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16 Best Usability Testing Tools For Real User Feedback In 2023

Best Usability Testing Tools Shortlist

Here are the top 10 usability testing tools I’d like to highlight out of the 16 I cover in this article:

  1. 1. UserTesting — Best for in-depth human insights
  2. 2. Userlytics — Best usability testing tool for international perspectives
  3. 3. Datadog — Best for third-party integrations
  4. 4. Crazy Egg — Best usability testing tool for detailed visual reports
  5. 5. Optimizely — Best for A/B testing and experimentation
  6. 6. Userbrain — Best for unmoderated remote user testing
  7. 7. Maze — Best for use throughout the full product life cycle
  8. 8. Loop 11 — Best for simplicity and ease of use
  9. 9. Great Question — Best usability testing tool for privacy and security
  10. 10. Lookback — Best for face-to-face interaction with participants

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When you’ve spent months (or years) developing a new website, app, or digital tool, it’s easy to get so close to the product that you lose sight of how real users will interact with it. Usability testing tools solve this problem by connecting you with live participants, allowing you to see their experience in real-time.

There are many types of usability testing methods, but the goal of each of them is simple: To surface user issues and allow you the opportunity to solve them.

Usability testing tools take many of the tedious administrative tasks associated with testing off your hands, helping you recruit participants, design and execute user tests, and gather feedback. In this article, I’ll share the best usability testing tools to help you choose the right provider for your specific needs.

How I Selected the Best Usability Testing Tools

What do I look for when I select the best usability testing tools? Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria: 

User Interface (UI): 

I looked for tools that are easy to navigate, and have a visually appealing design.

Reporting:

I selected tools that allow you to pull detailed reports on user experience and feedback.

Integrations: 

I chose tools that integrate with other platforms that your team is likely already using.

Value for Pricing: 

I picked tools that are cost effective while offering a wide variety of features and functions.

Overviews Of The 16 Best Usability Testing Tools

Here’s a brief description of each usability testing tool to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.

1

UserTesting

Best for in-depth human insights

UserTesting is a video-first platform that provides real-time, first-person feedback on testing.

Why I picked UserTesting: UserTesting offers a drag-and-drop test builder, extensive template gallery, and a powerful test distribution engine. This allows you to create exactly the test to suit your needs, and place it in the hands of the participants who matter most. Their test capabilities include card sorting, tree testing, clickstream tracking, and live interviews.

You can analyze the data you receive back from your tests with data visualization, transcripts, and highlight reels. Tasks like participant quality control are handled by AI, which accelerates tedious processes that might otherwise slow down the testing process.

UserTesting Standout Features and Integrations

Features include test builder, template gallery, card sorting, tree testing, clickstream tracking, live interviews, live conversion, and sentiment analysis.

Integrations include Jira, Slack, and Trello.

UserTesting Pricing

Pricing for UserTesting is available upon request. 

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 566

Free demo available

Pricing available upon request

Pros

  • Very detailed participant screening
  • Easy to find test responses
  • Excellent customer support

Cons

  • Not suitable for SMBs
2

Userlytics

Best usability testing tool for international perspectives

Userlytics is a usability testing tool with a global panel of more than 1.5 million testers.

Why I picked Userlytics: The Userlytics testing panel consists of members from more than 150 countries worldwide, who speak multiple languages. Having access to such a diverse panel mitigates the risk of unconscious bias and can provide valuable insight on cultural sensitivities that may influence your product decisions.

That being said, Userlytics also makes it easy to narrow down your search and find exactly your target persona. You can add custom screener questions at the beginning of your test to ensure that test participants match your intended audience. Their panel consists of individuals from several niche industries and roles, including neurosurgeons, c-suite executives, architects, and sales reps to name a few.

Userlytics Standout Features and Integrations

Features include A/B testing, audience targeting, analytics, calendar management, brand management, data export, and data visualization.

Integrations are not listed on Userlytics’s website.

