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Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics

Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) vs PostHog vs SE Ranking

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Best overall

Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar)

4.3

From From $39/mo

PostHog

4.2

From $0/mo base

SE Ranking

4.1

From $129/mo

Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.

At a glance

Best overallEasiest to use

Pick it if: Store owners, marketers and UX teams who want to see and hear why visitors leave, with surveys alongside the recordings.

Pick it if: Founders and product teams with a web app or SaaS who want analytics, replays and testing in one tool.

Pick it if: Small businesses, freelancers and agencies who want a full SEO toolkit with AI search tracking for less than the big names.

Overview

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
In one lineHeatmaps, session replays and surveys that show why visitors leave, with AI summaries.Product analytics, session replays, A/B tests and surveys in one tool, with an AI analyst.A cheaper all-in-one SEO tool that also tracks your brand in AI search answers.
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemiumPaid
Starting priceFrom $39/mo$0/mo base$129/mo
Free plan Yes Yes No
Works with Claude Code Yes Yes Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
Overall rating4.3Winner4.24.1
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
4.5
3.0
4.0
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
4.5
5.0
4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.
4.0
4.5
3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.
4.5
4.5
4.5
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.
4.0
4.0
4.0

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
Access & platform
Free plan Yes Yes No
Mobile app No No No
Desktop app No Yes No
Browser extension No No Yes
API access Yes Yes Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace Yes Yes Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO Yes Yes Yes
Connects to other apps Yes Yes Yes
Open source or self-hosted No Yes No
AI abilities
Works with your files No No No
Understands images–––
Makes images No No No
Makes video No No No
Writes code No Yes No
Runs agents or automations No Yes No
Learns your brand or style–––
Works in many languages Yes Yes Yes
Capabilities score6/ 1710/ 176/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
Plans

FreeOur pick

Free

Most small business websites.

Free

Free

Small apps and getting started.

CoreOur pick

$129/mo, or $103.20/mo billed yearly

Small businesses and freelancers.

Growth

From $39/mo billed yearly, or $49 monthly

Businesses that want AI summaries and longer history.

Pay as you goOur pick

$0/mo base, then per use

Growing apps that outgrow the free limits.

Growth

$279/mo, or $223.20/mo billed yearly

Agencies and teams with many sites.

Pro

Custom

Teams running conversion work across many sites.

Boost

$250/mo plus usage

Teams that need SSO enforcement or HIPAA.

Enterprise

Custom

Large teams.

Enterprise

Custom

Large companies.

Scale

$750/mo plus usage

Larger organisations.

Enterprise

$2,000/mo plus usage

Big companies.

Which plan to pickStart on Free. For most small sites it does what Hotjar's paid plans used to. Take the 15-day Growth trial to see if the AI summaries save you time before paying. Survey responses are a separate product with their own Growth plan from $79 a month.Start free. Add a card to move to pay as you go when you need more projects or longer history, and set billing limits on each product so nothing runs away. The platform packages only matter for compliance or big teams.Start the 14-day free trial. Core covers most small businesses and freelancers, and paying yearly saves 20%. Agencies should look at Growth plus the $69 a month Agency Pack for white-label reports and client seats.

Key features

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
Standout features
  • Heatmaps
  • Session replay
  • Surveys and feedback
  • Funnels and journeys
  • Sense AI
  • MCP connection
  • Product analytics
  • Session replay
  • A/B tests and feature flags
  • Surveys
  • PostHog AI
  • MCP server and wizard
  • Daily rank tracking
  • Keyword and competitor research
  • Website audit
  • AI visibility
  • Content tools
  • API and MCP

Pros and cons

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
Pros
  • Huge free plan at 200,000 sessions a month
  • Heatmaps, replays, funnels and surveys in one place
  • Polished, easy interface
  • AI summaries save watching hours of recordings
  • MCP connection works on the free plan
  • Huge free tier with no seat fees
  • Analytics, replays, testing and surveys in one tool
  • Clear, public per-use pricing
  • Open source core you can self-host
  • Strong AI assistant and Claude Code support
  • Much cheaper than Ahrefs or Semrush for similar features
  • AI visibility tracking on every plan
  • API and MCP access included
  • Strong white-label reports for agencies
  • 14-day trial without a card
Cons
  • The Hotjar name is gone and new Hotjar accounts are closed
  • Overlaps with Microsoft Clarity, which is free and unlimited
  • AI features need a paid plan
  • Surveys, product analytics and replays are separate products with separate prices
  • Pro and Enterprise prices aren't published
  • So many products and settings that it can overwhelm small teams
  • Overkill if you only want website visitor numbers
  • Usage bills need billing limits to stay predictable
  • Setup works best with a developer or Claude Code
  • Smaller keyword and backlink data than the biggest suites
  • Extra seats, keywords and locations cost more
  • No cheap entry plan any more
  • Deeper AI tracking in SE Visible is a separate subscription

Who each one is for

AttributeContentsquare (formerly Hotjar)PostHogSE Ranking
Best for
  • Seeing why visitors leave a page
  • Heatmaps and session replays
  • On-site surveys and feedback
  • Testing landing pages for ad campaigns
  • Seeing how people use your app
  • Finding where sign-ups and checkouts drop off
  • A/B testing new features and pages
  • Replacing several separate analytics tools
  • Daily rank tracking on a budget
  • Agencies needing white-label client reports
  • Tracking your brand in AI answers alongside Google
  • All-round SEO for small businesses
You'll find it used by
  • Store owners
  • Marketers
  • UX designers
  • Agencies
  • Founders
  • Product teams
  • Developers
  • SaaS companies
  • Agencies
  • Freelancers
  • Small businesses
  • In-house marketers

Questions people ask

Which is better, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), PostHog or SE Ranking?

Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) scores highest overall in our ratings (Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) 4.3/5, PostHog 4.2/5 and SE Ranking 4.1/5). Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) is best for seeing why visitors leave a page and heatmaps and session replays. PostHog is best for seeing how people use your app and finding where sign-ups and checkouts drop off. SE Ranking is best for daily rank tracking on a budget and agencies needing white-label client reports.

Which is cheaper, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), PostHog or SE Ranking?

Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar): There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $39/mo. PostHog: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0/mo base. SE Ranking: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $129/mo.

Which is easier to use, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), PostHog or SE Ranking?

Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Store owners, marketers and UX teams who want to see and hear why visitors leave, with surveys alongside the recordings.

How we compare

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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