Smartlook

What Is Smartlook?

Here is a problem most product teams face: you can record user sessions on your website easily enough, but the moment your product extends to a native mobile app, the tooling falls apart. Hotjar does not record mobile apps. FullStory's mobile support exists but comes at enterprise pricing. For product teams building cross-platform experiences, the gap between web analytics and mobile analytics has been a persistent frustration.

Smartlook, founded in 2016 in Brno, Czech Republic, was built to close that gap. It is one of the very few session recording platforms that supports native mobile app recording across iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter — alongside standard web session recording. This means a single platform can show you how users interact with your product regardless of whether they are on a desktop browser or a native app.

The platform goes beyond passive session replay. Smartlook includes event-based analytics, conversion funnels with recording-level drill-down, retention analysis, and heatmaps. It was acquired by Cisco in 2023, which raised questions about its independence, but the product continues to operate from Brno with EU data processing intact. The free tier offers 3,000 sessions per month — generous enough for early-stage products to get meaningful insights before committing to a paid plan.

Key Features

Native Mobile App Recording

This is Smartlook's headline differentiator. The platform provides SDKs for iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter that record user sessions within native mobile applications — capturing touch gestures, navigation flows, screen transitions, and app crashes. The recordings render as video replays that product teams can watch, filter, and analyse. For teams shipping mobile-first or mobile-inclusive products, this eliminates the analytics blind spot that web-only tools create.

Retroactive Event Definition

Most analytics tools require you to define events before data collection begins. Miss an important interaction, and you are waiting days or weeks for new data to accumulate. Smartlook takes a different approach: because it records full sessions, you can define events retroactively on data that has already been collected. Noticed that users are dropping off at a specific screen? Define the event now, and Smartlook will identify every historical occurrence in your existing recordings. No re-deployment needed.

Funnel Analysis with Recording Drill-Down

Smartlook's funnel analysis connects quantitative data with qualitative insight. Build a conversion funnel, identify where users drop off, and then click directly into session recordings of users who abandoned at that step. This combination — seeing the numbers and then watching the behaviour — accelerates the diagnosis of conversion problems in a way that standalone analytics or standalone session replay cannot match.

Heatmaps and Event Tracking

Click, scroll, and movement heatmaps are available on paid plans, providing aggregate visualisation of user behaviour across pages. Event tracking supports custom event definitions, user identification, and segmentation. The analytics layer bridges the gap between session replay (qualitative) and product analytics (quantitative), though teams with heavy quantitative needs may still want a dedicated analytics tool like Mixpanel or Amplitude alongside Smartlook.

Recording Configuration and Privacy

Smartlook offers recording rules and sampling configuration to manage session volume and performance impact. Automatic sensitive data masking obscures personal information from recordings, and a cookie-less tracking option is available for stricter privacy requirements. Data Processing Agreements are available for GDPR compliance.

Pricing

The free plan includes 3,000 sessions per month with session recordings and basic event tracking, though data retention is limited to one month. This is among the most generous free tiers in the session recording category — enough for a small product or early-stage startup to derive real value.

The Pro plan at approximately EUR 55 per month increases the session limit to 5,000, adds heatmaps and funnel analysis, and extends data retention to three months. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes unlimited sessions, retention analysis, SSO with SAML, and dedicated support.

The pricing structure is straightforward, but the jump from free to Pro is notable: heatmaps — a core feature for many teams — are locked behind the paywall entirely. Teams evaluating Smartlook should be aware that the free tier is recording-focused, and the analytical layer requires investment.

API access and data export are also limited on lower tiers, which can constrain teams wanting to pipe Smartlook data into their broader analytics stack.

EU Compliance & Privacy

Smartlook is headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic — an EU member state — and processes all data in EU data centres. The platform offers automatic sensitive data masking to prevent personal information from appearing in session recordings, a cookie-less tracking option for environments where cookie consent is complex, and standard Data Processing Agreements.

The Cisco acquisition in 2023 introduced some uncertainty about long-term data handling, but as of 2026, Smartlook's EU data processing posture remains unchanged. The platform continues to operate independently from Brno, and its GDPR compliance infrastructure has not been altered.

With an EU compliance rating of 8.5, Smartlook scores well — though the Cisco ownership factor prevents it from reaching the top tier reserved for fully independent EU companies.

Who It's Best For

Product teams building mobile apps on iOS, Android, React Native, or Flutter who need session recording and analytics beyond what web-only tools provide.

Growth and conversion teams who benefit from the funnel-to-recording drill-down — seeing exactly what users do at each step of a conversion path.

Early-stage startups that can leverage the generous 3,000-session free tier to understand user behaviour before committing budget to analytics tooling.

Cross-platform product organisations that want web and mobile analytics unified in a single platform rather than managing separate tools for each surface.

The Verdict

Smartlook's value proposition is clear and specific: if your product includes a native mobile app, very few session recording tools can match its cross-platform coverage. The retroactive event definition is a genuinely clever feature that saves time and prevents data gaps. The Cisco acquisition introduces a note of uncertainty about long-term direction, and the heatmap restriction on the free tier is a limitation. But for product teams operating across web and mobile — particularly those based in the EU who need GDPR-compliant analytics — Smartlook fills a gap that most competitors simply do not address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Smartlook record mobile app sessions?

Yes. Smartlook is one of the few session recording platforms that supports native mobile app recording on iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter. Mobile recordings capture touch gestures, navigation flows, screen transitions, and app crashes as video replays.

Is Smartlook GDPR compliant?

Yes. Smartlook is headquartered in Brno, Czech Republic, and processes data in EU data centres. It offers automatic sensitive data masking, a cookie-less tracking option, and provides Data Processing Agreements for GDPR compliance.

How does Smartlook compare to Hotjar?

Smartlook's primary advantage is native mobile app recording and event-based product analytics with funnel and retention analysis. Hotjar focuses on web-only behaviour analytics with built-in feedback tools and surveys. Smartlook is better suited for product teams building mobile apps; Hotjar is stronger for UX research and web optimisation.

Is the free tier useful for real work?

Yes. The free plan includes 3,000 sessions per month with session recordings and basic event tracking — enough for small products or early-stage validation. However, heatmaps, funnels, and extended data retention require a paid plan.

Who owns Smartlook?

Smartlook was acquired by Cisco in 2023. It continues to operate as an independent product from its headquarters in Brno, Czech Republic. The acquisition has not changed its EU data processing or GDPR compliance posture as of 2026.