15 Best User Testing Tools & Usability Testing Tools of 2023

I’ve been a design researcher for about 5 years now. I’ve worked in companies of varying stages, from start-ups, where we had absolutely zero budget for user testing and usability testing tools, as well as in design agencies where we had loads of money to pay for these tools!

I was working on my company’s website redesign and the question posed to me by my manager was either

“We have the budget, pick the best tool for your work”
or
“We have no budget find something that is free’!”

something your manager would say

Long story short, I’ve researched the best user testing tools and usability testing tools out there, so you don’t have to.

These are my top 3 choices for the best user testing tools, Optimal workshop is one of the very first usability testing tools I used when I first started as a UX researcher in 2019, I used it to test the informational architecture of my website (it’s free). I also used their survey feature to conduct exploratory research.

Hotjar is my favorite tool for heatmaps, literally so simple to set up and the insights are just super simple to understand, anyone can use it! UserTesting is a tool I have not yet used before because I’ve just never worked in a company that had the budget to afford it. But it is the holy grail of usability testing tools, and one fine day I will use it!

Related reading: How to Craft the Perfect User Interview Script and How to Write Insights that are meaningful.

What Are the Best User Testing Tools?

Here is a list of the 15 best usability testing tools for improved UX design in 2023:

1. Hotjar: Best user testing tool for a quick set up.

Hotjar Overview

Hotjar is one of my favorite online usability testing tools for heat mapping and session recordings that helps website owners understand how users interact with their website.

The tool is “super easy to understand, even for non-technical users”, and provides insights into areas that can be improved to increase conversion rates and revenue. Hotjar is a perfect complement to Google Analytics and is useful for investigating user problems and issues.

Top Features

• Heat maps to visually track user behavior on websites and mobile apps
• Session recordings to watch users interact with prototypes and live sites
• Form analysis to identify usability issues and improve conversion rates
• Qualitative and quantitative feedback collection through user polls and surveys
• Cross-browser testing to ensure consistent user experience across devices

Pricing

Hotjar offers a free plan, with limited features, and paid enterprise plans starting at $89 per month. Check out the pricing options here.

My Perspective

Hotjar is the best user testing tool for website owners who want to improve their website’s user experience. The tool provides easy-to-understand insights into user behavior, which can help identify areas for improvement to increase conversion rates and revenue.

Keep in mind that it is not a replacement for Google Analytics or an SEO or bug-tracking tool. Instead, it is a powerful yet simple tool to complement Google Analytics and investigate user experience issues.

2. UserTesting: Most comprehensive user testing tool.

UserTesting Overview

UserTesting is a user research platform that provides a fast and easy way for UX designers to conduct remote usability tests on websites, mobile apps, and prototypes. It helps businesses understand their customers’ experiences by providing quick and actionable insights through video recordings of real users. It features unmoderated testing, screen recording, and real-time feedback from test participants. The platform also provides a user panel to help you find participants for your studies.

Top Features

• Conduct unmoderated remote usability tests with real users
• Get real-time feedback with screen recordings and participant insights
• Find participants for your studies through UserTesting’s user panel
• Use the platform to conduct website, mobile app, and prototype testing
• Analyze research data to make data-driven design decisions

Pricing

UserTesting offers a free plan with limited features, as well as monthly plans starting from $49 per month. Check out usertesting’s pricing options for more details. 

My Perspective

Its combination of website, mobile app, and prototype testing services offers a comprehensive solution that enables businesses to test, track and improve their digital products and services. With real-time feedback and video recordings, UserTesting is a valuable tool that helps businesses make informed decisions based on accurate user insights. I highly recommend trying the free version to see if UserTesting is the right usability testing tool for your needs.

3. Optimal Workshop: Best user testing tool for affordability.

Optimal Workshop Overview

Optimal Workshop is a user research tool that offers a variety of tests including card sorting, tree testing, mobile app testing, and session recording.

It’s user-friendly and I love it for analyzing the information architecture of websites. Optimal Workshop is one of the first usability testing tools I experimented with, as it is free to start and has a range of test offerings.

Top Features

• Usability testing platform with a wide range of tools for unmoderated and moderated studies, including tree testing, impression testing, preference testing, and cross-browser testing
• Session recordings to capture user interactions and feedback, and heat maps to analyze user behavior and preferences
• Collaborative analysis and reporting capabilities to help UX teams share insights and make data-driven design decisions
• Integration with Google Analytics and prototyping tools to expand research data and insights

Pricing

Optimal Workshop offers a free plan, a Professional plan starting at $99 per month, and an Enterprise plan with custom pricing based on specific needs and requirements. Check out the pricing options here.

