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Microsoft Clarity Review: Heatmaps and Session Recordings — Complete Guide

Author Валерій Красько | 22 May 2026 | 9 min read 0 views

Microsoft Clarity Review: Heatmaps and Session Recordings — Spilno Agency

Microsoft Clarity is Microsoft’s free behavioral analytics tool. It records user sessions, builds click and scroll heatmaps, and automatically detects rage clicks and dead clicks. Complements Google Analytics: GA4 shows ‘what’ happens, Clarity shows ‘why.’ No traffic limits. Free forever.

What Is Microsoft Clarity

Microsoft Clarity is a free behavioral analytics tool from Microsoft. Unlike Google Analytics, which tracks quantitative metrics (sessions, conversions, bounce rate), Clarity lets you see your website through your visitors’ eyes.

Key Clarity features:

Session recordings — video replays of real user actions (clicks, scrolling, mouse movement)
Heatmaps — visual maps of clicks, scroll depth, attention zones, and conversions
AI Insights via Copilot — automatic analysis and session summaries
Rage clicks & Dead clicks — automatic detection of frustration signals
GA4 integration — view session recordings directly within GA4
No limits — free, unlimited traffic, forever

Clarity launched in 2020 and is now used on over 3 million websites worldwide.

Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics: Key Differences

The most common question: why use Clarity if I already have Google Analytics? Short answer: they solve different problems and are best used together.

Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics: Tool Comparison 2026

Microsoft Clarity vs Google Analytics 4 — Comparison 2026
Feature	Microsoft Clarity	Google Analytics 4
Data type	Qualitative analytics (behavior)	Quantitative analytics (numbers)
Session recordings	✅ Full video recordings	❌ Not available
Heatmaps	✅ 5 heatmap types	❌ Not available
Price	✅ Free forever	✅ Free (360 = paid)
Traffic limits	✅ Unlimited	✅ Up to 10M events/month
Conversions & funnels	⚠️ Basic funnel tracking	✅ Full e-commerce reporting
E-commerce reports	⚠️ Limited	✅ Full (GA4 + BigQuery)
AI analysis	✅ Copilot built-in	✅ Gemini insights
Integration between them	✅ Clarity connects to GA4	✅ GA4 opens Clarity
GDPR / Privacy	✅ Auto field masking	✅ Consent Mode v2

Bottom line: GA4 answers ‘how many’, ‘from where’, ‘when’. Clarity answers ‘why’ and ‘how’. The optimal strategy is using both tools simultaneously.

Session Recordings: How They Work

Microsoft Clarity session recordings list — anonymized illustration — Session recordings list with Rage Clicks and Dead Clicks filters

A session recording is a visual replay of a real user’s actions on your website. You see the cursor, clicks, scrolling, text input (anonymized), and page navigation — like watching a video of the user’s session.

What Session Recordings Capture

Mouse movements — where users look and hover
Clicks — which elements are clicked (including rage clicks and dead clicks)
Scrolling — how far down the page users scroll
Text input — only the fact of typing, never passwords or payment data
Navigation — page transitions within a session
Device and browser — desktop, mobile, tablet, OS, resolution

Rage Clicks and Dead Clicks

Clarity automatically detects two types of problematic behavior:

Rage Click — user clicks the same element 3+ times rapidly (sign of frustration or broken interaction)
Dead Click — click on a non-interactive element (user expected it to be a link or button)
Excessive Scrolling — repeated scrolling up and down (user is searching and can’t find what they need)
Quick Back — user visited a page and quickly returned (possible content dissatisfaction)

Heatmaps: 5 Types and How to Read Them

Microsoft Clarity click heatmap view — anonymized illustration — Click Heatmap — red hotspots show the most clicked areas of the page

A heatmap is an aggregated visualization of thousands of users’ actions on a single page. Unlike session recordings (individual visitor), a heatmap shows the overall picture across all visitors for a selected period.

Types of Heatmaps in Microsoft Clarity: Click, Scroll, Area, Conversion, Attention

5 Types of Heatmaps in Microsoft Clarity
Type	What It Shows	Practical Use
Click Map	Where users actually click (hotspots)	Check CTA button engagement, find dead clicks
Scroll Map	How far users scroll (% of visitors reaching each point)	Decide where to place main CTAs, find drop-off points
Area Map	Engagement with specific page sections or zones	Evaluate content block or banner performance
Attention Map	Where users spend the most time	Optimize placement of key messages and offers
Conversion Map	Behavior of converters vs non-converters	Compare how successful visitors interact vs those who bounce

How to Read Heatmaps Correctly

Red/orange = high activity (many clicks/attention)
Yellow/green = medium activity
Blue = low activity
Always filter by device (desktop vs mobile — behavior is very different)
Use Compare Screenshots for A/B version comparisons
A heatmap doesn’t replace A/B tests but helps form hypotheses for them

How to Install Microsoft Clarity

Installation takes 5-10 minutes and requires no programming skills.

