Compare Hotjar and Offen Fair Web Analytics on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Google Analytics, Mixpanel
France· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist for Contentsquare-owned heatmaps and replay with a public DPA and Ireland defaults. Skip if you need an independent recorder or no US-group cloud. Consider Mouseflow.
Germany· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist when you want self-hosted, Apache-2.0 analytics that only measures after opt-in, encrypts events in the browser, and lets visitors open their own data in the Auditorium. Skip when you need cookieless full-coverage metrics, session replay/heatmaps, or zero-ops managed EU hosting—consider Plausible, Pirsch, or Friendly Analytics instead.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Hotjar | Offen Fair Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | France | Germany |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hosted | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | France | Germany |
| Legal entity | Content Square SAS, Paris (EU Hotjar contractor). Historical Hotjar Ltd Malta merged 1 July 2025. | Public legal notice lists Frederik Ring, Berlin (offen.software); product authors Frederik Ring and Hendrik Niefeld—no separate GmbH name verified on imprint |
| Governing law | Not listed | Germany (indicative from Berlin imprint) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Low |
| Hosting / residency | Visitor data: AWS and Azure Ireland for Free/Growth and VoC Observe/Surveys. Pro/Enterprise may pick Ireland or Virginia. Defaults: EU/Japan to EU; US and most other APJ to US. Support: Content Square, Inc. and Zendesk (USA), Atlassian (Australia). Sense AI on AWS Bedrock/Azure; survey AI on Azure OpenAI France. Engage: Twilio, Daily.co, Postmark, Tremendous. | Product is operator self-hosted (your VPS/cloud/on-prem). No Offen multi-tenant analytics SaaS or vendor subprocessor list for visitor events. Related marketing site (offen.software) names Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) as host—not the analytics data path. Optional community deploys include Heroku (operator choice). |
| Summary | Contentsquare-owned heatmaps, session replay, and on-site surveys. French-group SaaS with default EU hosting on AWS and Azure Ireland, not an independent Maltese startup. | Open-source, self-hosted web analytics with opt-in consent, browser-side end-to-end encryption, and a shared Auditorium so visitors can see and control their own usage data. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Hotjar | Offen Fair Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Current HQ / entity | Content Square SAS, Paris, France | Not listed |
| Origin | Founded in Malta in 2014 (vendor history) | Not listed |
| Ownership | Contentsquare group (acquired 2021, merged 1 July 2025) | Not listed |
| Hosting (public) | AWS/Azure Ireland default for EU Free/Growth; Virginia optional on higher plans | Not listed |
| Deployment | SaaS JavaScript tag; not self-hosted; not open source | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Free tier plus paid Growth, Pro, and Enterprise (see vendor site for current terms) | Not listed |
| HQ / authors | Not listed | Berlin, Germany (Frederik Ring & Hendrik Niefeld) |
| License | Not listed | Apache-2.0 (code/docs); logo CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0 |
| Delivery | Not listed | Self-host only (binary, Docker, community deploys) |
| Consent model | Not listed | Opt-in only; first-party cookies |
| Default retention | Not listed | 6 months (configurable shorter) |
| Funding note | Not listed | NLnet NGI support (project-stated) |
| Key capabilities | Hotjar | Offen Fair Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| EU-operated (Contentsquare) | Yes | Yes |
| Heatmaps + session replay | Yes | Not listed |
| Surveys and feedback | Yes | Not listed |
| Public B2B DPA | Yes | Not listed |
| ISO 27001 (claimed) | Yes | Not listed |
| Opt-in only | Not listed | Yes |
| Browser E2E encryption | Not listed | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Not listed | Yes |
| Apache-2.0 | Not listed | Yes |
| Visitor data access | Not listed | Yes |
Click, move, and scroll heatmaps with Attention Maps
Aggregated overlays show where visitors click, hover, and scroll. Contentsquare documents Attention Maps (engagement, not only clicks) and, on the wider platform, zone-based heatmaps that attach conversion context to page elements. Use this when a page-level bounce rate does not explain the layout. Coverage is limited to sessions the tag actually captures and to pages the recorder can reconstruct.
Session replay with claimed automatic masking
Replays mouse movement, clicks, taps, and scrolls so UX and engineering can watch a single journey. Official pages describe event-triggered recording, comments, and jump-to-replay from heatmaps or surveys. Contentsquare states that card and bank details are masked automatically. You still must suppress other personal data with blocking scripts or field exclusion. This is a browser reconstruction, not a server-side log archive.