Userlytics Pricing

Userlytics enterprise plan pricing is available upon request. DIY plans start at $499/month (billed annually), and a free demo is available.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 86

Free demo available

From $499/month

Pros

  • Massive testing panel
  • Global perspectives
  • Easy to find niche target persona participants

Cons

  • Lack of automation when randomizing quantitative tests
3

Datadog

Best for third-party integrations

Datadog is a testing platform that provides software development teams with visibility on user journeys. 

Why I picked Datadog: Datadog uses synthetic tests, network performance data, logs, traces, and backend metrics to provide insight on frontend performance from the perspective of your target audience. Their real user monitoring allows you to understand user experience, and in-depth analytics help you to identify the root cause of issues like slow load time and JavaScript errors.

Datadog allows you to filter data using custom attributes and reorganize or prioritize depending on your needs. Frontend and backend data can be combined with business metrics to troubleshoot and gain insight on business impact.

Datadog Standout Features and Integrations

Features include real user monitoring, synthetic monitoring, continuous testing, session replay, dashboards, alerts, and data export.

Integrations available are extensive and include Airbrake, Amazon, Cacti, Capistrano, Cassandra, CHEF, CouchDB, Docker, Fabric, Git, Github, Google Cloud Platform, Microsoft IIS, Java, MemCached, MongoDB, MySQL, Microsoft Net, New Relic, Node, PagerDuty, PHP, Pingdom, Python, RedHat, Redis, Splunk, and Varnish Cache.

Datadog Pricing

Datadog offers a free plan for core collection and visualization. From there, pricing begins at $15/host/month. A 14-day free trial is available.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 273

14-day free trial

From $15/user/month (billed annually)

Pros

  • Detailed analytics
  • Simple and easy information tracking
  • Efficiently evaluates large amounts of data

Cons

  • Complex user onboarding
4

Crazy Egg

Best usability testing tool for detailed visual reports

Crazy Egg is a usability testing tool that provides detailed visual reports of user engagement.

Why I picked Crazy Egg: Crazy Egg provides a variety of visual reports including heatmaps (click activity), scrollmaps (scroll depth), confetti (individual clicks), overlay (clicks across the website), and lists (numerical reports of clicks). You can use these tools to understand google analytics data, email and ad campaign interactions, and improve conversion rates with better CTA placement. 

Crazy Egg also records user sessions in their entirety, helping you to identify glitches and areas of frustration for users. You can filter these recordings by source, and then subdivide into various segments like mobile and new visitors. Their A/B testing tool is user-friendly and automatically sends traffic to the winner.

Crazy Egg Standout Features and Integrations

Features include heatmaps, A/B testing, error tracking, surveys, commenting, traffic analysis, scrollmaps, and overlay reports. 

Integrations are extensive and include Wordpress, Google Tag Manager, Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Drupal, Magento, Joomla, and Segment.

Crazy Egg Pricing

Crazy Egg plans start at $29/month and a 30-day free trial is available

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 107

30-day free trial

From $29/user/month

Pros

  • Excellent mobile support
  • Heatmaps for every landing page
  • Easy installation

Cons

  • Some limitations to A/B testing
5

Optimizely

Best for A/B testing and experimentation

Optimizely is a popular software that can be used to conduct usability testing quickly and effectively. It ensures that your application’s interface is user-friendly and intuitive by collecting important data from users on how they interact with it.

Why I Picked Optimizely: Optimizely has a wide range of features that make it ideal for usability testing purposes. With its easy to use drag-and-drop editor, you can create variations of your website or app without having to manually code each change. It also provides real-time analytics so you can see which versions are performing better than others, allowing you to adjust and optimize accordingly. Additionally, its A/B split testing capabilities enable you to test various elements against one another, helping you identify what works best for your audience.

Standout Features and Integrations

Features include A/B testing, data import & export, external integrations, analytics, conversion tracking, multi-site, referral tracking, API, dashboard, multi-user, and scheduling.

Integrations include Aprimo DAM Connector, TradeCentric Connector, Baymard Premium, Shopify Plus, Openpay, FullStory, WordPress, Instagram, and more.

Optimizely Pricing

Optimizely pricing details are available upon request. They also offer a free demo as well.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 343

Free demo available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Allows users to conduct A/B testing
  • Can personalize the user testing experience
  • User-friendly interface

Cons

  • Limited participant pool
  • Can be expensive for SMBs
6

Userbrain

Best for unmoderated remote user testing

Userbrain provides quick and cost-effective usability testing for product prototypes and websites.

