Saylo vs Hotjar
Hotjar gives you heatmaps and session recordings. Saylo gives you a direct line to what your users actually want. If you are an indie hacker or small product team, you do not need enterprise analytics. You need actionable feedback.
SSaylo
Feedback collection, roadmaps, and changelogs for small teams
Starting at $15/month. Embeddable feedback widget, AI-powered changelogs from GitHub commits, public roadmaps, and team collaboration. Built for people who ship.
HHotjar
Heatmaps, session recordings, and enterprise behavior analytics
Starts free but scales to $80+/month fast. Focused on visual analytics — heatmaps, scroll maps, session replays. Great for large UX teams. Overkill for most indie products.
The Core Difference
Two different philosophies for understanding users
Saylo: Direct Feedback
Users tell you exactly what they want. You organize it, prioritize it, and ship it. No guesswork.
- Feature requests with voting
- Bug reports from real users
- Public roadmap to build trust
- Changelogs to close the loop
Hotjar: Behavioral Analytics
Watch how users interact with your pages. Interpret the data. Guess what they want from their behavior.
- Heatmaps and click maps
- Session recordings
- Funnel analysis
- No feature request tracking
Pricing Comparison
What you actually pay as a small team
| Plan | Saylo | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Starter / Free | Free tier available | Free (35 sessions/day) |
| Paid plan | $15/month | $32/month (Plus) |
| Growing team | $15/month | $80/month (Business) |
| Feedback features | Full suite included | Basic surveys only |
Bottom line: Hotjar's free tier is limited to 35 daily sessions. To get meaningful data, you are looking at $32-80/month. With Saylo, $15/month gets you everything — feedback, roadmaps, changelogs, and analytics.
Feature Comparison
Feedback-focused features side by side
| Feature | Saylo | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Feedback Widget | Embeddable, customizable widget | No dedicated feedback widget |
| Feature Request Tracking | Built-in with voting & prioritization | Not available |
| Public Roadmap | Share your roadmap with users | Not available |
| AI-Powered Changelog | Auto-generated from GitHub commits | Not available |
| Heatmaps | Not available | Full heatmap suite |
| Session Recordings | Not available | Full session replay |
| User Surveys | In-app surveys & feedback forms | Basic surveys |
| GitHub Integration | Full webhook integration | Not available |
| Slack / Discord | Real-time notifications | Slack only (limited) |
| Team Collaboration | Built-in team features | Available on paid plans |
Why Indie Hackers and Small Teams Choose Saylo
1. You Get Direct Feedback, Not Guesswork
Heatmaps tell you where people click. They do not tell you why users are frustrated or what feature they want next. Saylo captures exactly what users think in their own words.
2. Predictable Pricing That Does Not Punish Growth
Hotjar charges per session. As your traffic grows, so does your bill. Saylo is flat-rate — $15/month whether you have 100 users or 10,000.
3. Ship Faster With Automated Changelogs
Connect your GitHub repo and Saylo generates changelogs from your commits. Your users stay in the loop without you writing a single update post.
4. Close the Feedback Loop
Collect feedback → prioritize on your roadmap → ship the feature → announce it in your changelog. Saylo handles the full cycle. Hotjar stops at data collection.
When Hotjar Might Be the Right Choice
We believe in honest comparisons
Hotjar is a solid tool for specific use cases:
- • You run an e-commerce site and need conversion optimization
- • You have a dedicated UX research team that interprets session data
- • You need to understand user behavior on marketing landing pages
- • You already have a separate tool for feedback and roadmaps
But if your goal is to collect user feedback, track feature requests, and build what people actually want — Saylo is purpose-built for that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Saylo vs Hotjar
Is Saylo a Hotjar alternative?
Saylo and Hotjar solve different problems. Hotjar focuses on behavioral analytics (heatmaps, recordings). Saylo focuses on direct user feedback, feature requests, and product communication. If you want to know what users want, Saylo is the better fit.
Can I use Saylo and Hotjar together?
Yes. Some teams use Hotjar for UX analytics and Saylo for feedback collection and product roadmaps. They complement each other. But most small teams find that Saylo alone covers their needs.
Is Saylo cheaper than Hotjar?
For feedback collection, yes. Saylo starts at $15/month with unlimited users. Hotjar's paid plans start at $32/month and scale based on sessions, reaching $80+/month for growing sites.
Does Saylo have heatmaps or session recordings?
No. Saylo is focused on feedback, roadmaps, and changelogs. If you specifically need heatmaps, Hotjar or a similar tool would be the right choice. But for understanding what users want to see built, Saylo is more effective.
Stop Guessing. Start Listening.
Your users will tell you exactly what to build next. You just need the right tool to capture it.