Surveys, feedback widgets, and Engage research
On-site surveys and feedback widgets (Ask) plus user interviews and unmoderated tests (Engage). The DPA treats this as Voice of Customer. Observe and survey visitor data is hosted on AWS Ireland. Interview and user-test recordings are retained for 2 years per the DPA. Engage adds extra subprocessors (Twilio, Daily.co, Postmark, Tremendous). Response volume is plan-gated.
Funnels that open the matching recordings
Build step funnels and open sessions that converted or dropped at a step. That pairing is the reason teams keep a recorder next to GA-style charts. Advanced journey and multi-session funnel work sits on Contentsquare product analytics (Heap lineage), not on the classic Hotjar-only recorder. Funnel depth and comparison features are plan-dependent.
Error and speed context on the Contentsquare platform
The unified platform adds JavaScript error lists ranked by impact and speed analysis tied to behavior. Classic standalone Hotjar was weaker here. Full network-waterfall debugging is a platform capability. If you refuse the DXA transition you may not get this layer. Errors are only as good as what the browser tag can see.
Opt-in only collection with first-party cookies
No analytics events are recorded until the visitor actively consents. Cookies are first-party and the tracker is meant to run on a same-site subdomain so third-party cookie restrictions and cross-site tracking models do not apply. Visitors who never opt in leave no usage trail—expect lower absolute volumes than cookieless tools that measure by default.
Browser-side end-to-end encryption of usage events
Clients encrypt usage data before it leaves the browser; the server stores ciphertext and cannot decrypt events alone. Only the visitor (via their cookie) and the matching operator account can open that visitor's data in the Auditorium. Practical impact: a compromised database or overly broad ops access does not yield plaintext browsing histories the way a typical self-hosted analytics DB would.
Auditorium for both operators and visitors
Operators see aggregates across pages where the installation is active (unique users/sessions, top pages, filters). Each opted-in visitor can open the same style of UI for their own data only, with plain-language metric explanations, and can delete data or fully opt out later. This is the fair design point: measurement is not a one-way glass.
Essential metrics without IP or User-Agent capture
Dashboards cover real-time activity, page views, unique users and sessions, bounce rate, returning users, top pages, referrers, UTM campaign/source, landing and exit pages, weekly retention, and load time. Location is country-level from timezone mapping; mobile share uses orientation capability—not IP geolocation or UA parsing. No heatmaps, session replay, or warehouse-grade product analytics.
Lightweight self-host: binary, Docker, SQLite or SQL
Production installs use a single binary (Linux/Windows/macOS) or the offen/offen image; docs also cover Heroku, Uberspace, and YunoHost. Default store is SQLite; MySQL and Postgres are supported. AutoTLS can request Let's Encrypt certificates. Config is environment variables or offen.env. You own uptime, backups, SMTP for password reset, and the subdomain layout.
Multi-site accounts, teams, and short retention
One installation can cover multiple websites with shared team access. Default retention is six months with automatic deletion; operators can shorten retention (e.g. 12 weeks, 30 days, 7 days) knowing shorter values purge older events on startup. Consent banner appearance is customizable; UI locales include EN, DE, FR, ES, PT, and VI.
| Assurance & compliance | Hotjar | Offen Fair Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | On request / NDA Vendor claims annual external penetration tests and publishes a Trust Portal with pentest reports behind access. No public independent no-logs audit (this is a recorder, not a no-logs VPN). | Not found No public third-party audit PDF found; coordinated disclosure via SECURITY.md email only. |
| ISO 27001 | Vendor claimed Contentsquare states it is ISO 27001 certified (also claims ISO 27017, 27018, 27701). Certificates are on the Trust Portal; not independently downloaded for this draft. | Not found No public ISO 27001 certification claim found on official site or docs. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Vendor claimed Trust portal and security pages claim a SOC 2 Type II report. Report not independently downloaded. | Not found No public SOC 2/3 report found. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed EU parent and contracting entity for non-Americas Hotjar Services. Public DPA, SCCs, and GDPR language. Customer is controller and must supply a lawful basis for visitor capture. | Vendor claimed EU authors; opt-in, data minimization (no IP/UA), visitor access/erasure, short default retention, Datensparsamkeit framing. Self-host means operator remains controller—confirm your legal basis and notice. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial Assessment, not a vendor slogan. French parent and no known US parent, but AWS and Azure host visitor data, Content Square, Inc. and Zendesk process support data, and US regions exist. Not legal advice. | Partial EuropeanStack assessment: no known US parent; product not delivered as US-hosted vendor SaaS. Operator-chosen infrastructure (including optional Heroku/US cloud) can still create CLOUD Act paths for stored ciphertext/metadata. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Vendor claimed Public Contentsquare DPA incorporated by the MSA. Execution of the MSA or an order form is treated as execution of the DPA and SCCs. | Not applicable No multi-tenant vendor analytics processing relationship documented; operator self-hosts and is typically controller. Custom development/support via offen.software is separate from a standard SaaS DPA. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Core product is analytics and replay, not an AI system sold as such. Sense AI and survey LLMs exist as optional features. Confirm AI Act role if you enable those modules. | Not applicable Web analytics metrics product; not an AI system product. |
