Tools for Unmoderated Usability Testing

View our sheet comparing unmoderated user testing tools here.

We’re spoiled for choice when it comes to remote user-research software. Navigating the vast number of different tools and descriptions of what they offer can be overwhelming and confusing. To select the right tool for your needs, you have to understanding the key features of various offerings.

We provide a comparison table of 11 popular unmoderated-testing tools, including available features as of September 2024.

Unmoderated testing is a great way to get actionable insights from users quickly. In an unmoderated user test, there is no facilitator. Researchers set up questions and tasks in a special testing tool, and then participants complete those tasks asynchronously on their own.

All the user-research tools discussed in this article allow you to do studies that are:

• Remote: Participants can be located anywhere, and the entire study is completed online.
• Unmoderated: Participants complete the study independently, without a researcher guiding the session.
• Task-based: Participants receive instructions to complete specific tasks.
• Behavioral: The tool records users’ actions (through a video recording) so you can see what they did and whether they successfully completed the tasks.
• Interactive: Participants can test on live sites or prototypes.
• Do-it-yourself: You can plan and carry out your own studies, without using the tool’s research consultancy or recruitment services.

All 11 unmoderated testing tools we compared have the following basic features:

• Record the participant’s screen and voice
• Add timestamped notes to recordings
• Automatically produce transcripts documenting participants’ comments
• Support the download of recordings or clips from the platform

These features are the bare-bones requirements for running and analyzing unmoderated usability tests.

Additionally, most of these tools have built-in user panels — a database of available research participants. Those that don’t have their own panels often integrate with third-party panels. (For example, Lookback doesn’t offer its own panel but integrates with the recruitment platform User Interviews.)

Except for Maze, all of the other 10 tools support running tests on live websites, prototypes, or mobile applications (iOS or Android). (At the time of writing, Maze doesn’t currently support testing of mobile apps.)

Pricing Model and Cost

So, if all these unmoderated testing tools cover the basics, how should you choose from among your options? Cost will be a determining factor for most teams.

View our unmoderated tool comparison sheet here.

As a general rule, the older and more feature-rich platforms tend to be pricier than the newer, more basic platforms.

Different platforms also offer different pricing models (pay-as-you-go, subscription, or enterprise), so consider the number of people who will need to access the tool, and how frequently you run studies.

Special Features

Beyond the basic features, the tools we compared don’t all offer the following options. If these are important to your team, these features may help you narrow down your choices.

• Record participant’s webcam: Some platforms support webcam recording only for particular devices (for example, not on mobile), if at all.
• Extra-analysis features: While all 11 tools we reviewed offer the ability to take time-stamped notes, some tools have fancier analysis features than others. For example, some of these unmoderated tools offer AI transcription and the ability to create highlight reels from video clips. These features can speed up analysis and stakeholder communication.
• Advanced quantitative capabilities: If your team plans to do many quantitative studies, pay extra attention to your tool’s study setup and metric collection. Some tools have advanced features like randomization (of task order, design order, etc.), skip logic in questionnaires, and statistical analysis.

Additional Factors: Integrations and Methods

When shopping for an unmoderated tool, a final consideration should be how this tool will fit with your team’s other tools, methods, and platforms.

Integrations

Many research tools have formed partnerships and integrations with other tools; these can speed up your workflow. For example, if your team already uses Miro for workshopping and Rally as its customer-relationship management tool, you might consider UserTesting, which integrates with both.

Other Methods

When deciding which tool to procure, you may want to consider what other research methods your team regularly uses.

These days, most unmoderated-testing tools are part of larger research platforms. As a result, several of these tools offer support for other research methods, such as A/B tests, 5-second tests, diary studies, card sorts, or tree tests, as well as moderated usability tests or interviews.

If you’re looking to purchase a tool for unmoderated usability testing, you can download a shopping list of tool features to help you select the right tool. The list is located at the top of this article.

Conclusion

Unmoderated usability-testing tools provide a way to test designs and concepts quickly and without a live facilitator. This article focuses on tools for unmoderated usability testing, but that’s not always the right research method. You should always figure out which research method best addresses your question before choosing any tool.