Session replay and heatmaps · October 2026 Edition
Microsoft Clarity vs Hotjar
Zero of fourteen models named Microsoft Clarity first on the direct prompt; five named Hotjar. Both were named by all fourteen models and Microsoft Clarity carries 59 labels and Hotjar 62, so the shares are not directly comparable.
By Microsoft, Vancouver, Canada, founded 1975. Named in five categories this edition.
By Contentsquare, Paris, France, founded 2008. Named in nine categories this edition.
First-choice share33%16%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate20%23%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 10; printed, not drawn.
Labels5962A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Microsoft Clarity reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Microsoft Clarity vs Fullstory · Microsoft Clarity vs PostHog · Microsoft Clarity vs Mouseflow
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the session replay and heatmaps page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Microsoft ClarityFirst choices, of fourteen modelsHotjar
Direct051 against Microsoft Clarity · 1 against Hotjar
Paraphrase43
Comparative74
Budget-constrained1402 against Hotjar
Scale-constrained112 against Microsoft Clarity
Negative209 against Microsoft Clarity · 11 against Hotjar
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Across every category in the October 2026 Edition, Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar were named in the same answer 166 times, of the 229 answers naming Microsoft Clarity and the 337 naming Hotjar. In those answers Hotjar took the first choice eleven times and Microsoft Clarity seventy-four.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | | | | | |
| GPT-5.4 mini | | | | |||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | | | |
| Perplexity Sonar | | | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | | | | |||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | | | |
| Llama 4 Maverick | | | ||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | | | | |
| Kimi K2 | | | | | | |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | | | | |
| MiniMax M2.5 | | | | | ||
| GPT-6 Luna | | | | | | |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | | | | |
Microsoft Clarity Hotjar first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Microsoft Clarity on the left and Hotjar on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar stood in it.
Hotjar first, Microsoft Clarity an alternative
5 of 14 modelsMicrosoft Clarity was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Grok 4.1 FastHotjar alternatives: LogRocket, Microsoft Clarity, Mouseflow
Mistral SmallHotjar, Lucky Orange alternatives: Fullstory, PostHog, UXCam
Qwen 3.7 FlashHotjar alternatives: LogRocket, Matomo
Kimi K2Hotjar alternatives: LogRocket, Mouseflow, Smartlook
GLM 4.7 FlashXHotjar alternatives: Crazy Egg, Fullstory, Microsoft Clarity, Mouseflow
Neither was the first choice, one was named
5 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Claude Haiku 4.5Mouseflow alternatives: Hotjar
Perplexity SonarFullstory alternatives: Hotjar, LogRocket
DeepSeek V4 FlashPostHog alternatives: Hotjar, LogRocket, Microsoft Clarity, Mouseflow
GPT-6 LunaPostHog alternatives: Fullstory, Hotjar
Muse Glimmer 30BFullstory alternatives: Contentsquare, Heap, Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, PostHog, VWO
Neither was named
4 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniContentsquare, Mouseflow alternatives: LogRocket
Gemini 3.5 FlashPendo alternatives: LogRocket, Mouseflow, PostHog
Llama 4 MaverickSmartlook alternatives: Adobe Analytics, Fullstory
MiniMax M2.5Mixpanel alternatives: Fullstory, PostHog, UXCam
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Microsoft Clarity leads by sixty-four points.
Microsoft Clarity70%#1 of 10Hotjar6%#2 of 10Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Clarity leads by seventeen points.
Microsoft Clarity33%#1 of 10Hotjar16%#2 of 10Enterprise
Microsoft Clarity leads by eight points.
Microsoft Clarity9%#4 of 12Hotjar2%#9 of 12What the models said about Microsoft Clarity
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Both Hotjar (now part of Contentsquare) and Microsoft Clarity are consent-agnostic by default: paste the snippet in and they start recording on the first pageview.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“"Free" but with a substantial tracking footprint that privacy teams should scrutinize; starts recording immediately without waiting for consent” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“"Free" option with aggressive tracking... Limited default redaction; privacy teams flag its footprint. US-hosted; consent bypass risks in EU.” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · hard negative
“Microsoft Clarity is the best free option for behaviour analytics, with unlimited session recordings and heatmaps and no paid tier required.” Muse Glimmer 30B · paraphrase prompt · first choice
“Microsoft Clarity delivers unlimited session replays and heatmaps at no cost, making it a favorite for startups and high-traffic sites.” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
“The best session replay and heatmap tool for a company with a limited budget is Microsoft Clarity, as it is free with no session cap.” Llama 4 Maverick · budget prompt · first choice
What the models said about Hotjar
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of seven in this category shown.
“Hotjar was merged into Contentsquare on 1 July 2025; ... By default Hotjar starts session recording as soon as the script loads, which means it can capture visitor activity before consent is given.” Muse Glimmer 30B · negative prompt · hard negative
“Tools to Avoid or Use with Extreme Caution... Hotjar: Most popular heatmap tool, but criticized for capturing more PII than expected” Grok 4.1 Fast · negative prompt · hard negative
“Collects more personal data than most teams realize; has faced significant legal challenges; default settings may not adequately mask PII” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Pick heatmap-first tools like Hotjar or Clarity if you mainly want quick UX insights and broad behavior patterns.” Perplexity Sonar · comparative prompt · first choice
“Best for: Beginners and small-to-mid-sized teams doing user experience research ... Strength: Fastest setup, easiest to use” DeepSeek V4 Flash · comparative prompt · first choice
“Very popular for UX research and product teams... Strong on heatmaps, recordings/session replay, surveys, and feedback” GPT-5.4 mini · comparative prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Clarity vs FullstoryMicrosoft Clarity vs PostHogMicrosoft Clarity vs MouseflowMicrosoft Clarity vs LogRocketMicrosoft Clarity vs ContentsquareMicrosoft Clarity vs SmartlookHotjar vs FullstoryHotjar vs PostHogHotjar vs MouseflowHotjar vs LogRocketHotjar vs ContentsquareHotjar vs SmartlookAll twenty-eight head-to-head pages and the full session replay standing
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.