Go to clarity.microsoft.com and sign up (via Microsoft or Google account)
Click Add new project, enter your site name and URL
Copy the tracking script from Settings → Setup
Add the script to your site’s <head> section
Verify via the Clarity Chrome Extension or wait a few hours for first data

Installing on WordPress

Install the official Microsoft Clarity plugin from WP Admin → Plugins
Activate the plugin and enter your Project ID
Save — done, no manual code required

Microsoft Clarity + GA4 Integration

One of Clarity’s most valuable features is its two-way integration with GA4:

GA4 → Clarity: Click ‘View recordings’ in a GA4 report to immediately open Clarity recordings for that audience segment
Clarity → GA4: Session recordings show UTM parameters and traffic sources from GA4
Shared segments: Filter recordings by GA4 goals (converted / not converted users)

To connect: Clarity → Settings → Integrations → Google Analytics → Connect. Requires access to the relevant GA4 account.

Privacy and GDPR Compliance

Microsoft Clarity automatically protects sensitive data:

Passwords are never recorded
Credit card numbers are masked automatically
Email addresses in forms are masked by default
Visitor IP addresses are anonymized
You can specify additional HTML classes or attributes for custom masking

Since October 2025, Clarity requires a valid Consent Mode signal for visitors from EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Without consent, Clarity won’t collect data from these users.

Clarity Insights Dashboard and AI Copilot

Microsoft Clarity dashboard metrics — anonymized illustration — Clarity dashboard: sessions, scroll depth, rage clicks and top pages

Beyond recordings and heatmaps, Clarity provides automatic AI insights:

Copilot in Clarity — ask questions in natural language: ‘Why did conversions drop this week?’, ‘Where are users most confused?’
Smart Events — clicks, scrolls, and text input tracked automatically without code setup
Funnel Tracking — multi-step funnels (registration, checkout)
Segments — filter any data by device, country, UTM, behavior
Website Benchmarks (Beta) — compare your metrics to industry averages

Microsoft Clarity vs Hotjar

Microsoft Clarity vs Hotjar — Comparison 2026
Feature	Microsoft Clarity	Hotjar
Price	✅ Free forever	⚠️ Free (limited) / from $32/month
Session recordings	✅ Unlimited	⚠️ Up to 35/day (free)
Heatmaps	✅ 5 types, unlimited	⚠️ Limited on free plan
Surveys & Polls	❌ Not available	✅ Built-in surveys
Rage/Dead clicks	✅ Automatic detection	✅ Available
AI analysis	✅ Copilot built-in	⚠️ Additional cost
GA4 integration	✅ Official	⚠️ Via GTM
GDPR Consent Mode	✅ Built-in	⚠️ Requires setup

Spilno Agency recommendation: On a limited budget — Clarity wins without question (free + unlimited). If you need surveys and feedback forms — Hotjar complements Clarity well.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Microsoft Clarity?

Microsoft Clarity is a free behavioral analytics tool by Microsoft. It records user sessions (video replays of visitor interactions) and builds heatmaps of clicks, scrolling, and attention. It works on any website with no traffic limits.

How is Microsoft Clarity different from Google Analytics?

Google Analytics tells you WHAT happens (session counts, conversions, traffic sources). Microsoft Clarity shows WHY — you watch video recordings of how users interact with your pages, where they click, how far they scroll. They complement each other and should be used together.

Is Microsoft Clarity free?

Microsoft Clarity is completely free — and will remain free forever. There are no limits on sessions, traffic, or pages. Even enterprise-level usage is available at no cost.

Is Microsoft Clarity GDPR-compliant?

Yes. Clarity automatically masks password fields and payment data. By default, sensitive fields (email, card numbers) are not recorded. You can configure additional masking in the project settings. You need to update your Privacy Policy and Cookie Banner accordingly. Since October 2025, Clarity requires Consent Mode for visitors from EEA, UK, and Switzerland.

How long are session recordings stored?

Session recordings are stored for 90 days. Heatmaps are built based on data from any selected period within available recordings.

How do I install Microsoft Clarity?

Register at clarity.microsoft.com, create a project, copy the tracking script, and add it to your site’s section. For WordPress, use the official Microsoft Clarity plugin. First data appears within a few hours.