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Hotjar VS SelfControl

Compare Hotjar VS SelfControl and see what are their differences

Hotjar

The #1 Leader in Heatmaps, Recordings, Surveys & More. Sign up for a 15-day free trial and start learning from real user behavior today!

Rating
2.3 · 8 reviews
Pricing
Freemium Free trial €39 / Monthly (Starting at: 3,000 Recordings per month with unlimited Heatmaps)
Alternatives Is it good?
SelfControl

V2 updates! - Custom time interval for distraction free mode - Ability to turn off ' always on' mode - Improved UI -- Self Control -- A simple app to keep you focused online by blocking sites that you spend way too much time on.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Alternatives Is it good?
Grapple
Do-It-Yourself Data Analytics & Business Intelligence, Powered by AI sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, SelfControl should be more popular than Hotjar. It has been mentioned 79 times since March 2021.

social mentions
13 vs 79
Web Analytics popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 174

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Hotjar
SelfControl
Website hotjar.com selfcontrolapp.com
Pricing
Freemium Free trial €39 / Monthly (Starting at: 3,000 Recordings per month with unlimited Heatmaps) Official pricing
Open source
Company Startup from Malta · 2014 —
Listed in
Marketing Marketing Analytics Web Analytics User Monitoring Heatmaps User Experience Customer Feedback Surveys +5
Productivity Time Management Websites Blocker Time Tracking +1

About Hotjar and SelfControl

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Hotjar
SelfControl

Hotjar's product experience insights make it easy to understand what users are really doing on your site. Visualize behavior on your site with Heatmaps Eliminate guesswork with user Recordings Understand the reasons behind behavior with Surveys and Incoming Feedback

Read more about Hotjar

No description of SelfControl yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Hotjar 4 features
SelfControl 4 features
  • Heatmaps
    Visually represent where users click, move, and scroll on your site. With this context, you'll learn how users really behave.
  • Recordings
    Live playbacks of users on your site.
  • Surveys
    Bring the voice-of-customer to your decision making.
  • Incoming Feedback
    A real-time suggestion box on your site, that lets users express frustration or delight about individual parts of your site.
  • Effective Website Blocking
    SelfControl blocks access to distracting websites based on a customizable blocklist, helping users stay focused.
  • Timer Functionality
    Users can set a timer for how long they want websites to remain blocked, ensuring focused work periods without distraction.
  • Free to Use
    SelfControl is open-source and free to download and use, making it accessible to anyone without financial barriers.
  • Easy to Use
    The interface is straightforward and user-friendly, allowing users to quickly set their preferences and get started.

Possible disadvantages

  • Mac-Only
    SelfControl is only available for macOS, excluding Windows and Linux users from using the application.
  • No Undo Option
    Once the block period is set and started, it cannot be undone even by restarting the computer, which could be an issue if access to blocked sites is needed unexpectedly.
  • Limited Feature Set
    The app primarily focuses on website blocking, lacking additional productivity tools or features like app blocking or usage analytics.
  • No Scheduled Blocking
    SelfControl does not offer the ability to schedule block sessions in advance, meaning users must manually start each session.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Hotjar
SelfControl

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Hotjar is considered a good tool for businesses looking to gain deeper insights into user behavior and enhance their websites based on real user data. It offers a combination of qualitative and quantitative analytics which adds a significant advantage for understanding key user interaction points.

Why this product is good

  • Hotjar is a popular analytics tool that provides heatmaps, session recordings, and surveys to help businesses understand user behavior on their websites. It is praised for its ease of use, intuitive interface, and comprehensive features that offer valuable insights into how users interact with a site. Additionally, it enables businesses to collect direct feedback from users, helping to identify areas for improvement and optimize user experience.

Recommended for

    Hotjar is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses, eCommerce sites, and startups looking to improve their website's user experience. It is also suitable for UX/UI designers and product managers who want detailed analytics without the complexity of larger enterprise-level tools. However, larger organizations may want to consider more robust analytics platforms that can handle and analyze larger volumes of data.

Overall verdict

  • Overall, SelfControl is a highly recommended tool for individuals looking to enhance their productivity by minimizing digital distractions. Its open-source nature and no-nonsense approach make it a popular choice among students, freelancers, and professionals alike.

Why this product is good

  • SelfControl is considered a good application because it effectively blocks distracting websites, helping users focus on their tasks without getting sidetracked by online distractions. It's simple to use, efficient, and highly customizable, allowing users to specify which sites to block and for how long, ensuring a tailored productivity experience.

Recommended for

    SelfControl is ideal for students who need to concentrate on studying, remote workers who want to avoid procrastination, freelancers who require discipline in managing their time, and anyone who needs a simple solution to reduce digital distractions during focused work periods.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Hotjar 4 videos + Add
SelfControl 2 videos + Add

What is Hotjar?

More videos

  • - Invision prize Hotjar's straightforward, shareable insights
  • - Why you should be using Hotjar Analytics
  • - Google Analytics vs. Hotjar - Which one should you use?

How to block websites that distract you ? Selfcontrol [Mac App review and tutorial]

More videos

  • - SelfControl Review - Block distracting websites

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Hotjar
SelfControl
100% 100%
Web Analytics
0% 0%
0% 0%
Time Tracking
100% 100%
100% 100%
Heatmaps
0% 0%
0% 0%
Time Management
100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Hotjar and SelfControl. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Hotjar 2.3 · 8 reviews
SelfControl no reviews yet
  • 7 Best Product Discovery Tools for High-Growth B2B SaaS Teams (2026)
    www.laneapp.co · Jan 2026

    Hotjar is a behavioral analytics tool that provides heatmaps and session recordings. In the discovery process, it acts as the "eyes," showing where users get stuck, click out of frustration, or ignore a new feature...

  • 10 Best Mixpanel Alternatives for Product Analytics in 2024
    clickup.com · Oct 2024

    Hotjar is an all-in-one feedback and analytics software suite to optimize your website and make data-driven decisions. Hotjar Observe is the suite’s most popular Mixpanel alternative—pair it with Hotjar Ask, Hotjar...

  • Love it
    SaaSHub review
    · Oct 2024

    I've been using Hotjar for a few months, and it's been a perfect tool for understanding how users interact with my website. The heatmaps and session recordings are especially helpful for identifying problem areas, and...

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We have no reviews of SelfControl yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Hotjar 13 mentions
SelfControl 79 mentions

View more

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