Session replay and heatmaps · November 2026 Edition
Microsoft Clarity vs Hotjar
Two 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 71 labels and Hotjar 68, so the shares are not directly comparable.
By Microsoft, Vancouver, Canada, founded 1975. Named in six categories this edition.
By Contentsquare, Paris, France, founded 2008. Named in nine categories this edition.
First-choice share45%16%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate20%25%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#1#2A position in a field of 16; printed, not drawn.
Labels7168A 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.Fullstory was named alongside these two in nine of the fourteen direct answers. Microsoft Clarity vs Dealfront · Microsoft Clarity vs Fullstory · Microsoft Clarity vs PostHog
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
Direct251 against Microsoft Clarity
Paraphrase611 against Hotjar
Comparative46
Budget-constrained1403 against Hotjar
Scale-constrained024 against Microsoft Clarity · 3 against Hotjar
Negative009 against Microsoft Clarity · 10 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 November 2026 Edition, Microsoft Clarity and Hotjar were named in the same answer 183 times, of the 251 answers naming Microsoft Clarity and the 337 naming Hotjar. In those answers Hotjar took the first choice fourteen times and Microsoft Clarity sixty-one.
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 4.20 | | | | | | |
| 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.
Microsoft Clarity first, Hotjar an alternative
2 of 14 modelsHotjar was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.GLM 4.7 FlashXMicrosoft Clarity alternatives: Contentsquare, Glassbox, LogRocket, UXCam
MiniMax M2.5Microsoft Clarity alternatives: Fullstory, Hotjar, LogRocket
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.Claude Haiku 4.5Hotjar, Mouseflow alternatives: Fullstory, Microsoft Clarity
Perplexity SonarHotjar alternatives: Amplitude Session Replay, Microsoft Clarity, Mouseflow
Grok 4.20Hotjar alternatives: Microsoft Clarity, Mouseflow
Mistral SmallHotjar alternatives: Fullstory, LogRocket, Microsoft Clarity, PostHog
DeepSeek V4 FlashHotjar alternatives: Amplitude Session Replay, Fullstory, LogRocket, 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.GPT-5.4 miniFullstory alternatives: Contentsquare, Glassbox, Hotjar, LogRocket
Gemini 3.5 FlashPostHog alternatives: Fullstory, Hotjar, LogRocket, Microsoft Clarity
Llama 4 MaverickMouseflow alternatives: Fullstory, Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, UXCam
Qwen 3.7 FlashLogRocket alternatives: Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, PostHog
Muse Glimmer 30BFullstory alternatives: Contentsquare, Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity
Neither was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Kimi K2PostHog alternatives: LogRocket, Mouseflow
GPT-6 LunaFullstory alternatives: Contentsquare, PostHog
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 fifty-four points.
Microsoft Clarity65%#1 of 11Hotjar12%#2 of 11Mid-marketThe figures above
Microsoft Clarity leads by twenty-nine points.
Microsoft Clarity45%#1 of 16Hotjar16%#2 of 16Enterprise
Microsoft Clarity leads by five points.
Microsoft Clarity7%#4 of 12Hotjar2%#11 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 six in this category shown.
“Microsoft Clarity began requiring explicit consent for users from the EEA, UK, and Switzerland on October 31, 2025... does not natively respond to the GPC (Global Privacy Control) browser signal” Claude Haiku 4.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“Microsoft Clarity is a solid, widely used tool with strong default masking. However, because it is 100% free with unlimited recordings” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · soft negative
“Free and broad, but its privacy footprint deserves careful review; masking beyond passwords may require CSS selectors” Perplexity Sonar · negative prompt · soft negative
“Best default for a limited budget: Microsoft Clarity. It's free and includes session recordings and click, scroll, and area heatmaps” GPT-6 Luna · budget prompt · first choice
“the best default choice is usually Microsoft Clarity because it's free and includes both session replay and heatmaps” GPT-5.4 mini · budget prompt · first choice
“If you have no budget, go with Microsoft Clarity (free, unlimited recordings, no sampling, built-in heatmaps).” GLM 4.7 FlashX · 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 eight in this category shown.
“Very common but often criticized for broad data capture... Many privacy-focused users block it outright.” Grok 4.20 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Named in active CIPA lawsuits; $5,000 statutory damages per violation possible under California law” Kimi K2 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Documented data exfiltration issues; research found it recorded content beyond input fields” MiniMax M2.5 · negative prompt · hard negative
“Hotjar and Crazy Egg are the category leaders, with Hotjar suited for teams needing comprehensive user behavior analytics with strong heatmaps and session playback” Claude Haiku 4.5 · comparative prompt · first choice
“Hotjar: Strong all-in-one for product/UX teams. Excellent heatmaps, surveys, and easy replays. Great for non-technical users; affordable entry point.” Grok 4.20 · scale prompt · first choice
“For most mid-market B2B companies, Hotjar is the best balance of features, ease of use, and value.” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
Also compared
Microsoft Clarity vs DealfrontMicrosoft Clarity vs FullstoryMicrosoft Clarity vs PostHogMicrosoft Clarity vs MouseflowMicrosoft Clarity vs LogRocketMicrosoft Clarity vs ContentsquareHotjar vs DealfrontHotjar vs FullstoryHotjar vs PostHogHotjar vs MouseflowHotjar vs LogRocketHotjar vs ContentsquareAll 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.