CRO Tools: What to Use to Run Conversion Tests and Heatmaps

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Pick the right tools and you can run a structured CRO program for under $200 per month on a small business and under $1,500 per month on an established ecommerce store. Pick the wrong tools and you’ll spend ten times that on platforms whose dashboards you never open. The category is crowded, the marketing is loud, and most of the “essential CRO tool” lists you find online were written to sell affiliate commissions. This is the actual toolstack I install on most client engagements.

After a decade of running CRO across ecommerce and service businesses, I’ve installed almost every tool in this category at one point or another. The toolstack I actually use is smaller than the one most lists recommend, leans heavily on free or near-free tools that do the job well, and reserves paid tools for the specific use cases where they earn their cost. This guide is the toolstack I’d install on a new client engagement today.

This guide covers the six categories of CRO tooling (analytics, heatmaps and recordings, A/B testing, user research, form analytics, speed and Core Web Vitals), the specific tools I install in each, the use case each one solves, and the tools I avoid. It pairs with our 7-step CRO process and our A/B testing beginner guide.

The Six Categories of CRO Tooling

A complete CRO toolstack covers six functional areas:

• Analytics — measure what’s happening on the site (sessions, conversions, funnel drop-off)
• Heatmaps and session recordings — see how real users behave
• A/B testing — run controlled experiments to validate hypotheses
• User research — surveys, polls, interviews to understand the WHY
• Form analytics — measure friction at the conversion step specifically
• Speed and Core Web Vitals — diagnose technical performance issues that hurt conversion

Every well-run CRO program touches all six categories. The good news is you don’t need a paid tool in every category. Most businesses can build a complete stack at low cost.

Analytics Tools

The foundation of every CRO program. Without good analytics you can’t measure whether anything you’re doing works.

Google Analytics 4 (free)

Non-negotiable. Free, comprehensive, integrated with the rest of Google’s stack. Configure properly with:

• Key events (purchase, form submission, click-to-call, click-to-email, etc.) marked correctly
• Enhanced ecommerce events firing for Shopify or WooCommerce stores
• Funnel exploration reports set up for the conversion paths you care about most
• Custom audiences for the segments that matter (returning visitors, paid traffic, etc.)

Most GA4 implementations are underconfigured. Spend time getting it right; it pays back for years. Our guide to Google Analytics covers the basics.

Google Search Console (free)

Often missed in CRO discussions but essential. Tells you what queries bring people to your pages, which is the foundation for query-to-page intent analysis. If you’re ranking for “how to choose an engagement ring” and your page is structured for “buy engagement ring”, that’s a CRO problem you couldn’t diagnose without GSC.

Shopify Analytics (free, Shopify only)

Shopify’s native analytics complements GA4 well. Live View, conversion funnel, search analytics (what people search inside your store), and bestseller reports all live here. The on-site search data is one of the most under-used signals for CRO.

Heatmap and Session Recording Tools

This is where the qualitative side of CRO lives. Heatmaps show you what gets clicked and what gets ignored. Session recordings show you how real users navigate, where they hesitate, what they ignore.

Microsoft Clarity (free)

The single best free CRO tool available. Microsoft Clarity gives you unlimited heatmaps, unlimited session recordings, a dead-click report, a rage-click report, and a frustration-signal metric, all for free. Install it on every site. There is no good reason not to.

Limitations: the UI is less polished than paid alternatives, advanced segmentation is shallower, and integration with other tools is more limited. For 80% of CRO use cases none of that matters.

Hotjar (free tier + paid)

Hotjar is the established paid alternative. The free tier covers 35 sessions per day, which is enough for very small sites or short-term projects. Paid plans start at around $40 per month. Worth the cost when you need deeper segmentation, integration with other tools, or surveys in addition to recordings.

FullStory (paid, enterprise)

FullStory is the enterprise option. Significantly more expensive but the segmentation, search, and frustration-signal analysis are best in class. Worth it only for ecommerce stores doing $5M+ annual revenue with dedicated CRO resource.

A/B Testing Tools

Required if you’re running formal split tests. Skip this category if your traffic doesn’t support testing (see our A/B testing beginner guide for the traffic threshold).

VWO (paid)

VWO is my default recommendation for most businesses running structured testing. Intuitive interface, solid statistical engine, fair pricing (from around $200 per month for the entry plan). Handles A/B testing, multivariate testing, and split URL testing.

Optimizely (paid, enterprise)

Optimizely is the enterprise standard. Deeper features, more rigorous statistical models, server-side testing support, personalisation modules. Significantly more expensive and overkill for most small to medium businesses.

Convert.com (paid, privacy-focused)

Convert.com is a strong privacy-focused alternative to VWO at a similar price point. Particularly good for businesses operating under GDPR or with strict privacy requirements.

Shopify Native Split Testing (free, Shopify only)

Shopify includes basic theme content split testing in the admin. Limited to theme-level changes (no full page redesigns, no checkout testing on non-Plus plans) but useful for Shopify stores getting started without paying for a dedicated testing tool.

Google Optimize (deprecated)

Google’s free A/B testing tool was deprecated in September 2023. If you see it recommended in older articles, ignore. Move to VWO, Convert.com, or Optimizely.

User Research Tools

For when the quantitative data tells you WHAT is happening but not WHY.

Hotjar Surveys (included in Hotjar paid plans)

On-page surveys triggered by exit intent, time on page, or specific actions. Pop up a single question on the cart page asking “What almost stopped you from completing your purchase?” and you’ll get qualitative insight your analytics will never show.

Typeform (paid)

Typeform for longer-form structured surveys (post-purchase surveys, NPS, customer interviews). Free tier exists; paid plans start around $25 per month.

UserTesting (paid)

UserTesting for moderated and unmoderated user testing with their participant panel. Expensive (from around $5,000 per year) but the only way to watch real people from your target demographic actually use your site. Worth it for one-off pre-launch testing or annual deep research, not for continuous use.

Form Analytics Tools

Specifically for diagnosing friction at the conversion step. Most general analytics tools tell you that visitors dropped off without completing your form; form analytics tools tell you which field they got stuck on, which fields they re-edited, and which fields they skipped entirely.

Hotjar Forms (included)

Includes basic form drop-off analysis. Good enough for most small to medium businesses.

Formisimo / Zuko (paid)

Zuko (formerly Formisimo) is dedicated form analytics. Per-field abandonment rates, time-to-completion, error rate per field. Worth the spend for businesses where the form is the primary conversion event (insurance quotes, B2B lead gen, loan applications, anywhere the form has 8+ fields).

Speed and Core Web Vitals Tools

Page speed is both an SEO ranking factor and a major conversion-rate factor. LCP over 2.5 seconds consistently correlates with lower conversion rate.

PageSpeed Insights (free)

Google’s PageSpeed Insights is the canonical Core Web Vitals tool. Tests any URL, reports the LCP, INP, CLS scores, and identifies specific fixes ranked by impact. Free, no account needed.

GTmetrix (free + paid)

GTmetrix for waterfall-style analysis of every resource loaded by a page. Particularly useful for diagnosing third-party app overhead on Shopify stores.

WebPageTest (free)

WebPageTest for the deepest technical performance analysis. Test from different geographic locations, different device profiles, with film strip rendering. Free, open source.

The Rank Haus CRO Toolstack

The actual stack I install most often on a new client engagement:

• Google Analytics 4 — properly configured, key events marked, funnels set up
• Google Search Console — for query-page intent analysis
• Microsoft Clarity — heatmaps, session recordings, dead-click and rage-click reports
• PageSpeed Insights — used episodically for speed audits
• VWO — when traffic justifies formal A/B testing (added in month 2-3 of engagement, not month 1)
• Hotjar Surveys — when qualitative research becomes the bottleneck (often 6+ months in)

That’s the full stack for most clients under $5M annual revenue. Total cost: $0 in month 1, $200-400 per month once VWO is added.

Larger ecommerce clients sometimes add: Zuko (form analytics), FullStory (enterprise recordings), Optimizely or VWO Personalize (personalisation). Those are situational.

Tools to Avoid (or Use With Caution)

• “All-in-one CRO platforms” that try to do analytics + heatmaps + A/B testing + personalisation + email marketing. They usually do most things badly. Build a stack of focused best-in-class tools instead.
• “AI optimisation” tools that promise to automatically improve your site without testing. The good ones are essentially A/B testing engines with prettier marketing. The bad ones make changes you can’t reverse and produce regressions.
• Free tools without privacy policies. Heatmap and session recording tools see real customer data. Stick to tools with clear privacy practices (Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar, FullStory, Clarity). Avoid obscure free tools that don’t publish their data handling.
• Tools that require modifying your checkout on Shopify (without Plus). Shopify restricts checkout customisation on standard plans. Tools that promise to test the checkout often work by hacky workarounds that break later.

Other Heatmap and Recording Tools Worth Knowing

Beyond Microsoft Clarity, Hotjar and FullStory, four other tools come up regularly in CRO conversations:

• Crazy Egg — established heatmap tool focused on SMB. Strong on scroll, click, and confetti heatmaps. Pricing from around US$29 per month.
• Smartlook — heatmaps plus session recordings with strong ecommerce platform integrations. Free tier available, paid plans from around US$39 per month.
• Lucky Orange — combines heatmaps, session recordings, and live chat in one tool. Useful for small businesses that want to consolidate.
• Mouseflow — heatmaps and recordings with strong friction-signal detection (click maps for rage clicks, error tracking, form analytics). Pricing from around US$31 per month.

For most businesses Microsoft Clarity is enough. These alternatives are worth considering when Clarity’s free constraints (less polished segmentation, fewer integrations) become a real bottleneck.

AI CRO Tools (Use With Caution)

A growing category of tools uses AI to generate test hypotheses, predict winning variants, or auto-personalise without explicit testing. Examples include Mutiny, Vizup, and the AI features inside Optimizely and VWO.

The good versions automate the tedious parts of CRO (test idea generation, copy variation, statistical analysis) and let teams move faster. The bad ones make changes you can’t reverse, generate variations that don’t match your brand voice, or produce “personalisation” that’s actually just A/B testing with extra steps. Treat AI CRO tools the way you’d treat any new tool: pilot on a single page, measure the actual lift against a holdout, and don’t trust the marketing claims uncritically.

Lead Capture and Popup Tools

Popups, exit-intent overlays, and on-page lead capture are CRO-adjacent but worth knowing. The category leaders:

• OptiMonk — sophisticated trigger logic, A/B testing built in
• Sleeknote — design-focused, strong for ecom
• Sumo — simpler, cheaper, integrates well with email platforms
• Klaviyo native forms — included with Klaviyo subscriptions for ecom

Use sparingly. Popups can lift email capture and lead volume significantly but they’re a friction point for most users. Set exit-intent triggers, scroll-depth triggers, or time delays rather than immediate popups on landing.

Personalisation Platforms

For mature CRO programs ready to move beyond A/B testing into segment-level experiences:

• Mutiny — B2B-focused personalisation, AI-driven segmentation, popular with mid-market SaaS
• Dynamic Yield — enterprise ecommerce personalisation, owned by Mastercard
• Adobe Target — enterprise standard, part of Adobe Experience Cloud
• Optimizely Personalize — strong if you’re already on Optimizely for A/B testing

Personalisation is the right move once your traffic is large enough to support segment-level experiences and you’ve exhausted the obvious A/B test wins. Usually 6-12 months into a mature CRO program.

Live Chat as a CRO Tool

Live chat and chatbots sit at the intersection of CRO, customer support and sales. The category leaders include Intercom, Drift, and Tidio. The CRO mechanics: a live chat trigger on a high-intent page (pricing, checkout, cart) catches visitors before they leave. Conversion lifts of 10-30% are reported across the category, with significant variation by industry.

The trade-off is staffing. A live chat tool that never responds is worse than no live chat at all. Either staff it during business hours or run a well-designed chatbot that can answer the top 5-10 questions and hand off to email otherwise.

