Hotjar

What Is Hotjar?

Hotjar is a behavior-analytics and user-feedback platform that shows website owners how visitors actually experience their pages, not just what numbers they hit. Where traditional analytics tells you that 60 percent of visitors left a page, Hotjar shows you why, through heatmaps of where people clicked and scrolled, video-like recordings of real sessions, and on-page surveys that ask visitors directly. It bridges the gap between quantitative metrics and qualitative understanding, and it is one of the most widely adopted experience-analytics tools among product, marketing, and UX teams.

Founded in 2014 and now part of the Contentsquare group, Hotjar built its reputation on being approachable. Quantitative analytics platforms can be intimidating; Hotjar's visual outputs, a literal heat-colored overlay of click density, are immediately legible to non-analysts. Hotjar has stated that its tools are used across well over a million sites in more than 180 countries, which is a large part of why you so frequently detect it when inspecting the technology behind marketing sites, SaaS apps, and e-commerce stores.

Hotjar belongs to the broader category of "experience analytics" or "behavior analytics," sitting alongside tools like Microsoft Clarity, Crazy Egg, and FullStory. What unites them is the focus on observed behaviour, clicks, movement, scrolling, hesitation, rage-clicks, rather than aggregate traffic counts. Hotjar's particular angle is the combination of heatmaps, recordings, and voice-of-customer tools (surveys and feedback widgets) in one package.

How Hotjar Works

Hotjar runs entirely through a single tracking script that the site owner installs once across their pages.

When a site signs up, Hotjar issues a unique Site ID (a numeric identifier). The owner adds the Hotjar tracking snippet, which defines a window._hjSettings object containing that Site ID and a version number, then loads the main Hotjar script. Historically this loaded from static.hotjar.com/c/hotjar-<siteid>.js, and Hotjar also serves assets from script.hotjar.com; the snippet exposes a global function conventionally called hj() that the rest of the page and Hotjar's own code use to queue events.

Once active, the script does several things:

Heatmaps. It records aggregate interaction data, where visitors click, tap, move the cursor, and how far they scroll, then compiles this into color-coded overlays on screenshots of the page. Warm colors mark high-activity zones; cool colors mark ignored areas. This reveals whether people see your call-to-action, whether they click non-clickable elements, and how far down the page they actually read.

Session recordings. Hotjar reconstructs individual visits as playable recordings. Rather than capturing literal video, it records the DOM and user interactions (mouse movement, clicks, scrolls, page transitions, form interactions) and replays them. Watching recordings surfaces usability problems, confusing navigation, broken elements, rage-clicking on something that is not a button, that aggregate numbers hide. Sensitive input is suppressed by default to protect privacy.

Surveys and feedback. Hotjar can display on-page surveys (for example, an exit-intent question asking why a visitor is leaving) and a persistent feedback widget that lets visitors rate pages and leave comments pinned to specific elements.

Funnels and trends. Higher tiers add conversion-funnel analysis and behaviour trends layered on top of the recorded data.

All of this data is sent back to Hotjar's servers, processed, and presented in the Hotjar dashboard. The tool respects sampling limits based on the plan, and it integrates a consent-aware mode so it can be gated behind cookie consent where required.

A detail worth understanding is how Hotjar captures sessions without harming performance or privacy. Rather than streaming literal video, which would be heavy and invasive, it records the page structure and a timeline of events, then reconstructs the visit on playback. This keeps the payload small and lets Hotjar redact sensitive fields before anything leaves the browser. Text typed into inputs is suppressed by default, and site owners can add extra masking rules for any element that might contain personal data. Hotjar also batches its outgoing beacons and loads its main script asynchronously, so the tracking work happens after the page is interactive. For teams in regulated regions, Hotjar exposes APIs to defer loading until consent is granted, which is why on some sites you will not see any _hj cookies or beacons until you accept a cookie banner, an important nuance for accurate detection.

