Best / Heatmaps
Best open-source Heatmaps
The best self-hosted heatmap split in the c17.io catalog is PostHog for product analytics plus heatmaps and replay (the published Hotjar / Smartlook / Mouseflow stack), OpenReplay when you only want AGPL-3.0 recordings (skip ee/) — /compare/openreplay-vs-posthog, Matomo when you want GPL-3.0 analytics (Heatmap & Session Recording is a paid Matomo plugin — not the published OSS heatmap path), and Swetrix when the job is first-party pageviews rather than a click map. This is not Hotjar's every survey SKU or Crazy Egg's every A/B SKU. Session replay as a category stays on /best/session-replay. Cookieless pageviews stay on /best/privacy-analytics.
Open the stackStart on Railway
Ranked picks
1
PosthogProduct analytics, heatmaps, and replay — the c17 Hotjar / Smartlook / Mouseflow path. /compare/openreplay-vs-posthog.
When to pick it: Clicks and recordings on Postgres/ClickHouse.
2
OpenReplayAGPL-3.0 session replay (skip ee/). Already on /best/session-replay.
When to pick it: Recordings first; heatmaps ride along.
13,043 stars in the catalog
3
MatomoGPL-3.0 analytics already on /best/analytics. Heatmaps are a paid Matomo plugin — not the OSS path.
When to pick it: GA-shaped reports, not a free heatmap pack.
21,958 stars in the catalog
4
swetrixAGPL first-party pageviews already on /best/privacy-analytics. Not a heatmap.
When to pick it: Cookieless traffic, not a click map.
1,204 stars in the catalog
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posthog | Not listed | Medium | Clicks and recordings on Postgres/ClickHouse. |
| OpenReplay | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | Medium | Recordings first; heatmaps ride along. |
| Matomo | GNU General Public License v3.0 | Medium | GA-shaped reports, not a free heatmap pack. |
| swetrix | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | Easy | Cookieless traffic, not a click map. |
Related pages
- PostHog stack
- Swetrix or traffic-source stack
- Formbricks stack
- Replace Hotjar
- Replace Amplitude
- Replace Heap
- Replace FullStory
- Replace LogRocket
- Replace PostHog Cloud
- Replace Pendo
- Replace Smartlook
- Replace Mouseflow
- Replace Crazy Egg
- Replace Lucky Orange
- Replace Microsoft Clarity
- Replace Google Analytics
- Replace Mixpanel
- Replace Plausible Cloud
- Replace Fathom Analytics
- Replace Vercel Analytics
- Replace Splitbee
- Replace Typeform
- Replace Google Forms
- Replace SurveyMonkey
- Replace Jotform
- Replace Tally
- Replace Sprig
- Replace Maze
- Replace UserTesting
- Replace Paperform
- Replace Formstack
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- PostHog or OpenReplay?
- PostHog if you want the published Hotjar / Smartlook heatmap path. OpenReplay if you only need recordings — /compare/openreplay-vs-posthog.
- Smartlook or Mouseflow?
- Same published desk — /replace/smartlook and /replace/mouseflow.
- Is this session replay?
- Replay as a category stays on /best/session-replay. This page is the click-map job.
- Are these free?
- OpenReplay default is AGPL-3.0 if you skip ee/. Matomo heatmaps are a paid plugin. You pay hosting. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/posthog-insights. Persist Postgres/ClickHouse. Confirm one heatmap.
Stack of the Week
Get one stack a week that replaces a SaaS bill.