What Are UX Heatmap Tools?

UX heatmap tools act as a visual layer on top of your website analytics. Instead of spreadsheets, they show engagement using colors. Warm colors mean heavy user interaction. Cool colors mean users ignore those elements.

The Three Types of Heatmaps

• Click Maps: Show where users click, including dead clicks on non interactive elements.
• Scroll Maps: Show how far users scroll and how many reach critical content.
• Movement Maps: Track cursor movement, which correlates strongly with visual attention.

Why Designers Need Dynamic Heatmaps

Modern websites rely on dynamic UI: sliders, dropdowns, pop ups, sticky headers, and SPA content. Screenshot based heatmaps fail to follow moving DOM elements. Tools like FullSession capture interactions in real time, so you don’t lose critical signals.

The 9 Best UX Heatmap Tools Ranked

1. FullSession (Best for Dynamic & Interactive Content)

FullSession is built for modern UX. It combines heatmaps with replay so you can see what users click and why they behave that way.

• Interactive heatmaps: Track clicks on dropdowns, modals, SPA views.
• Segmented views: Compare mobile vs desktop, browsers, or new vs returning.
• Connected replay: Watch sessions behind rage click clusters.
• Privacy first: GDPR and CCPA compliant with auto masking.

Best for: UX designers and PMs validating design decisions.

2. Hotjar (Best for General Marketing)

Hotjar is simple, popular, and accessible.

• Pros: Click and scroll maps, built in polls and surveys.
• Cons: Samples sessions heavily, hurting accuracy on low traffic pages.

3. Crazy Egg (Best for Static Pages)

• Pros: Confetti reports, simple A/B overlays.
• Cons: Struggles with dynamic layouts and SPAs.

4. Microsoft Clarity (Best Free Option)

• Pros: Unlimited heatmaps and replays.
• Cons: Weak segmentation and retention windows.

5. Mouseflow (Best for Funnel Visualization)

• Pros: Friction score, form abandonment analytics.
• Best for: Ecommerce checkout optimization.

6. VWO Insights (Best for A/B Testing)

• Pros: Compare Variation A vs B heatmaps.
• Best for: CRO teams running experiments.

7. Lucky Orange (Best for Live Chat Support)

• Pros: Live view, integrated chat.
• Best for: Support focused websites.

8. Plerdy (Best for SEO Analysis)

• Pros: SEO checker, conversion dashboards.
• Best for: SEO professionals.

9. UXtweak (Best for Usability Testing)

• Pros: Tree testing, click testing on prototypes.
• Best for: UX researchers.

How to Choose the Right Heatmap Tool

Static vs Dynamic Capture

If your site uses React, Angular, Vue, or SPAs, screenshot heatmaps will fail. Choose FullSession or Smartlook to support DOM mutations.

Impact on Performance

Heavy scripts can damage Core Web Vitals. Look for tools with async loading to preserve LCP.

Conclusion

Heatmaps bridge human behavior and raw analytics. If you want a free baseline, choose Clarity. If you’re testing variations, go VWO. If you need interactive heatmaps for real world UX, choose FullSession.

Frequently Asked Questions