Hotjar also supports custom attributes and event tagging, letting site owners label sessions (for example, by user plan or A/B test variant) so recordings can be filtered later. This identification happens through additional hj() calls, which is another reason the hj global is such a dependable detection signal.

How to Tell if a Website Uses Hotjar

Hotjar has a very recognizable footprint, which makes confirmation straightforward.

View Source. Search the HTML for hotjar. The classic snippet contains the string static.hotjar.com and a configuration block setting window._hjSettings={hjid: XXXXXXX, hjsv: N} where hjid is the Site ID. Spotting _hjSettings and the hjid value is the cleanest single confirmation and tells you exactly which Hotjar account is in use.

DevTools Console. Type window.hj and press enter. If Hotjar is loaded you will get a function back rather than undefined. You can also inspect window._hjSettings to read the Site ID directly. The presence of the hj() global is definitive proof the library initialized.

DevTools Network panel. Reload with Network open and filter for hotjar. You will see the script load from static.hotjar.com or script.hotjar.com, followed by data-collection beacons to Hotjar's ingestion endpoints (such as content and metrics subdomains under hotjar.com / hotjar.io). These outbound beacons are the runtime evidence that behaviour data is being captured and sent.

Cookies and storage. Hotjar sets a family of cookies prefixed _hj, including _hjSessionUser_<siteid>, _hjSession_<siteid>, _hjFirstSeen, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, and others. Open DevTools Application > Cookies (or Storage) and look for _hj entries. These cookies are among the most reliable fingerprints, the Site ID is even embedded in the session cookie names.

curl. Fetch the body with curl -s https://example.com | grep -i hotjar. For server-rendered snippets this surfaces the static.hotjar.com reference and the hjid. As with most analytics tags, if the snippet is injected by a tag manager it may not appear in raw curl output, so pair it with the Network/Console checks.

Wappalyzer and BuiltWith. Both detect Hotjar from the script domains and the _hjSettings/cookie signals, reporting it under analytics. They are an instant first read. For the bigger picture of distinguishing measurement tools from heatmap tools, see our guide on how to find out what analytics a website uses, and for a focused walkthrough of spotting heatmap and recording tools specifically, read how to tell if a website uses Hotjar or a heatmap tool.

Because Hotjar is frequently loaded through a tag manager and gated behind consent, a server-side analyzer that executes the page and watches network calls confirms it more reliably than source inspection alone.

Key Features

• Heatmaps. Click, tap, move, and scroll maps that visualize aggregate engagement on any page.
• Session recordings. Replays of individual visits to diagnose real usability issues.
• Surveys. On-page and exit-intent surveys to capture visitor intent and objections.
• Feedback widget. A persistent widget letting visitors rate pages and pin comments to elements.
• Funnels. Visual conversion-funnel analysis showing where users drop off.
• Highlights and Trends. Tools for saving key clips and tracking behaviour over time.
• Frustration and engagement signals. Detection of rage-clicks, U-turns, and other friction indicators.
• Privacy controls. Automatic suppression of keystrokes in inputs and consent-aware loading.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Visual, intuitive outputs that non-technical stakeholders understand instantly.
• Combines quantitative heatmaps with qualitative recordings and direct feedback in one tool.
• Fast setup, one snippet, no per-page configuration for basic heatmaps.
• Excellent for diagnosing conversion blockers and usability bugs.
• Generous free tier for small sites and early experimentation.

Cons

• Data is sampled on lower tiers, so very high-traffic sites may not capture every session.
• Adds third-party JavaScript that can affect page performance if not deferred.
• Privacy and consent obligations apply because it records user behaviour.
• Less powerful for deep, queryable product analytics than event-based platforms.
• Recording storage and retention limits vary by plan.

Hotjar vs Alternatives

Behavior-analytics tools overlap heavily, so the choice usually comes down to price, depth, and whether you need queryable product data.

