Hearback and Hotjar solve the same problem from opposite directions: one is source-available software you can own outright for $29, the other is a subscription at $32/mo run entirely on someone else's servers.
Head to head
| 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 |
What Hearback does well
- 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.
What Hotjar still does better
There's a real reason Hotjar costs what it does: a bigger team, broader integrations and dedicated support behind it. If that ecosystem is genuinely what you need, it's worth paying for.
Which one should you pick
If your workflow depends on Hotjar's specific integrations or you'd rather not run anything yourself, stay put — that's a legitimate call. If you're comfortable owning the tool and want to stop paying $32/mo for a job your own hardware can do, Hearback pays for itself and then some: one month of Hotjar costs more than Hearback does once. Everything after day 28 is free.
Try Hearback — $29, once
Self-hosted feedback + NPS widget with an inbox, dashboard and CSV export — unlimited responses.