Google Analytics vs Hotjar

Google Analytics tells you what's happening on your site (traffic, conversions, sources). Hotjar shows you why it's happening (heatmaps, session recordings, surveys). They're complementary tools, not competitors, but budget constraints force the comparison.

Verdict

These tools answer different questions. GA tells you 'where are visitors coming from and what are they doing?' Hotjar tells you 'why are they leaving and what confuses them?' Most solo creators should start with GA (free) and add Hotjar's free tier for key pages. You don't need Hotjar's paid plans unless you're optimizing landing pages seriously.