Hotjar charges $32/month for surveys with a 500-response cap on the entry plan. Feedbackfish is $29 every month. Hearback is the same drop-in widget — floating button, emoji ratings, NPS surveys, an inbox with a dashboard — running on your server, with your data, for a one-time $29.
If you've searched for a Hotjar alternative, Hearback is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Hearback is $29, one time, and covers the same core job Hotjar charges $32/mo for.
What makes Hearback the pick for 2026
- One-line embed — A single script tag. Self-contained JS + CSS in a shadow DOM, so your site's styles never leak in and the widget never leaks out.
- Feedback form — 1–5 emoji rating, Issue / Idea / Praise category, message, optional reply email.
- NPS surveys — The classic 0–10 with a follow-up question — shown once per visitor with a frequency cap enforced in the browser and on the server.
- Auto-captured context — Page URL, user agent, viewport, referrer and an anonymous visitor token arrive with every response.
- An inbox that works — Filter by mode, category, rating and status; full-text search; detail drawer; new → in progress → resolved workflow.
Hearback vs Hotjar, at a glance
| Hearback | Hotjar | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29 once | $32/month ($384/yr) |
| Cost over 3 years | $29 | ~$1,152 |
| Response limits | None | 500/mo on entry plan |
| NPS surveys + dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Your data on your server | Yes | No |
| Works behind a VPN / intranet | Yes | No |
| Cookie-banner headaches | None — first-party | Third-party scripts |
| Source code | MIT, yours | Closed |
One month of Hotjar costs more than Hearback does once. Everything after day 28 is free.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — MIT source at github.com/bensblueprints/feedback-widget-mvp. $29 buys the packaged version, 1-click setup and updates.
Does it do heatmaps or session recordings?
No — and we'll be straight about that. Heatmaps and recordings are Hotjar's other half, and Hearback doesn't attempt them. If you need to watch session replays, keep Hotjar. If what you actually use is surveys and feedback, Hearback covers it for 1/12th of one year's bill.
Are responses really unlimited?
Yes — they're rows in your own SQLite file. Hotjar's entry plan caps you at 500 survey responses a month; your disk is the only cap here.
The bottom line
Hearback won't out-feature Hotjar on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $29 once against $32/mo forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Hearback is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Hearback — $29, once
Self-hosted feedback + NPS widget with an inbox, dashboard and CSV export — unlimited responses.