Contentsquare fits teams that want surveys, a free plan and an enterprise path. GrainQL fits small teams that want Kai to name the cause and attach the recordings.
14 days free. No card. Runs next to Hotjar.
Pick Hotjar if
Pick GrainQL if
Checkout conversions fell on Monday. You have hundreds of new recordings and one free hour.
In Hotjar
Hotjar's free plan in Contentsquare gives you the recordings and heatmaps. Sense Chat and AI summaries of recordings start on the paid Growth plan.
In GrainQL
Kai is on every plan. Ask why checkout fell and Kai names the cause in about 3 seconds, with the recordings attached. One customer found 700+ form interactions and zero submissions in 4 minutes.
You bought Hotjar as one tool with one price. Now you are working out what the same setup costs next year.
In Hotjar
Hotjar is now sold as three Contentsquare products, each with its own plans. Recordings and heatmaps are one product, surveys are another, and both are sized by monthly volume.
In GrainQL
GrainQL has one product and three published prices, from $29 to $299 a month. You pay by monthly visitors, with unlimited events per visitor and no overages.
Signups are down 20% this week. You do not know if it is the form, one traffic source or mobile visitors.
In Hotjar
Hotjar's parent offers Sense Analyst, an agent that builds and runs an analysis plan. It is a lite beta on Growth and an add-on on the custom-priced Pro plan.
In GrainQL
Kai runs a Deep Investigation on every plan. It compares segments, clusters sessions, analyzes the funnel and writes a report you share with a link.
The live demo runs on real data. Ask Kai a question and see what comes back.
Ask Kai on the live demoWhat each tool ships today, including the rows Hotjar wins. Checked against Hotjar’s own site in October 2026.
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Hotjar is now sold as Contentsquare. The free plan covers 200,000 monthly sessions. Paid Experience Analytics starts from $49 a month, billed annually. Surveys are a separate product.
GrainQL
From $29 a month for 50,000 monthly visitors. Billed by visitors, with unlimited events per visitor. Every feature is on every plan.
See every planContentsquare's free plan costs less than GrainQL, which has no free plan. It keeps one month of data and leaves out Sense Chat and AI summaries.
If one of these is your situation, stay where you are. We would rather tell you now than after a trial.
Surveys, a feedback button and interview invites are part of the Hotjar toolset inside Contentsquare. GrainQL has none of them. If feedback is your main job, stay.
Contentsquare's free plan includes replays, heatmaps and funnels for 200,000 monthly sessions. GrainQL has a 14-day trial and then starts at $29 a month.
Contentsquare has Pro and Enterprise plans, journey analysis and error monitoring. GrainQL is a younger product with fewer integrations and a smaller community.
Then see what Kai finds on your own traffic. One tag, about two minutes, and Hotjar keeps running.
The GrainQL script runs next to the Hotjar or Contentsquare tag. Nothing has to be removed. Run both for two weeks and compare what each one tells you.
Paste one script tag in the head, or add it in GTM. It takes about two minutes. Keep your surveys and feedback button running where they are.
Take one real drop from this month. Work it out your usual way in Hotjar. Then ask Kai. Compare the answers and the time each took.
If Kai found what you would have missed, move replay and heatmaps to GrainQL. If you mostly needed surveys, stay where you are.
Free checklist
One page for running GrainQL next to Hotjar: what to install, what to compare, and how to call it after 14 days.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Not for new accounts. Contentsquare acquired Hotjar in 2021 and has merged the two platforms. New users now sign up for Contentsquare, where the Hotjar tools live. Existing Hotjar users can still log in.
Yes. Contentsquare's AI is called Sense. It summarizes recordings and heatmaps and answers questions in plain language, starting on the paid Growth plan. Kai does similar work in GrainQL and is included on every plan, from $29 a month.
Yes. GrainQL installs with one script tag or through GTM and runs next to the Hotjar or Contentsquare tag. You can keep your surveys there and use GrainQL to find why conversions drop.
It depends on your plan. Contentsquare, which now sells Hotjar, has a free plan and paid Experience Analytics from $49 a month, billed annually. GrainQL has no free plan and starts at $29 a month for 50,000 monthly visitors, with every feature included.
Surveys, a feedback button and user interviews. GrainQL has none of these. GrainQL also has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. If collecting feedback from visitors is your main need, Hotjar inside Contentsquare is the better fit.
No. GrainQL starts collecting sessions from the moment you add its script. Your older recordings stay in your Hotjar or Contentsquare account, so keep that account open while you compare the two tools.
Add one script tag next to Hotjar and start the 14-day trial. No credit card. Ask Kai why a number moved and check the recordings it attaches.