Hotjar vs Metabase — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Hotjar starts at $39/mo. Metabase starts at $100/mo. Hotjar is $61/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Metabase.
How pricing works
These two tools don't price the same way, so the headline numbers below aren't directly comparable until you plug in your own volume.
- Hotjar (Freemium) — Hotjar bills on a fixed plan from $39/mo, so the listed price is what you pay regardless of volume.
- Metabase (Hybrid) — Metabase is hybrid: a fixed subscription from $100/mo plus metered usage on top (User seats). Your real bill moves with volume, not seat count.
Per-minute, per-credit and per-token rates exclude any downstream model, speech or telephony costs unless the vendor states otherwise.
Session replay + heatmap analytics acquired by Contentsquare in 2021 for $500M. Positioned as the alternative to FullStory and Microsoft Clarity (free) for product and marketing teams. Distinctive for its combined qualitative + quantitative approach — heatmaps, recordings, feedback polls, surveys in one platform. Priced $32-$171/mo across four tiers. Real cost bloat comes from session capacity — high-traffic sites hit overages fast.
Open-source business intelligence tool positioned as the alternative to Tableau and Looker for engineering-led teams. Distinctive for its free self-hosted tier that runs on Docker — the go-to "first BI tool" for startups before they can justify a data team. Cloud version priced from $85/mo. Acquired minority stake by Insight Partners; still open-source. Popular with technical founders who want SQL access to their Postgres/BigQuery data.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Hotjar monthly | Hotjar annual | Metabase monthly | Metabase annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free / — | Free | Free | — | — |
| Entry paid | Observe Plus / Starter | $39 | $32 | $100 | $90 |
| Pro / power | Observe Scale / Pro | $213 | $171 | $575 | $517.5 |
| Teams | Observe Business / — | $99 | $80 | — | — |
| Enterprise | — / Enterprise | — | — | Custom | Custom |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Hotjar is worth it if… product/marketing teams (5-100) that want session recordings + heatmaps + on-site surveys — the qualitative data behind why users behave the way they do. Observe covers session-based analytics; Ask adds surveys; Engage adds interviews.
Metabase is worth it if… teams (5-200) that want business intelligence + dashboards + ad-hoc SQL queries — particularly if you value open-source flexibility over Looker/Tableau enterprise sales. Starter covers small teams (self-hosted free); Pro adds Cloud hosting + row-level permissions; Enterprise adds advanced auditing.
Bottom line: Choose based on how you want to pay — Hotjar is freemium, Metabase is hybrid.
Choose Hotjar over Metabase if…
Choose Hotjar if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (freemium, from $39/mo).
- You match the profile Hotjar is built for: product/marketing teams (5-100) that want session recordings + heatmaps + on-site surveys — the qualitative data behind why users behave the way they do.
- You need a general-purpose analytics & data option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Metabase if…
- You're fine with a base subscription plus metered usage on top (from $100/mo).
- You match the profile Metabase is built for: teams (5-200) that want business intelligence + dashboards + ad-hoc SQL queries — particularly if you value open-source flexibility over Looker/Tableau enterprise sales.
- You need a general-purpose analytics & data option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Hotjar | Metabase | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $39/mo | $100/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Hybrid |
| Verification | Pricing under review | Checked October 3, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified October 3, 2026. Tracked daily.