Replace capped hosted replay with session recordings, feedback, support, and announcements on your own server.
“Unlimited” means TraceUX does not meter sessions. Your server capacity, storage, and retention settings still apply.
Hotjar is a broad behavior analytics and feedback suite. TraceUX is the better fit when your priority is owning replay data and running the entire user-listening loop without a usage-based bill.
Solo builders, small teams, and budget-conscious companies that need replay plus direct user feedback and can size a small server for their traffic.
A practical comparison of the jobs teams commonly move to TraceUX.
| In Hotjar | In TraceUX |
|---|---|
| Session recordings | DOM-event session replay with a seekable activity timeline |
| Surveys and feedback | Stars, NPS, custom campaigns, and written feedback linked to the session |
| Incoming feedback | Threaded visitor support tickets with page and replay context |
| User attributes | Identify visitors and connect their activity to the complete session |
| Hosted data and plan limits | Your server, your retention, and no vendor-enforced session quota |
TraceUX does not require a hosted account, charge per seat, or stop recording at a monthly vendor quota. You provide the Linux host and storage, and you decide how long to retain sessions. That makes the tradeoff explicit: predictable infrastructure you operate instead of a usage-based SaaS bill.
Run both trackers briefly, verify your data, then retire the old one.
Install the single Go binary on a Linux host. SQLite is embedded, so there is no separate database service to provision.
NPM (Recommended): install @trace-ux/tracker and connect your site key and server URL. Script tags and Google Tag Manager are alternatives for sites without a bundler. Keep the old tracker temporarily while you validate new recordings.
Mask sensitive fields, choose your retention window, and confirm that sessions, feedback, and logs arrive as expected.
Once TraceUX is working in production, remove the previous vendor snippet so each visit is recorded only once.
TraceUX has no required SaaS subscription, per-seat charge, or vendor-enforced session quota when you self-host it. Your practical capacity depends on the server, storage, retention, and recording settings you choose, so infrastructure is not literally cost-free.
On the TraceUX server and storage you operate. You choose the collection endpoint, retention policy, and masking rules instead of sending recordings to a hosted analytics vendor.
No. If heatmaps are central to your workflow, Hotjar remains the stronger fit for that job. TraceUX focuses on session replay, contextual feedback, support, announcements, logs, and backend performance.
No. Historical recordings use vendor-specific formats. Run both trackers during a short validation window, then keep the old workspace only as long as you need its history.
Hotjar is the safer operational choice for large companies or sites with sudden, unpredictable traffic because its hosted service manages scaling. TraceUX is strongest for solo builders, small teams, and low-budget companies with traffic they can plan for. You can scale TraceUX vertically or behind your own infrastructure, but capacity planning and overload protection are your responsibility.