Why I picked Userbrain: Userbrain takes the most time-consuming parts of the usability testing process off your hands. They’ll gather real users from their user test pool to participate, schedule test times, and conduct the unmoderated usability testing on your behalf. Should you choose to work with your own testers, Userbrain can support you by supplying a link that can be sent via text or email.

Userbrain supports screen capture, video recording, and audio commenting, providing you with an in-depth understanding of any usability issues based on end-user experience. Their user testing tool enables developers to test things like wireframes, live websites, and prototypes from multiple devices.

Userbrain Standout Features and Integrations

Features include unmoderated usability testing, messaging, audience targeting, website usability testing, customizable reports, A/B testing, and screen recording.

Integrations are limited, but do include Google Analytics 360.

Userbrain Pricing

Pricing for Userbrain begins at $99/month, and a 14-day free trial is available.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
5 2

14-day free trial

From $99/month

Pros

  • Excellent recording quality
  • Quick participant response
  • Reliable customer support

Cons

  • Cannot refund unsuitable testers
7

Maze

Best for use throughout the full product life cycle

Maze is a usability testing tool that allows you to test user experience across the full product life cycle.

Why I picked Maze: Maze delivers user research that spans from product discovery through to design and beyond. Their usability testing tools are meant to be continuous, enabling you to remain agile and adapt to the real-time user insights you receive. Tests can be as dynamic or simple as you need, including features like card sorting, open questions, and five-second tests.

Since Maze is device agnostic and browser-based, test participants can engage with your testing in the manner that suits them best. Detailed reports include things like bounce-rates, misclicks, and heatmaps, and rich filters empower you to focus on what’s most important while sifting through the data.

Maze Standout Features and Integrations

Features include prototype testing, card sorting, tree testing, video recordings, five-second testing, participant management, and surveys.

Integrations include many of the most popular design tools like Adobe XD, Figma, InVision, Marvel, and Sketch.

Maze Pricing

Maze offers a free plan for individuals and small teams. From there, pricing begins at $75/month, billed annually.

Free plan available

From $99/month

Pros

  • Continuous testing
  • Well-organized analytics
  • Detailed reports

Cons

  • Some templates are difficult to customize
8

Loop 11

Best for simplicity and ease of use

Loop11 is a comprehensive online usability testing tool that enables you to quickly identify problems and areas of improvement in your products or websites. 

Firstly, create an account on Loop11 and upload the prototype, website, or app you want to test. You can add tasks that participants must complete while using the product. After setting up the tests, invite potential users to participate by entering their email addresses. They will be sent a link to begin taking part in your tests immediately—no downloads necessary! 

Next, analyze test results collected fromLoop 11's recording feature which captures both qualitative and quantitative data about user interactions with your product or website.

Why I Picked Loop11: Loop11 supports both moderated and unmoderated testing. Their platform is super easy to use, and features include session recordings, click testing, competitive benchmarking, and A/B testing. 

Loop11 Standout Features and Integrations

Features include online usability testing, benchmarking, prototype testing, A/B usability testing,mobile & tablet testing, information architecture testing, true intent studies, and search engine findability.

Integrations include Slack, User Interviews, and Testing Time.

Loop11 Pricing

Loop11 costs $179/month, billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.

14-day free trial

From $179/month, billed annually

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Conduct usability testing sessions remotely
  • Detailed feedback including heat maps, click maps

Cons

  • Limited integrations
  • Only supports remote, unmoderated testing
9

Great Question

Best usability testing tool for privacy and security

Great Question is a usability testing tool that prioritizes compliance and security for candidate data and test results. 

Why I picked Great Question: Great Question makes it easy to recruit participants, test, gather user feedback, and share your findings with team members. You can use their research calendar to schedule interviews, and the process of launching surveys, questionnaires, and prototype tests is quick and intuitive.

Their solution is GDPR compliant and all in-transit data is encrypted. The only Great Question employees who will have access to your data are those who directly require access to conduct their job.

