Cuttl vs Microsoft Clarity
Both show heatmaps and session recordings. Cuttl adds the next step: testing a fix and checking whether it worked.
CuttlMicrosoft ClarityBoth have a free plan, and Cuttl’s includes A/B tests.
Both show heatmaps and session recordings, and Clarity is often a team’s first.
A/B tests, even on Free
Clarity has no testing, so each fix is rebuilt in a second tool, with a second tracking code.
See if a change worked
Clarity has no before-and-after check. Cuttl’s Change Impact covers 3 changes a month on Free.
Fixes checked for you
Clarity doesn’t check fixes. Cuttl does it automatically on Pro and Max.
Cuttl and Microsoft Clarity at a glance.
| Feature | Cuttl | Microsoft Clarity |
|---|---|---|
| Find problems | ||
| Heatmaps (click, scroll, hover) | Yes, plus zone and friction maps, from all of your traffic | Yes |
| Session recordings | Yes. Every session on every plan, up to your unique visitor limit | Yes |
| Recording retention | 7 days on Free, 45 on Pro, 90 on Max | 30 days; favourites and a random sample up to 9 months |
| Heatmap history | Heatmap detail 7 / 45 / 90 days; numbers up to 3 years on Max | Up to 9 months |
| Rage, dead and error clicks | Yes, grouped into ranked issues | Yes |
| Funnels and form analytics | Yes, down to each form field | Funnels |
| Feedback and NPS surveys | On Pro and Max, linked to recordings | No |
| Speed and error monitoring | Errors, Core Web Vitals and uptime | JavaScript errors by page and browser |
| Test and measure | ||
| A/B, split URL and multivariate tests | A/B and split URL on every plan, multivariate on Max | No |
| Heatmaps and recordings for each test variant | Yes | No |
| Before-and-after analysis without a test (Change Impact) | Yes, 3 changes a month on Free | No |
| Fixes checked automatically | On Pro and Max | No |
| Platform and price | ||
| AI assistants | MCP server on Pro and Max that can draft tests, with approval | Copilot summaries and chat, and an MCP server |
| Sites | 1 on Free, 5 on Pro, unlimited on Max | Unlimited |
| Free plan | Yes | Free for everything, with no traffic limits (up to 100,000 sessions a project a day) |
YesWith limits or on some plansNo or not listed
Microsoft Clarity details are from Microsoft’s Clarity FAQ and clarity.microsoft.com, October 2026. Check their site for current features.
Where Cuttl is different.
Test the fix where you found the problem
In Cuttl, a problem such as rage clicks on a checkout button becomes a test idea with the recordings attached. One click drafts the A/B test, and each variant gets its own heatmaps and recordings. With Clarity, the test lives in a separate tool.
Web Experiments →Know whether the fix worked
Cuttl watches for a problem to stop after you fix it, marks the issue fixed once the clean sessions can’t be chance, and reopens it if the problem comes back.
Frustration and issues →Measure changes on smaller sites
Not every change can be A/B tested. Change Impact compares the pages you changed with the rest of your site before and after, and says plainly when there isn’t enough data yet.
How to measure a change without an A/B test →Work from your own AI assistant
Cuttl’s MCP server lets Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code answer questions about your visitors and draft tests from real page elements. Anything that changes your site waits for a person’s approval.
MCP →Why Cuttl is the better choice.
- Go from watching recordings to testing fixes, in the same tool.
- A/B, split URL and multivariate tests, with a visual editor and guardrails.
- Fixes are checked automatically, and reopened if the problem comes back.
- Keep reports and numbers for up to 3 years on Max.
- A free plan to start, and on Pro and Max an AI assistant connection that can draft tests with your approval.
Everything in Cuttl, from one Cuttl Tag.
Journey Insights
52 featuresWeb Experiments
41 featuresMoving from Clarity to Cuttl, or using both.
Add the Cuttl Tag
Add the Cuttl Tag to your site’s <head> (or through Google Tag Manager). It can run next to Clarity.
Set up goals
Set up your goals and funnels in Cuttl. Heatmaps and recordings start filling in from the first session.
Run your first test
Run your first A/B test on the biggest issue Cuttl finds.
Keep or remove Clarity
Keep Clarity as long as it’s useful, or remove its code once you no longer need it.
Questions
Is Microsoft Clarity really free?
Yes, with no traffic limits. It covers heatmaps, recordings, funnels, Copilot AI and an MCP server, but not A/B testing or surveys. Cuttl has a free plan too, and adds A/B testing, fix tracking and Change Impact.
Does Microsoft Clarity do A/B testing?
No. Clarity is a behaviour analytics tool for heatmaps, session recordings and insights. To test a change, you need a separate A/B testing tool, or a tool like Cuttl that does both.
Can I use Clarity and Cuttl together?
Yes. Both run from a script in your page’s head, so you can run them side by side while you compare.
How long does Clarity keep recordings?
Clarity keeps recordings for 30 days, and favourites plus a random sample for up to 9 months. Heatmaps are kept up to 9 months. Cuttl keeps recordings for 7 days on Free, 45 days on Pro and 90 days on Max, and keeps the numbers for 90 days, 1 year and 3 years.
Why choose Cuttl over Clarity?
Cuttl has a free plan too, and it lets you act on what you see: test a fix, see heatmaps and recordings for each variant, and get told when a fix worked.
Does Cuttl have a free plan?
Yes. The free plan covers one site and up to 5,000 unique visitors a month. Pro and Max are priced by monthly unique visitors.
Is Cuttl a Hotjar alternative too?
Yes. Hotjar is now part of Contentsquare. Cuttl covers the same heatmaps and recordings, with feedback surveys and A/B testing included. See Cuttl vs Contentsquare, or seven Hotjar alternatives compared.
Go from watching recordings to testing fixes.
Add the Cuttl Tag to your site, turn on Journey Insights, and your first sessions show up in Cuttl.