A Hotjar alternative that counts every visitor, not just the ones who accept cookies.
Where consent is required, Hotjar only sees visitors who say yes to its cookies. Trace needs no cookies, so it counts frustration across visitors who decline too, and ends each problem with a fix and a verdict.
Keep Hotjar if you need
- Heatmap images to share with designers and stakeholders
- On-site surveys and feedback widgets
- Recordings to watch individual visits
Choose Trace if you want
- Numbers that don't drop when people decline your cookie banner
- Browser errors and failed requests next to the clicks they break
- Problems ranked for you, and a verdict after each fix ships
Side by side
| Hotjar | Trace | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is counted | Visitors who accept its cookies, where consent applies | Visitors who load the script, consent or not. Ad blockers still block it. |
| What you look at | Heatmaps, recordings, survey answers | A ranked list of problems, goals and funnels |
| Frustration signals | Rage clicks and u-turns, filtered in recordings | Rage and dead clicks per element, as rates |
| Browser errors | Filter recordings by JavaScript errors | Counted, with the visits they broke |
| Did it work? | No per-release verdict | A verdict 14 days after each release |
| Self-host | No | Yes, open source |
Hotjar details from its public documentation, checked 29 October 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
Moving from Hotjar: what maps to what
If you aren't a developer, the tag goes into your site's template once. On Shopify that's theme.liquid, or your agency can do it in minutes.
| In Hotjar | In Trace |
|---|---|
| Click heatmap | Clicks, dead clicks and rage clicks per element, as numbers |
| Recordings filtered by rage clicks | Problems ranked by visits affected |
| Funnels | Funnels in trace.json |
| Surveys | No equivalent. Keep Hotjar or a survey tool. |
Why the numbers differ
In the EU and UK, Hotjar's cookies need consent, so its numbers cover only the visitors who click accept. On many sites that's half of them or fewer. The visitors who decline are often the more cautious ones, and they behave differently. Trace stores nothing on the device, so it needs no cookie consent and counts both groups. Ad blockers still block both tools.
Run them side by side for a month
Add the Trace tag next to Hotjar. It adds 8.4 KB and does its work when the browser is idle.
Compare the elements your heatmaps highlight with Trace's dead-click list. Send the top fix to your developer or agency.
Read the verdict on what you shipped. Keep what still earns its place. Compare Trace's visitor count with Hotjar's: the gap is your banner.
Questions from Hotjar users
Does Trace have heatmaps?
Not as images. It counts clicks, dead clicks and rage clicks per element, which you can track over time.
Can I use it without a developer?
You need the tag added once. After that the dashboard shows the ranked problems, and each one is a written task you can send to your agency.
Does it work on Shopify checkout?
Not inside it. Shopify only allows sandboxed pixels on its checkout pages, so Trace sees your store up to the checkout button. The checkout itself is not measured yet.
Why are my Trace numbers higher than Hotjar's?
Trace counts visitors who decline cookies too. Ad blockers affect both.
Related: Microsoft Clarity alternative · FullStory alternative · All comparisons