Great Question Standout Features and Integrations

Features include prototype tests, research calendars, panel management, research recruiting, incentives, and a research calendar.

Integrations include Slack, Google Calendar, Calendly, Google Meet, Tremendous, and Zoom. Further integrations are available by connecting a paid Zapier account.

Great Question Pricing

Great Question pricing starts at $10/month, billed annually. A 14-day free trial is available.

14-day free trial

From $10/month, billed annually

Pros

  • Unified platform for recruiting and testing
  • Excellent data security
  • Pay incentives from the platform

Cons

  • Starter plan allows only 20 panelists
10

Lookback

Best for face-to-face interaction with participants

Lookback is a usability testing tool that provides moderated testing via a Liveshare feature.

Why I picked Lookback: Lookback offers both moderated and unmoderated UX research. Their moderated testing feature allows you to speak to participants in-person, meaning you can ask questions and further define usability problems. Session recordings are stored on the cloud so you can access them later.

Their unmoderated usability testing function allows you to set up step-by-step tasks, within which your website or prototype can automatically open for testers. You can restrict which device participants use to assess your UX design (iOS, Android, or desktop), or allow them to choose.

Lookback Standout Features and Integrations

Features include moderated and unmoderated testing, virtual observation rooms, timestamped notes, team chat, session recordings, and transcript downloads.

Integrations are not listed on the Lookback website.

Lookback Pricing

Lookback pricing begins at $25/month (billed annually). A 60-day free trial is available.

60-day free trial

From $25/month (billed annually

Pros

  • See screen + participants in the same shot
  • Observers can enter + exit silently
  • Very user-friendly interface

Cons

  • Participants must share name + email

The Best Usability Testing Tools Summary

Below is a comparison chart with the use case, trial options, and pricing for each of the ten providers.

Tool Free Option Price
1
UserTesting

Best for in-depth human insights

Free demo available

Pricing available upon request Visit Website
2
Userlytics

Best usability testing tool for international perspectives

Free demo available

From $499/month Visit Website
3
Datadog

Best for third-party integrations

14-day free trial

From $15/user/month (billed annually) Visit Website
4
Crazy Egg

Best usability testing tool for detailed visual reports

30-day free trial

From $29/user/month Visit Website
5
Optimizely

Best for A/B testing and experimentation

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
6
Userbrain

Best for unmoderated remote user testing

14-day free trial

From $99/month Visit Website
7
Maze

Best for use throughout the full product life cycle

Free plan available

From $99/month Visit Website
8
Loop 11

Best for simplicity and ease of use

14-day free trial

From $179/month, billed annually Visit Website
9
Great Question

Best usability testing tool for privacy and security

14-day free trial

From $10/month, billed annually Visit Website
10
Lookback

Best for face-to-face interaction with participants

60-day free trial

From $25/month (billed annually Visit Website

Other Options

Here are a few more that didn’t make the top list:

  1. Userfeel

    Best for small businesses and startups

  2. Testlio

    Best usability testing tool for accessing targeted users

  3. Hotjar

    Best for heatmapping

  4. Optimal Workshop

    Best for qualitative research and analysis

  5. Trymata (formerly TryMyUI)

    Best for live product analytics

  6. UsabilityHub

    Best for testing marketing and design initiatives

People Also Ask

With so many different types of usability testing, it can be challenging for product managers to sift through all the options. Let’s learn a little bit more about UX research so you can stay competitive in your industry and choose the right platform to suit your needs.

In Conclusion

Usability testing is critical to understanding how your end user will interact with your final product: what are their pain points and what do they want more of? Usability testing can help you figure that out and make the best product for your audience. 

For more information on how to conduct usability testing, check out these resources from our subject matter experts:

And to stay up to date on all the latest news, tips, and tricks from your industry, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter

By Paulo Gardini Miguel

Paulo brings +12 years of experience in software development and team building, creating products for the Media and Advertising industries. With a track record of building high-performance lean teams, he specializes in handling large volumes of data and empowering his team to own their projects and products. When he’s not working, he’s a frustrated musician with a passion for football and technology.

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