Smartlook is one of the better-known subscription tools in its space — and at $55/mo (Pro plan, 5,000 sessions, 90-day retention), one of the recurring line items people most often look to replace. If you're searching for a Smartlook alternative you pay for once and own forever, Hearback is the OneTimeSuite answer: $29, one time.
Why people go looking for an alternative
Smartlook runs $55/mo (Pro plan, 5,000 sessions, 90-day retention), and like most SaaS the bill never stops — cancel and you typically lose access to your own history. That's roughly $1,980 over three years. Hearback flips that model: Self-hosted feedback + NPS widget with an inbox, dashboard and CSV export — unlimited responses.
What Hearback covers
- 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.
The honest trade-off
Smartlook will keep shipping features, integrations and managed infrastructure that a pay-once tool won't chase — if that ecosystem is genuinely load-bearing for your workflow, staying is a fair call. For the core job, the math favors owning the tool: $29 once against $55/mo (Pro plan, 5,000 sessions, 90-day retention) forever. One month of Hotjar costs more than Hearback does once. Everything after day 28 is free.
Also worth reading
Hearback's main head-to-head is with Hotjar — see the detailed comparison or the product page for the full feature list, FAQ and demo video.
Try Hearback — $29, once
Self-hosted feedback + NPS widget with an inbox, dashboard and CSV export — unlimited responses.