How to switch from Microsoft Clarity and save the history

1. Write down the reports you really use.
2. Save the history you want before Clarity deletes it.
3. Add the Hitsteps code next to the Clarity code.
4. Set up what you used before.
5. Compare the same two weeks in both tools.
6. Remove the Clarity code when the new tool answers your questions.

Open Microsoft Clarity and list the things you actually look at. It is usually fewer than you expect: where visitors came from, which pages they read, a heatmap or two, and maybe a recording when a page did not convert. Write each habit as a question, such as "Which source sent the most visitors last week?" or "Where do people stop on the pricing page?"

This list is your test. If Hitsteps answers every line by the end of step 5, you can switch with confidence. If one line has no answer, you find out before you remove anything.

Hitsteps does not import Microsoft Clarity data. It starts counting the day its code goes live, so decide now what you still need from Clarity, because most of it expires:

• Know what Clarity keeps and for how long. Click and heatmap data stays for about 9 months, session playback for 30 days. After that, Clarity deletes the data and it cannot be recovered.
• Take what you can out now. The Data Export API only returns the last 1 to 3 days of dashboard metrics, and recordings cannot be exported at all. Download the recent report, screenshot the heatmap you rely on, and write down the conclusion the recording proved.
• Keep the questions, not the platform. The findings you record as plain notes survive any tool. When you compare the two tools in step 5, your list from step 1 is what you check, not how many rows Clarity shows.

Create a Hitsteps account, add your site and install the tracking code. You do not need to touch Clarity first: the two codes work independently. Choose the route that matches your site:

• A script tag in your site template. The code is in your site's Settings, under Tracking Code.
• The WordPress plugin or the Shopify app.
• Google Tag Manager, if that is where Clarity runs today. Add Hitsteps as a second tag.
• Wix and other platforms, in the setup guide.

Then open your own site in a private window, click through two or three pages and look for your visit in the live feed. You should see the page, the source and your device. If you do not, the troubleshooting section of the setup guide fixes most installs.

The 7-day Pro trial includes goals, heatmaps and funnels, so use week one to try them. After the trial, goals start on the Starter plan, click heatmaps on Growth and funnels on Pro. The Free plan covers 1 site and 2,000 pageviews a month with 14 days of detailed history.

Put the same dates side by side. Start with trends and top pages, not exact totals. The numbers will not match, and that is normal: consent banners, ad blockers, bot filtering, time zones and the way each tool defines a visit all change the count. If one page looks far apart, open it yourself in a private window and see which tool noticed.

Then go back to your list from step 1 and mark each line answered or not.

Two weeks fits inside the Free plan's 14 days of detailed history, if your site stays under 2,000 pageviews a month. A longer comparison, or a busier site, needs a paid plan sized by monthly pageviews.

There is no deadline. When Hitsteps answers your list, take the Clarity code out of every place it hides:

• your theme or site settings (look for the Clarity project code, a script that mentions clarity.ms, or a header scripts field)
• a Google Tag Manager tag that loads Clarity
• platform integrations, such as the WordPress plugin, the Shopify app or a Wix app
• hard-coded script in your templates (search for an ID or snippet that starts with "clarity")

Then clear your site cache, open the site in a private window and check the browser's network tab. Search for "clarity" and "clarity.ms" (Clarity sends data to www.clarity.ms). If nothing loads, the old code is gone.

Once the code is off, delete the Clarity project when you are sure: in Clarity, open Settings, Overview, then Delete this project. The delete is permanent, removes the project for the whole team and cannot be undone, so do it last, not first. Clarity also requires the project admin to delete it.

Last, check that your cookie banner and privacy page still describe what your site does. If Clarity was the reason for a banner, that may change. The rules that apply depend on your site and your visitors, so ask your own adviser if you are unsure. Our CNIL self-assessment is a good starting checklist for EU sites.

Hitsteps does not replace everything Microsoft Clarity does. Keep it running for that job if you:

• rely on Clarity's session recordings of individual visits
• depend on Clarity's ML insights and topic analysis as part of your weekly review

Many sites run both for a while. Use Hitsteps for the live view, the individual visit, the heatmaps and the numbers, and Clarity for the jobs only it does. Clarity is free, so keeping it costs nothing while you compare.

• Microsoft Clarity is a product of Microsoft Corporation. Hitsteps is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.
• Microsoft Clarity facts checked 7 November 2026: Data retention, Set up or delete a Clarity project and How to set up Clarity.