GTM Analytics

No. 27 of 30 ยท Heatmaps and session replay

Smartlook

Session replay that treats mobile apps as a first-class citizen rather than an afterthought.

Original abstract illustration in the form of a waffle chart, drawn for this review
The one fact worth knowing

Its native iOS and Android replay is the most developed of any tool on this list.

The verdict

Smartlook is a Czech session replay and behaviour analytics tool whose distinguishing feature is that it took mobile apps seriously early. Native iOS and Android replay, rendered properly rather than approximated from a web view, is the strongest on this list, and for a team whose product is an app rather than a site that is the argument.

On the web it is a competent member of the category: recordings, heatmaps, funnels, events and a free tier to evaluate with. It does not do anything Hotjar does not, and it is a smaller company with a smaller ecosystem.

What you actually get

The pricing sits between Clarity's nothing and FullStory's quote, typically starting around $55 a month once you leave the free session allowance, scaling by sessions. That is reasonable for what it does and unremarkable in a category where the best-known free option costs nothing at all.

Everything true of the category on privacy applies here. Cookies, consent, a heavy script and capture-then-mask architecture. EU hosting is a genuine advantage for European buyers and is the main thing that distinguishes its compliance story from the American tools in this group. Its clearest role on this list is as the answer to a question nothing else here answers well, which is what to use when the thing you need to watch is a native app.

Best for

Teams whose primary product is a native mobile app and who want the same replay and heatmap workflow they would get on the web.

Getting it running

A script tag for web, and native SDKs for iOS and Android that are better documented than most rivals' mobile offerings.

What to watch out for

On the web it is outgunned by free rivals and by bigger paid ones, so buy it for the mobile story or do not buy it. Cookies, consent and a heavy script as with everything in this category. A smaller vendor with a smaller integration ecosystem.

Pricing and practicalities

A free tier with a monthly session limit, then paid tiers from roughly $55 a month scaling by session volume. EU hosted. Native iOS and Android SDKs. Prices read 2026-09-11.

Who should go elsewhere

Web-only teams, who will get more from Microsoft Clarity for nothing or Hotjar for similar money. Also not for anyone avoiding consent banners, which is what Absolutely Analytics is built around.

How it compares

Against Hotjar it is the weaker web product with much the stronger mobile one. Against Microsoft Clarity, which is free, the honest question is whether the mobile SDKs alone justify the line item.

The ten measures

Each measure is scored 0 to 10 and weighted. The overall figure is the weighted mean, and it is relative to the other 29 tools on this list rather than absolute. How this works.

  • Insight quality ×36
  • Privacy architecture ×24
  • Value for money ×26
  • Setup and time to data ×1.57
  • Script weight ×1.52
  • Analytical depth ×16
  • Behaviour tooling ×18
  • Data ownership ×15
  • Accuracy ×16
  • Vendor conduct ×16

What this rests on

Sources

Smartlook's own pricing and product pages and its mobile SDK documentation, read 2026-09-11.

Evidence

Desk research against published material. This is a thinner entry than the market leaders allow: Smartlook publishes less comparative detail and I have not run the mobile SDKs, so the behaviour score rests on documentation and should be read as provisional.

This is a desk review. I have not been given access by the vendor, I have no commercial relationship with them, and everything above is my opinion rather than a statement of fact. If something here is wrong, tell me and I will correct it.