Tool	Core strength	Price model	Heatmaps	Recordings	Surveys
Hotjar	Balanced heatmaps + recordings + feedback	Freemium, paid tiers	Yes	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Clarity	Free, unlimited recordings + heatmaps	Completely free	Yes	Yes	No
Crazy Egg	Heatmaps + A/B testing focus	Paid	Yes	Yes	Limited
FullStory	Deep, searchable session data	Enterprise paid	Yes	Yes	No
Contentsquare	Enterprise experience analytics	Enterprise paid	Yes	Yes	Yes

The most common comparison is Hotjar versus Microsoft Clarity. Clarity is completely free with unlimited recordings, which makes it attractive for cost-conscious teams, while Hotjar adds polished surveys, feedback widgets, and funnels that many marketing teams prefer. It is common to find both installed on the same site, with Clarity used for unlimited recording volume and Hotjar for its voice-of-customer tooling.

Common Use Cases

• Conversion rate optimization (CRO): finding why landing pages and checkout flows lose visitors.
• UX research: watching recordings to validate or disprove assumptions about navigation and layout.
• Product onboarding: spotting where new users get stuck in SaaS sign-up flows.
• Form optimization: identifying which fields cause abandonment.
• Voice of customer: running exit surveys to capture objections and feature requests.
• A/B test diagnosis: understanding the behavioural "why" behind test results from other tools.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the hjid value I see in the page source?

hjid is the Hotjar Site ID, the numeric identifier of the Hotjar account tracking that page. It appears inside the window._hjSettings={hjid: XXXXXXX, hjsv: N} configuration in the Hotjar snippet. Finding it confirms Hotjar is installed and tells you which account owns the data.

Which cookies indicate Hotjar is being used?

Look for cookies beginning with _hj, such as _hjSessionUser_<siteid>, _hjSession_<siteid>, _hjFirstSeen, and _hjIncludedInSessionSample. These are set by Hotjar to manage session and sampling state, and the Site ID embedded in the session cookie names makes them a reliable fingerprint.

How do I confirm Hotjar in the browser console?

Type window.hj and press enter. If Hotjar is active, the console returns a function. You can also check window._hjSettings to read the Site ID. Both are definitive client-side confirmations that the Hotjar library loaded.

Does Hotjar record everything I type?

No. By default Hotjar suppresses keystrokes in input fields so that sensitive data like passwords, payment details, and personal information is not captured in recordings. Site owners can further configure which elements are masked to meet privacy requirements.

Can Hotjar be detected with curl?

For server-rendered snippets, yes, run curl -s https://example.com | grep -i hotjar to find the static.hotjar.com reference and the hjid. If Hotjar is loaded through a tag manager, it may not appear in raw curl output, so combine it with the Console and Network checks.

Is Hotjar an analytics tool or something else?

Hotjar is a behavior-analytics and feedback tool. Rather than counting traffic like a traditional analytics platform, it visualizes how visitors interact (heatmaps, recordings) and gathers their input (surveys, feedback). It complements, rather than replaces, metric-focused analytics.

Why might I not see Hotjar cookies until I accept a cookie banner?

Hotjar can be configured to load only after a visitor grants consent. On sites that gate it behind a consent management platform, the Hotjar script, its _hj cookies, and its beacons will not appear until you accept tracking. This is why a consent-aware, server-side scan that simulates acceptance is more reliable than a quick source check for confirming Hotjar on privacy-conscious sites.

Can Hotjar tell me who an individual visitor is?

Not by default. Hotjar focuses on behaviour and masks sensitive input, so recordings are anonymized unless the site owner deliberately passes identifying attributes through Hotjar's user-identification API. Even then, responsible implementations avoid sending raw personal data and instead use internal IDs to label sessions for later filtering.

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Want to know whether a site is running heatmaps, session recorders, or feedback tools before you visit it? StackOptic reveals the full behavior-analytics stack from the server side at https://stackoptic.com.