Elicit
Hotjar
| Feature | Elicit | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10/mo | Free / from $32/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | researchers, academics, phd-students, scientists, analysts | ux-designers, product-managers, marketers, conversion-optimizers |
| Founded | 2021 | 2014 |
| Paper Search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Summarization | ✓ | ✗ |
| Data Extraction | ✓ | ✗ |
| Synthesis | ✓ | ✗ |
| Citation Export | ✓ | ✗ |
| Saved Searches | ✓ | ✗ |
| Tables | ✓ | ✗ |
| Heatmaps | ✗ | ✓ |
| Session Recordings | ✗ | ✓ |
| Surveys | ✗ | ✓ |
| Feedback Widgets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Funnels | ✗ | ✓ |
| User Interviews | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Elicit Pros
- Searches 125M+ academic papers
- Extracts structured data from papers
- Summarizes findings across multiple studies
- Saves hours of literature review
✗ Elicit Cons
- Limited to academic/scientific papers
- Free tier has usage limits
- Can miss nuanced findings
✓ Hotjar Pros
- Heatmaps show exactly where users click
- Session recordings reveal UX issues
- Easy to install (one script tag)
- Surveys and feedback widgets included
✗ Hotjar Cons
- Can slow down site if not configured well
- Session recordings take time to review
- Limited to web — no mobile app analytics
The Verdict
Elicit is built for researchers and academics, with a focus on paper-search and summarization. Hotjar targets ux designers and product managers and leads with heatmaps and session-recordings.
On pricing, Elicit is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $10/mo compared to $32/mo for Hotjar. That $22/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.