A session is the period of time that a unique user interacts with pages across your site. A single session will track all of the pageviews, behavioral interactions, and state changes from that user between a start and end point of the session.
Hotjar Recordings and Continuous Heatmaps are based on sessions. You can learn more from our articles on Starting Continuous Recordings and Starting Continuous Heatmaps.
- When does a session start?
- When does a session end?
- How many sessions do I have on my plan?
- How does sampling work?
When does a session start?
A session starts when a visitor lands on a page of your site with the Hotjar tracking code installed. There are some exceptions, such as:
- If you have certain triggers or page targeting rules enabled, the session will begin after a matching tag or trigger is met.
- If a user has our opt-out cookie or Do Not Track enabled, Hotjar will not track anything in their session, however, widgets will appear if set up.
When does a session end?
A session ends when a user takes one of the following actions:
- Closes their browser.
- Closes all tabs with a session on your site.
- Moves to a page on a different site.
- Moves to a page on your site without the Hotjar tracking code installed.
- Moves to a page on your site with a *different* tracking code installed.
- Does not interact with your site for 30 minutes.
- Does not return within 30 seconds.
How many sessions do I have on my plan?
Based on your plan, each Site on your Account has a daily session capture rate. Below are the Daily Session Rates on Hotjar plans:
|
Plan Billed Monthly |
Pageview Collection Rate |
Daily Session Rate |
|
Basic |
2,000 pageviews/day |
|
|
Plus $/€39 |
10,000 pageviews/day |
100 sessions |
|
Business $/€99 |
20,000 pageviews/day |
500 sessions |
|
Business $/€189 |
50,000 pageviews/day |
1,500 sessions |
|
Business $/€289 |
120,000 pageviews/day |
2,500 sessions |
|
Business $/€389 |
200,000 pageviews/day |
4,000 sessions |
|
Business $/€589 |
400,000 pageviews/day |
8,000 sessions |
|
Business $/€989 |
800,000 pageviews/day |
15,000 sessions |
|
Need more? |
How does sampling work?
If you exceed your daily session capture limit, Hotjar will sample your traffic. Our sampling algorithm captures data at an even rate and ensures even distribution over time to give a more holistic view of visitor behavior.
For example, if your plan allows you to collect 1,500 sessions per day and you actually collect less than that, sampling will not occur. Sampling takes place if you exceed your daily session capture rate. When this happens, Hotjar adjusts the flow of sessions based on the total number of sessions recorded over a moving 24-hour window. This gives you an even distribution of session capture throughout the day.
Here’s an illustration of how your session capture rates might vary throughout the day:
