tech

Microsoft Clarity: The Free Analytics Tool You’re Probably Ignoring (And Shouldn’t)

By Laurent Fidahoussen on December 11, 2025

Introduction

While you’re paying $99/month for Hotjar or wrestling with FullStory’s enterprise pricing, Microsoft Clarity sits quietly in the corner doing the exact same thing. For free. With no session limits. No traffic caps. No “upgrade to see more features” popups.

Sounds too good to be true? I thought so too. But after implementing Clarity across multiple projects over the past years, I can tell you: it’s legitimate, it’s powerful, and it’s criminally underused.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Microsoft Clarity: what it is, why it matters, how to implement it properly, and real-world use cases that prove its value.

What is Microsoft Clarity?

Microsoft Clarity is a free behavioral analytics tool that helps you understand how users actually interact with your website. It’s not about pageviews or bounce rates (you have Google Analytics for that). Clarity shows you the why behind the numbers.

Think of it this way: Google Analytics tells you that 80% of users are bouncing from your product page. Clarity shows you why they’re bouncing by letting you watch exactly what they did before leaving.

The tool was launched by Microsoft and is built on the same technology that powers their internal analytics. It’s open-source (you can check the code on GitHub), privacy-focused (GDPR and CCPA compliant), and genuinely free forever. No catch. No bait-and-switch.

Core Features

1. Session Recordings

Session recordings are exactly what they sound like: video-like replays of real user sessions on your site. You can watch users:

Unlike actual video recordings, these are DOM reconstructions, which means:

2. Heatmaps

Clarity generates three types of heatmaps:

These heatmaps are aggregated data visualizations. The hotter the color, the more activity in that area.

3. Rage Clicks & Dead Clicks Detection

This is where Clarity gets really interesting:

These automatic frustration signals help you identify UX problems without manually reviewing hundreds of sessions.

4. Dashboard Insights

Clarity’s dashboard provides:

5. Filtering and Segmentation

You can filter sessions and heatmaps by:

You can save these filters as custom segments for quick access.

Why Use Clarity? (The Real Benefits)

1. It’s Completely Free

Let me be clear: completely free means:

Competitors charge $30-300+/month for similar features with strict session caps.

2. Privacy-First Design

Clarity automatically:

For EU/UK/Swiss visitors, Clarity enforces consent requirements.

3. No Performance Impact

Clarity is built to be lightweight:

4. Works with Everything

Clarity integrates with:

5. AI-Powered Insights (Copilot)

Clarity’s AI features automatically:

This saves hours of manual analysis.

How to Implement Microsoft Clarity

Clarity must run client-side in the browser because it needs to:

There’s no server-side implementation option—this is fundamental to how behavioral analytics works.

Method 1: Direct Installation (Recommended for Quick Setup)

Step 1: Create a Clarity project

Step 2: Get the tracking code

The code looks like this:

<script type="text/javascript">
    (function(c,l,a,r,i,t,y){
        c[a]=c[a]||function(){(c[a].q=c[a].q||[]).push(arguments)};
        t=l.createElement(r);t.async=1;t.src="https://www.clarity.ms/tag/"+i;
        y=l.getElementsByTagName(r)[0];y.parentNode.insertBefore(t,y);
    })(window, document, "clarity", "script", "YOUR_PROJECT_ID");
</script>

Step 3: Add to your site

Verification: Within minutes, you should see live sessions in your Clarity dashboard.

Method 2: Google Tag Manager (Recommended for Tag Management)

If you use GTM, there are two approaches:

Option A: Official Microsoft Clarity Template (Easiest)

  1. In GTM, create a new tag
  2. Click “Discover more tag types in the Community Template Gallery”
  3. Search for “Microsoft Clarity – Official”
  4. Select the template by Microsoft
  5. Click “Add to workspace”
  6. Enter your Clarity Project ID
  7. Set trigger to “All Pages”
  8. Save and publish

Option B: Custom HTML Tag (More Control)

  1. In GTM, create a new tag
  2. Choose “Custom HTML” as tag type
  3. Paste the Clarity tracking code
  4. Set trigger to “All Pages”
  5. Save and publish

Important Notes:

Method 3: NPM Package (For JavaScript Projects)

If you’re building a React/Vue/Angular app:

npm install @microsoft/clarity

Then in your code:

import { clarity } from '@microsoft/clarity';

clarity.start({
  projectId: 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID',
  upload: 'https://www.clarity.ms/collect',
  track: true,
  content: true
});

Advanced Configuration

Custom User Identification

You can identify users with custom IDs:

clarity("identify", "user@example.com", "session-123", "page-home", "John Doe");

This allows you to:

Custom Tags

Set custom tags for segmentation:

clarity("set", "plan", "premium");
clarity("set", "experiment", "variantA");

Cookie Consent

For GDPR compliance:

// Grant consent
clarity.consentV2({
  ad_Storage: 'granted',
  analytics_Storage: 'granted'
});

// Deny consent
clarity.consentV2({
  ad_Storage: 'denied',
  analytics_Storage: 'denied'
});

Masking Configuration

By default, Clarity masks sensitive content. You can customize:

<!-- Mask specific elements -->
<div class="clarity-mask">Sensitive data</div>

<!-- Unmask specific elements -->
<div class="clarity-unmask">Public data</div>

Real-World Use Cases

Let me share actual case studies from companies using Clarity:

Case Study 1: Scrape.do (+28% Trial Signups)

Problem: High bounce rate on trial signup page, but unclear why.

Clarity Insights:

Actions Taken:

Results:

Case Study 2: Supademo (+10% Onboarding Completion)

Problem: Users dropping off during onboarding, but couldn’t pinpoint where or why.

Clarity Insights:

Actions Taken:

Results:

Case Study 3: Places for People (+63% Page Views)

Problem: Content sliders getting rage clicks, unclear content hierarchy.

Clarity Insights:

Actions Taken:

Results:

Common Patterns Across Case Studies

  1. Identify frustration signals (rage clicks, dead clicks, quick backs)
  2. Watch session recordings to understand context
  3. Analyze heatmaps for patterns
  4. Hypothesize solutions based on observed behavior
  5. Implement changes
  6. Measure impact with before/after comparison

Clarity vs. Competitors

Clarity vs. Hotjar

FeatureClarityHotjar
PriceFree forever$32-99+/month
Session limitUnlimited100-500/day depending on plan
Heatmaps✓✓
Session recordings✓✓
Rage/dead clicks✓ Auto-detectedLimited
Surveys/Feedback✗✓
Funnels✓ Basic✓ Advanced

Verdict: Clarity wins on cost and session volume. Hotjar wins if you need surveys and advanced funnels.

Clarity vs. Google Analytics 4

These tools complement each other:

Best practice: Use both. GA4 identifies problems in your funnel, Clarity helps you understand and fix them.

Clarity vs. FullStory/LogRocket

FeatureClarityFullStory/LogRocket
PriceFree$199-500+/month
Session replay✓✓ Advanced
Error tracking✓ Basic✓ Advanced
Console logsLimited✓ Full
Network requests✗✓
Target audienceMarketers, UXDevelopers, Product

Verdict: For pure behavioral analytics, Clarity is sufficient. For technical debugging, FullStory/LogRocket provide deeper dev tools.

Limitations and Gotchas

Let’s be honest about what Clarity can’t do:

1. Cannot Track Inside iFrames or Canvas

Clarity can’t capture content inside:

2. Client-Side Only

As we established earlier, there’s no server-side implementation. Clarity must run in the browser.

3. No Built-in A/B Testing

Clarity shows you behavior but doesn’t run experiments. You’ll need separate tools for A/B testing.

4. Basic Funnel Analysis

Clarity’s funnel features are basic compared to dedicated funnel analytics tools.

5. Data Retention

Session recordings are retained based on Microsoft’s policies. For long-term historical analysis, export data regularly.

6. No Real-Time Collaboration

You can’t share live sessions or collaborate in real-time like some enterprise tools offer.

Best Practices

1. Filter Intelligently

Don’t watch random sessions. Use filters to focus on:

2. Combine with GA4 Data

Link Clarity with Google Analytics to:

3. Create Custom Tags

Use the Clarity API to tag sessions with:

This enables powerful segmentation.

4. Review Regularly

Make session review part of your routine:

5. Respect Privacy

Always:

6. Act on Insights

Clarity is useless if you don’t act. When you spot issues:

Advanced Use Cases

Developer Debugging

Filter by JavaScript errors to:

Form Optimization

Watch users fill out forms to identify:

Mobile UX Testing

Filter for mobile sessions to:

Content Strategy

Use scroll heatmaps to:

E-commerce Optimization

Track shopping behavior:

Integration with Other Tools

Google Analytics Integration

Link Clarity sessions to GA4:

  1. In Clarity, go to Settings → Integrations
  2. Connect your GA4 property
  3. Session recordings will appear in GA4 reports

This allows you to click through from GA4 to watch actual user sessions.

Zapier Integration

Automate workflows:

API Access

Clarity provides APIs for:

Conclusion

Microsoft Clarity is the rare combination of “free” and “actually good.” It won’t replace your entire analytics stack, but it fills a crucial gap: understanding why users behave the way they do.

The barrier to entry is non-existent (literally 5 minutes to install), the insights are actionable, and the ROI is immediate. Every site I’ve implemented Clarity on has uncovered at least 2-3 quick wins within the first week.

If you’re paying for Hotjar or similar tools and only using basic session recording and heatmaps, you’re overpaying. If you’re not using any behavioral analytics tool, you’re flying blind.

Try Clarity. You have nothing to lose (it’s free) and potentially significant UX improvements to gain.

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