True cost comparison — not just what the pricing page says
Quick Verdict
Hotjar saves you 5%
Best for PostHog
Website heatmaps and behavior analytics. Free for 35 sessions/day, then $32-$171/mo based on session
Best for Hotjar
Open-source product analytics suite. Generous free tier with 1M events/mo, then usage-based pricing
Open-source product analytics suite. Generous free tier with 1M events/mo, then ...
Advertised
$0
/month
True Cost
$180
/month (typical)
Multiple Billing Meters
PostHog bills separately for: analytics events ($0.00031/event), session replays ($0.005/recording),...
Session Replay Storage Costs
Session replays cost $0.005/recording after free 5K/mo. High-traffic sites recording 50K sessions/mo...
Data Pipeline Add-On
Exporting data to external data warehouses (BigQuery, Snowflake, S3) requires the data pipeline add-...
Website heatmaps and behavior analytics. Free for 35 sessions/day, then $32-$171...
Advertised
$0
/month
True Cost
$96
/month (typical)
Session Volume Hard Caps
Free: 35 sessions/day. Plus: 100/day. Business: 500/day. Scale: 2,500+/day. High-traffic sites need ...
Surveys Priced Separately
Hotjar Surveys (previously Ask) is a separate product with its own pricing tiers. Not bundled with O...
Feedback Widget Separate
Incoming feedback widget for user-initiated feedback is part of the Ask product, priced separately f...
Hotjar advertises $0/mo. PostHog advertises $0/mo.
Hotjar has 3 documented hidden fees. PostHog has 3.
Hotjar confidence: 73%. PostHog confidence: 75%.
| Metric | PostHog | Hotjar | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $0/mo | $0/mo | PostHog |
| True Monthly Cost | $180/mo | $96/mo | Hotjar |
| Hidden Fee Total | +$180/mo | +$96/mo | Hotjar |
| # Hidden Fees | 3 | 3 | PostHog |
| Confidence Score | 75% | 73% | PostHog |
| Pricing Tiers | 2 | 4 | — |
| Affiliate Program | None | None | — |
PostHog advertises $0/mo and Hotjar advertises $0/mo. However, when you include hidden fees, PostHog has 3 documented hidden fees adding +$180/mo, while Hotjar has 3 hidden fees adding +$96/mo. Based on true cost, Hotjar is typically 5% cheaper.
PostHog has 3 documented hidden fees: Multiple Billing Meters, Session Replay Storage Costs, Data Pipeline Add-On. These add approximately +$180/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
Hotjar has 3 documented hidden fees: Session Volume Hard Caps, Surveys Priced Separately, Feedback Widget Separate. These add approximately +$96/mo on top of the $0/mo advertised price.
Choose PostHog if: Website heatmaps and behavior analytics. Free for 35 sessions/day, then $32-$171/mo based on session. Choose Hotjar if: Open-source product analytics suite. Generous free tier with 1M events/mo, then usage-based pricing . The right choice depends on your team size, usage volume, and which features you need most.
This comparison is based on manual research of official pricing pages, terms of service, and user reports. PostHog data has a 75% confidence score and Hotjar has 73%. Prices were last verified in April 2026. For the most accurate estimate, enter your specific usage in our calculator.
Enter your usage to see personalized pricing for both tools
Use Free Calculator