Side-by-side comparison · SEO & Analytics
Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) vs Profound 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.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
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: Marketing teams at mid-sized and large brands, and agencies, who need detailed tracking of how AI assistants talk about them.
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
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Heatmaps, session replays and surveys that show why visitors leave, with AI summaries. | Shows how often ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI assistants mention and recommend your brand. | A cheaper all-in-one SEO tool that also tracks your brand in AI search answers. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Paid | Paid |
| Starting price | From $39/mo | See website | $129/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4.3Winner | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.5 | 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 | 2.0 | 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.
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | No | No |
| Mobile app | No | No | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | 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 | No | 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 | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | Yes | No |
| Learns your brand or style | – | – | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 6/ 17 | 6/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | FreeOur pick Free Most small business websites. | Trial Free for 7 days Seeing what AI says about you before talking to sales. | 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. | Agency Growth Custom Agencies managing several client brands. | Growth $279/mo, or $223.20/mo billed yearly Agencies and teams with many sites. | |
Pro Custom Teams running conversion work across many sites. | EnterpriseOur pick Custom Large brands. | Enterprise Custom Large teams. | |
Enterprise Custom Large companies. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Start 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. | Run the free 7-day trial to see how AI assistants describe you. If you're a larger brand or agency with a real budget, talk to sales about Enterprise. Small businesses will get more for their money from Peec AI or SE Ranking. | 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
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standout features |
|
|
|
Pros and cons
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pros |
|
|
|
| Cons |
|
|
|
Who each one is for
| Attribute | Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) | Profound | SE Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for |
|
|
|
| You'll find it used by |
|
|
|
Questions people ask
Which is better, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), Profound or SE Ranking?
Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) scores highest overall in our ratings (Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) 4.3/5, Profound 3.7/5 and SE Ranking 4.1/5). Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar) is best for seeing why visitors leave a page and heatmaps and session replays. Profound is best for tracking brand mentions across many AI assistants and seeing which sources AI cites in your category. SE Ranking is best for daily rank tracking on a budget and agencies needing white-label client reports.
Which is cheaper, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), Profound or SE Ranking?
Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar): There's a free plan, and paid plans start at From $39/mo. Profound: Pricing isn't published; check the vendor's site for a quote. SE Ranking: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $129/mo.
Which is easier to use, Contentsquare (formerly Hotjar), Profound 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.
Swap in another tool
More tools from SEO & Analytics in the library.
