1v1 Pricing Showdown
Hotjar (Contentsquare) vs Maze
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for User Research & Testing decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Hotjar (Contentsquare) and Maze for your user research & testing stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Hotjar (Contentsquare) starts at $32/mo; Maze starts at $75/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| session replay | Observe tiers — watch real user sessions | — |
| heatmaps | Observe tiers | — |
| conversion funnels | Observe Business+ | — |
| on page surveys | Ask tiers | — |
| feedback widgets | Ask tiers | — |
| nps surveys | Ask tiers | — |
| user interviews | Engage tiers | — |
| participant recruitment | Engage tiers | — |
| custom events | Observe Business+ | — |
| api access | Observe Business+ | — |
| integrations | Slack + HubSpot + Jira + 20+ more | — |
| gdpr compliance | All plans | — |
| acquired by contentsquare | 2023-2024 consolidation with hotjar.com/pricing redirecting to contentsquare.com/pricing | — |
| prototype testing figma adobe xd | — | All plans — category-leading for Figma/XD prototypes |
| 5 second tests | — | All plans |
| first click tests | — | All plans |
| card sorting | — | All plans |
| tree testing | — | All plans |
| open ended questions | — | All plans |
| ai moderator | — | Professional+ |
| maze ai | — | Professional+ — synthesize themes + surface insights |
| panel recruitment | — | Pay-per-use add-on on paid plans |
| custom branding | — | Professional+ |
| sso | — | Organization only |
| advanced permissions | — | Organization only |
| audit logs | — | Organization only |
| heatmaps on prototypes | — | All plans |
| moderated interviews | — | Professional+ |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
Hotjar (Contentsquare)
About the user research & testing category
User research and testing platforms in 2026 split into four categories. 'Enterprise qualitative research' (UserTesting custom $3,000-100,000+/month): moderated sessions, participant panels of 60+ countries, AI-powered analysis — Fortune 500 standard. 'Unmoderated prototype testing' (Maze $75-375/user/month annual, Lyssna $83-166/month annual): design validation at scale, 5-second tests, tree testing, card sorting, first-click testing. 'Session replay + product analytics' (Hotjar/Contentsquare): watch real user sessions, understand friction, quantitative + qualitative. 'SMB-friendly video research' (Ballpark): UK-based, affordable tier for small teams. Major 2024-2025 M&A: Hotjar was acquired by Contentsquare (completed 2023-2024), with hotjar.com/pricing now redirecting to contentsquare.com/pricing — product bundling consolidates previously separate Hotjar Observe (session replay), Hotjar Ask (surveys), Hotjar Engage (user interviews) into the unified Contentsquare platform. Lyssna rebranded from UsabilityHub in 2023. Maze has expanded from prototype testing to full research platform with AI Moderator. UserTesting remains the enterprise incumbent with opaque pricing requiring sales contact. The 2024-2026 trend: AI moderator (automated follow-up questions), AI insights synthesis (analyze themes across hundreds of sessions), video-based research (Ballpark, Maze), and panel recruitment marketplaces (690,000+ panelists on Lyssna, 60+ country panels on UserTesting).
How to choose between user research & testing options
First: what's your research methodology? Moderated live user interviews: UserTesting (largest panel, 60+ countries) or Lyssna Enterprise. Unmoderated prototype testing: Maze (Figma + Adobe XD integration) or Lyssna (broader study types). Session replay + heatmaps (watch real users on your site): Hotjar/Contentsquare. Surveys and panels: Lyssna (690,000+ panelists with 395+ demographic filters). Second: budget range? Under $1,000/month: Maze Starter ($75/month annual), Lyssna Starter ($83/month annual), Ballpark Pro, Hotjar Observe Plus ($32/month annual). $1,000-5,000/month: Maze Organization ($375/user/month annual), Lyssna Growth ($166/month annual), Hotjar Scale ($171/month annual). $5,000-25,000/month: Lyssna Enterprise, Hotjar Business tier via Contentsquare. $25,000+/month: UserTesting Advanced/Ultimate, Contentsquare enterprise tiers. Third: team size? Solo researcher: Maze Free or Starter, Lyssna Free (15 responses) or Starter. 2-5 person design team: Maze Professional ($149/month annual), Lyssna Growth ($166/month annual with 15 seats). 5-20 person UX team: Maze Organization ($375/user/month annual), Lyssna Enterprise custom. 20+ person research org: UserTesting Advanced custom. Fourth: need participant recruitment? Lyssna's 690,000+ panelist pool with pay-per-use is cheapest SMB recruitment. UserTesting's 60+ country panel is largest but enterprise-only. Maze's panel recruitment is smaller. Fifth: compliance requirements? UserTesting Advanced has SOC 2 + ISO 27001 + GDPR + HIPAA. Lyssna Enterprise has SOC 2 report. Contentsquare/Hotjar has enterprise security at higher tiers. Sixth: what methodologies matter? Tree testing + card sorting: Lyssna + UserTesting Ultimate. Prototype testing: Maze category-leading. Session replay: Hotjar/Contentsquare category-leading. First-click testing: Lyssna + Maze.
Building Your Business Stack?
Decision-makers comparing tools often need more than one category. Here are related comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Hotjar (Contentsquare) cheaper than Maze?
- Hotjar (Contentsquare) is cheaper starting at $32/mo. Hotjar (Contentsquare) starts at $32/mo and Maze at $75/mo.
- Does Hotjar (Contentsquare) or Maze offer a free plan?
- Hotjar (Contentsquare) and Maze both offer a free plan.
- Which is better, Hotjar (Contentsquare) or Maze?
- Maze scores 9/10 compared to Hotjar (Contentsquare)'s 8.7/10 in our analysis. Maze ranks higher on features and value, but Hotjar (Contentsquare) may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Is Hotjar (Contentsquare) cheaper than Maze for a team of 5?
- For a team of 5, Hotjar (Contentsquare) costs $32/mo (flat rate) and Maze costs $75/mo (flat rate). Hotjar (Contentsquare) is the cheaper option at this team size.
- Are there other user research & testing alternatives besides Hotjar (Contentsquare) and Maze?
- Yes. Our [User Research & Testing pricing comparison](/pricing/user-research/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest user research & testing](/pricing/user-research/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.