mrkr vs Hotjar.
Both record sessions. Hotjar wraps them in heatmaps and surveys and asks for consent first. mrkr wraps them in traffic, funnels, and revenue, and in its default cookieless mode asks for nothing.
In short
What is the difference between mrkr and Hotjar?
Hotjar is a qualitative research tool: heatmaps, session recordings, and on-site surveys, built to answer why people behave a certain way. mrkr is a web analytics tool with session replay built in, built to answer which traffic makes money. Hotjar uses cookies and needs consent. mrkr is cookieless by default and does not.
That difference decides most evaluations. If you are running a redesign and want to see where people click on a page, Hotjar’s heatmaps are the better product and mrkr has nothing equivalent. If you want to know which campaign brought the visitor who dropped at checkout, Hotjar cannot tell you and mrkr can.
A recording that knows where the visitor came from.
A Hotjar recording is a recording. A mrkr replay opens with the source, campaign, and landing page attached, so you can filter to the sessions from one paid campaign that did not convert and watch only those.
Where mrkr is better.
You do not need a banner
Hotjar sets cookies, so it waits for consent. mrkr's default mode records everyone.
Sessions attached to money
Every recording carries its source, campaign, and any revenue the session produced.
One tool, not two
Analytics and replay in one dataset, so there are no two session counts to reconcile.
Pricing that does not go dark
Hotjar meters daily sessions and stops. mrkr meters monthly events with overage.
Compared
Side by side.
| Feature | mrkr | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Session replay | On every plan | The core product |
| Heatmaps | No | Yes |
| On-site surveys | No | Yes |
| Cookieless by default | Optional cookie mode | No |
| Consent banner required | No in cookieless mode, yes in cookie mode | Yes |
| Traffic sources and campaigns | Yes | No |
| Funnels | Yes | Higher tiers only |
| Revenue attribution | Yes | No |
| Core Web Vitals | Yes | No |
| Free plan | No, $1 for 14 days | 35 daily sessions |
| Entry paid price | $5/mo, 100K pageviews, session replay included | $32/mo, 100 daily sessions |
| Seat charges | None | Per seat above the base |
Hotjar details checked against hotjar.com pricing and feature pages on 2026-08-24. Hotjar changes packaging often, so verify before you buy.
Live demo
See both halves in one dataset. The live demo has the funnels, the sources, and the recordings sitting in the same product. Click a drop-off step and open the sessions behind it.
Open the live demoWhere Hotjar is genuinely better.
Heatmaps
Click, move, and scroll maps across thousands of sessions. mrkr has no heatmaps at all.
Surveys and feedback
A mature survey product wired into the recordings. mrkr collects no qualitative feedback.
Research workflow
Highlights, clips, and shareable reels for a design team. mrkr replay is not a research library.
Established at scale
Longer in market, with the integrations and enterprise paperwork that follow.
FAQ
Is mrkr a drop-in replacement for Hotjar?
Not entirely. mrkr covers session replay, funnels, and the analytics Hotjar does not do well. It has no heatmaps and no on-site surveys, which are two of Hotjar's core products. If those are why you bought Hotjar, mrkr does not replace them.
Does Hotjar need a cookie banner?
Yes. Hotjar sets cookies to identify returning users and track sessions, so in the EU, UK, and California you need consent before it runs. mrkr's default cookieless mode sets nothing on the visitor's device, so it needs no banner.
How do the prices compare?
Hotjar Observe Plus starts at $32 a month for 100 daily sessions. mrkr Starter is $5 a month for 100K pageviews with session replay included, and there is no free plan and no free trial, only $1 for 14 days with a card. Neither charges per seat.
Does mrkr limit how many sessions it records?
There is no separate session cap. Replays draw on the same monthly event allowance as everything else, so you are not choosing between recording sessions and counting pageviews.
Can I run both?
Yes, and some teams should. Hotjar for heatmaps and surveys during a redesign, mrkr as the always-on analytics layer, is a reasonable split. Both scripts load async.
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