes. The pricing page says every feature is free, with no traffic limits, and that you will never be forced to upgrade to a paid version. The terms of use keep Microsoft’s right to charge fees later, with fees and terms disclosed before they take effect.

Does Clarity use cookies?

Yes, by default. It sets first-party cookies that join page views into sessions, plus third-party Microsoft cookies. You can switch cookies off per project, and for visitors from the EEA, the UK and Switzerland Clarity waits for a consent signal before setting them. The FAQ says you need to inform users about these cookies.

Where does Clarity store data?

In the US. The Clarity privacy page says data is stored in one of Microsoft’s US data centers on Azure, and it names no other location. Clarity is offered only as a hosted service, so it cannot run on your own server.

How long does Clarity keep data?

Nine months for dashboard and heatmap data, and 30 days for recordings. Recordings you label or mark as favorites stay for nine months. After the retention period, data is deleted from Clarity servers, including backups, and cannot be recovered.

Sources and checks

Status: Active, checked 17 Sep 2026
Prices: Checked 17 Sep 2026 on the vendor’s pricing page ↗
Tracking script: Measured 17 Sep 2026: downloaded and compressed the same way for every tool
Features: From the vendor’s pages, checked 19 Sep 2026
This page: Text updated 17 Sep 2026

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