Hotjar vs Fathom: Analytics Comparison (2026)

An independent side-by-side comparison of Hotjar and Fathom for analytics buyers — pricing, features, integrations, and how often each is cited by major AI engines.

AI Citation Scorecard

How often each is cited by major AI engines when buyers ask analytics questions. Last 90 days across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot.

Too early to call — probes still building data.
ChatGPT
Hotjar
Tracking…
No data yet
Fathom
22 / 133 probes
17%
Average
Perplexity
Hotjar
Tracking…
No data yet
Fathom
44 / 132 probes
33%
Good
Gemini
Hotjar
Tracking…
No data yet
Fathom
44 / 132 probes
33%
Good
Claude
Hotjar
Tracking…
No data yet
Fathom
24 / 133 probes
18%
Average
Copilot
Hotjar
Tracking…
No data yet
Fathom
284 / 470 probes
60%
Excellent
Scale:NoneLowFairStrongExcellent

Probes run hourly; each (engine × query) combo retests every ~3 days.

Pricing

Hotjar
Starting price
€0
Free tier
Yes
hotjar.com
Fathom
Starting price
$15/month
Free tier
usefathom.com

Key Features

Hotjar
  • 200k monthly sessions
  • 1 project
  • Replays, Heatmaps + Funnels
  • Basic surveys
  • Error & performance monitoring
Fathom
  • Up to 50 sites included
  • Ecommerce/event tracking included
  • Easy integration with all CMSs/frameworks
  • API access
  • Forever data retention
  • 100% data ownership
  • No cookie banners required
  • Unlimited email reports

When to choose Hotjar

Choose Hotjar if your team prioritizes its strengths over Fathom's. Full guidance populates as Hotjar's feature data is indexed.

When to choose Fathom

Choose Fathom if your team prioritizes its strengths over Hotjar's. Full guidance populates as Fathom's feature data is indexed.

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