Shopify-Specific CRO Apps

Ecommerce stores on Shopify have access to a dedicated CRO app ecosystem:

• ReConvert — post-purchase upsells on the thank-you page
• Vitals — bundled feature set covering reviews, currency converter, recently viewed, social proof
• Loox or Judge.me — reviews with photo and video support
• Privy — popups and email capture
• Honeycomb Upsell — pre- and post-purchase upsells

App selection should be deliberate. Each app adds script weight that hurts page speed (which hurts conversion). I install reviews and one upsell app on most Shopify CRO engagements; everything else is case-by-case.

Free Tool Comparison Quick Reference

Tool	Heatmaps	Recordings	A/B test	Cap
Microsoft Clarity	Yes	Yes	No	None
Hotjar (free)	Yes	35/day	No	35 sessions/day
GA4	No	No	No	Funnel analysis only
VWO (free)	Yes	Limited	Yes	1,000 visitors/mo
Smartlook (free)	Yes	3,000/mo	No	3,000 sessions/mo

Tools by Business Stage

• Early stage (under $500k revenue): Microsoft Clarity + GA4 + PageSpeed Insights. Total cost: $0.
• Growth stage ($500k-$5M): Add VWO for formal A/B testing once traffic supports it. Add Hotjar surveys when qualitative research becomes a bottleneck. Total cost: $200-500/month.
• Established ($5M-$50M): Add Zuko for form analytics if forms are the primary conversion event. Add a personalisation platform if you’ve exhausted the obvious A/B test wins. Total cost: $1,000-3,000/month.
• Enterprise ($50M+): FullStory for recordings, Optimizely or VWO Personalize, UserTesting for ongoing research panel, sometimes Adobe Target. Total cost: $5,000-20,000+/month.

Want Help Choosing Your CRO Toolstack?

If you’re trying to figure out which tools to install (or remove), we offer a free first-pass audit of your current setup and a recommended stack based on your traffic and team size.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best CRO tools?

The tools I install most often: Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console (free, foundational), Microsoft Clarity (free, heatmaps and session recordings), PageSpeed Insights (free, Core Web Vitals), VWO (paid, A/B testing), and Hotjar (paid, surveys and deeper qualitative research). Most small to medium businesses can run a complete CRO program for under $200 per month using this stack.

Is Microsoft Clarity actually free?

Yes, completely free with no usage limits. Microsoft offers it without limits or paid upgrades. It’s funded by Microsoft for strategic reasons (Bing data, Edge market positioning). For 80% of CRO use cases it’s the only heatmap and session recording tool you need.

What replaced Google Optimize?

Google Optimize was deprecated in September 2023. There’s no direct free replacement from Google. The most common moves: VWO (paid, similar UI), Convert.com (paid, privacy-focused), or Optimizely (paid, enterprise). Shopify stores can use native split testing in the admin for theme-level changes without paying for a dedicated tool.

Do I need paid CRO tools?

Not initially. Most small to medium businesses can run their first 3-6 months of CRO work using entirely free tools (GA4, Search Console, Microsoft Clarity, PageSpeed Insights). Add paid tools (VWO for A/B testing, Hotjar for surveys, Zuko for form analytics) once you’ve outgrown the free ones and can articulate exactly what the paid version unlocks.

How much do CRO tools cost?

$0 to start (using free tools only), $200-400 per month for a typical small to medium business stack including A/B testing, $1,000-2,000 per month for an established ecommerce stack including form analytics and enterprise recordings, $5,000+ per month for enterprise platforms (Optimizely Web Experimentation, FullStory, UserTesting research panel). Most businesses overspend on tooling and underspend on the process around it.

What’s the difference between Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity?

Both offer heatmaps and session recordings. Clarity is completely free with no limits but has shallower segmentation and fewer integrations. Hotjar’s free tier is limited (35 sessions per day), paid plans start around $40 per month, and offer deeper segmentation, on-page surveys, and tighter integrations with marketing tools. For most use cases Clarity is enough; Hotjar is worth it when surveys or segmentation become bottlenecks.

Should I use an all-in-one CRO platform?

Usually no. All-in-one platforms (analytics + heatmaps + A/B testing + personalisation in one tool) tend to do most things adequately but few things well. Best-in-class focused tools (GA4 for analytics, Clarity for recordings, VWO for testing) produce better results at lower total cost. The exception is large enterprise teams where consolidation overhead matters more than feature depth.