Hotjar shows you why users leave with heatmaps and session recordings. PageGuard fixes the technical issues that make them leave — WCAG accessibility, Core Web Vitals, SEO, and ADA compliance — starting free.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
State and local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Hotjar provides no accessibility auditing or ADA compliance monitoring. PageGuard monitors accessibility continuously — alerting you before violations occur.
| Feature | PageGuard | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ✓ Free + from $9/mo | Free (limited) / from $32/mo (Plus) / $80/mo (Business) |
| Who is it for? | Small businesses, designers, agencies — site health & ADA compliance monitoring | UX researchers, product managers — understanding user behaviour patterns |
| Accessibility audit (WCAG / ADA) | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with specific issue list | No — no WCAG compliance scoring or accessibility auditing |
| Technical SEO audit | ✓ Yes — meta tags, headings, canonical, structured data | No — no SEO auditing |
| Performance audit (Core Web Vitals) | ✓ Yes — LCP, CLS, FCP scored 0–100 | No — no performance auditing or Core Web Vitals scoring |
| Heatmaps (click, scroll, move) | No | ✓ Yes — click, scroll, and move heatmaps from real sessions |
| Session recordings | No | ✓ Yes — watch real user sessions with replay functionality |
| User surveys & feedback | No | ✓ Yes — on-page surveys, NPS, and feedback widgets |
| Funnel / conversion analysis | No | ✓ Yes — track drop-off in multi-step conversion funnels |
| Automated monitoring & email alerts | ✓ Yes — weekly or daily health scans, email alerts on score drop | No — no automated site health monitoring or alerts |
| ADA Title II compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + alert on accessibility regression | No — no ADA compliance monitoring whatsoever |
| Instant on-demand scan | ✓ Yes — scan any URL in ~30 seconds, no setup required | No — requires JavaScript snippet installed on your site |
| AI-generated plain-English report | ✓ Yes — explains technical issues in non-technical language | No — raw behavioural data, requires analysis to interpret |
| Multi-site dashboard | Yes — monitor up to 50 sites from $9/mo | Yes — multiple sites on paid plans |
| Best Practices audit | ✓ Yes — HTTPS, security headers, image optimisation, etc. | No — focused on behaviour analytics, not technical quality |
Unlike Hotjar, no JavaScript installation needed. Get Performance + Accessibility + SEO + Best Practices in 30 seconds.
Results in ~30 seconds. 4 scores: Performance, Accessibility, SEO, Best Practices.
They solve different problems. Hotjar helps you understand user behaviour through session recordings, heatmaps, and surveys — showing you where users struggle. PageGuard identifies and monitors technical issues causing those struggles: WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility violations, slow Core Web Vitals, missing SEO elements, and security best practices. Use PageGuard when you want to fix technical problems; use Hotjar when you want to understand how users experience them.
No — Hotjar does not provide WCAG 2.1 AA compliance scoring, accessibility auditing, or ADA monitoring. It is a user behaviour analytics tool. With the ADA Title II deadline on April 24, 2026, PageGuard provides the continuous accessibility monitoring and specific issue reporting that Hotjar lacks.
PageGuard is free for on-demand website health scans — no signup, no JavaScript snippet required. Enter any URL and get four scores in ~30 seconds: Performance (Core Web Vitals), Accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA), SEO (meta tags, headings, structured data), and Best Practices (HTTPS, security headers). Automated monitoring starts at $9/month. Hotjar’s paid plans start at $32/month for behaviour analytics, which solves a different problem entirely.
Yes — they cover complementary ground. Use Hotjar to understand user behaviour: session recordings show where users rage-click or drop off, heatmaps reveal ignored CTAs, surveys capture user frustration directly. Use PageGuard to fix the underlying technical issues: WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility violations, slow Core Web Vitals, technical SEO gaps, and security best practices — with automated monitoring and email alerts when quality scores drop. PageGuard fixes issues; Hotjar helps you discover new ones.