| CSA STAR | Vendor claimed Security page displays a STAR badge. Scope and level not independently verified. | Not listed |
| Considerations & known limitations | Hotjar | Offen Fair Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| No longer an independent Maltese company | High Acquired in 2021 and described as merged into Contentsquare on 1 July 2025. New contracts are Contentsquare entities. A scheduled DXA transition from 18 August 2026 can move data and retire the old UI unless you elect to stay. Practical impact: vendor risk, product roadmap, and DPA counterparty are the French group, not Hotjar Ltd. | Not listed |
| US-group cloud and US support path | Medium Visitor data sits on AWS and Azure. Zendesk (USA) and Content Square, Inc. handle support. US regions are default for some geographies. Practical impact: an Ireland region does not remove US-group infrastructure from a CLOUD Act discussion. | Not listed |
| Session replay can capture extra personal data | Medium The vendor asks customers to block non-permitted personal data and claims card masking. Misconfigured tags still record inputs or on-screen PII. Practical impact: you need a suppressions review and a consent story before go-live. | Not listed |
| SaaS tag only | Low No official self-hosted or open-source edition. Practical impact: skip this product if residency rules require your own servers. | Not listed |
| Optional LLM features add extra processors | Low Sense AI and survey AI use AWS Bedrock and Azure OpenAI. Practical impact: disable those features or map their regions if procurement treats LLMs as a separate transfer. | Not listed |
| Opt-in undercounts absolute traffic | Not listed | High Visitors who never consent generate no events. Growth and content KPIs will not match cookieless tools or GA-style default measurement—treat as design, not a misconfiguration. |
| You own uptime, backups, and secrets | Not listed | Medium No managed Offen cloud. Operators must run HTTPS/subdomain layout, set OFFEN_SECRET for stable sessions, configure SMTP for resets, and back up SQLite/SQL—plus avoid reverse proxies that log IPs if minimization is a goal. |
| E2E crypto is vendor-claimed architecture | Not listed | Medium Browser-side encryption and server inability to decrypt are core claims from project docs/README, not independently audited in public materials found. Security-sensitive orgs should review source or commission assessment. |
| Hosting choice reintroduces cloud jurisdiction | Not listed | Medium Self-host on US-group cloud or Heroku means CLOUD Act/subprocessor analysis shifts to your host even though Offen itself is Berlin-based OSS without a vendor SaaS region map. |
| No public ISO/SOC or audit pack | Not listed | Low Procurement checklists that require vendor ISO 27001/SOC 2 will stall; evidence is open source and design docs, not cert registry entries. |
| Essential metrics only | Not listed | Medium No heatmaps, session replay, advanced funnels, or product-analytics warehouse features. Wrong tool if the shortlist criterion is UX research depth rather than fair traffic statistics. |
When: You want session replay and heatmaps from an independent European vendor, not the Contentsquare group
Consider: Mouseflow
Danish SaaS with selectable EU or US Google Cloud residency and a public DPA.
When: You only need page or privacy-oriented analytics without replaying mouse paths and form fields
Consider: Plausible Analytics or etracker
Lighter measurement. Not a substitute for session replay.
When: You want a no-contract recorder and will accept a US vendor
Consider: Microsoft Clarity
Free Microsoft product. Different jurisdiction and contract posture than Content Square SAS.
When: You need a US-native event warehouse more than qualitative replay
Consider: Mixpanel or Amplitude
Product analytics incumbents. Pair with a recorder only if you still need heatmaps.
When: You want privacy-oriented analytics with managed EU hosting and lower consent friction
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Pirsch Analytics
Typically optimised for simpler cookieless or low-friction models and hosted plans; less radical visitor Auditorium design than Offen.
When: You need EU hosted privacy analytics with operator support and less self-host burden
Consider: Friendly Analytics
European catalog peer oriented to hosted privacy analytics; compare consent model and feature depth to Offen’s opt-in + E2E approach.
When: You need deep product analytics, funnels, or session UX tooling rather than fair traffic metrics
Consider: Hotjar, Mixpanel, or a full GA4 stack (with legal review)
Different category: richer product/UX analytics, different jurisdiction and subprocessor profile.