My Perspective

Optimal Workshop has a comprehensive suite of user research tools for website navigation testing, card sorting, tree testing, and mobile app testing. Its user interface is intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy for novice researchers to conduct tests quickly.

While I do have some concerns over the quality of participants and customer service, the platform offers an impressive range of tests at an affordable price.

4. Betafi

Betafi Overview

Betafi is a usability testing tool that helps you validate your product ideas with real users and get insights into their behavior and feedback. With Betafi, you can easily create and launch user tests, surveys, and feedback forms, as well as collect and analyze user data.

It features a simple and intuitive interface, flexible test setup, and robust analytics capabilities, making it a popular choice for product teams, designers, and researchers.

Top Features

• Unmoderated usability testing to collect feedback from real users
• Qualitative and quantitative feedback analysis
• Prototype testing with real users
• Session recordings to observe user behavior
• Collaborative analysis with team members

Pricing

Betafi offers a free plan with limited features and an enterprise plan with more advanced features. The pricing starts at $50 per month. Check out the pricing page for more details.

My Perspective

Betafi stands out as one of the new usability testing tools on the market that offers a balance of ease of use and functionality. Its ability to create and launch tests quickly, as well as its strong analytics capabilities, makes it a great option for teams that need to validate product ideas and make data-driven decisions. I appreciate the simplicity and flexibility of the platform, as well as its ability to gather valuable user feedback.

5. Useberry

Useberry Overview

Useberry is a usability testing tool that enables companies and design teams to easily conduct user research and gather feedback. This tool offers a range of features such as usability testing, surveys, user interviews, conversion funnel analysis and more.

The platform provides a visual way to create tasks and scenarios for testing, and then the results are organized in a dashboard for easy analysis.

Top Features

• Session recordings
• User behavior analysis
• Conversion funnel analysis
• Collaborative analysis
• Heat maps
• User feedback collection

Pricing

Useberry offers a free version, with paid plans starting at $39 per month. For enterprise solutions, they offer custom pricing based on your specific needs. Check out the pricing page for more details.

My Perspective

Useberry’s is one of the new usability testing tools on the market and offers visual task creation and an organized dashboard. Its wide range of features, including usability testing and surveys, gives it the ability to provide a complete picture of customer needs, preferences, and pain points.

6. Poll the People

Poll The People Overview

Poll the People is a usability testing tool that allows businesses to collect real-time feedback from their target audience. It provides an easy-to-use solution for conducting user testing sessions both moderated and unmoderated; with features such as session recordings, test prototypes, and the ability to collect user feedback through custom surveys, and polls, and distribute them via various channels such as email, social media, or website embeds.

Top Features

• Conduct both moderated and unmoderated testing
• Gather qualitative and quantitative feedback from real users
• Session recordings to better understand user behavior
• Easy-to-use test prototypes to gather feedback on design concepts
• Collect user feedback through multiple channels, including heat maps and impression testing

Pricing

Poll The People offers a free plan, with options for an enterprise plan for larger organizations. Get 50% off with code ‘FIRSTTIME50’.

My Perspective

Poll the People’s ability to create and distribute surveys and polls quickly and easily, along with the real-time reporting, makes it an efficient and effective tool for businesses looking to improve their user experience.

The customizable surveys and integrations with multiple platforms make it a versatile solution for businesses of all sizes. It is one of the new usability testing tools on the market and it’s easy to use, offers quick results, and excellent customer support.

7. Solid User Tests

Solid User Tests Overview

Solid User Tests is a user testing software that allows teams to get feedback from real users in real-time. It offers a range of testing methods including remote unmoderated and moderated testing, and in-person testing. The platform provides detailed analytics on user behavior and feedback, and the results are displayed in an easy-to-digest format.

Top Features

• User-friendly interface
• Supports both moderated and unmodered testing
• Ability to conduct tests with own participants or from a panel
• Option to run tests on smart devices, prototypes and websites
• Recoding feature to review user interactions and feedback

Pricing

Solid User Tests offers a free plan with limited features, as well as premium plans starting from $15 per month. The premium plans offer more advanced features, increased participant limit and better data analysis tools. Check out the pricing options for more details.

My Perspective

I appreciate the range of testing methods offered by Solid User Tests. The ability to conduct remote, unmoderated and moderated testing, as well as in-person testing, provides flexibility for me and my team to gather feedback in a variety of settings.

The platform’s analytics features and user-friendly reporting make it easy to understand the results and make informed decisions based on the data. Overall, it’s a comprehensive and reliable usability testing tool that is well worth considering for your team’s UX research needs.

8. Lookback

Lookback Overview

Lookback is a remote user interview tool that allows for live observation and commenting during interviews which is great for analysing the interview after it’s over.

It is easy to navigate and has features such as video analysis and splicing, making it a great tool for getting the whole team on board with the user side.

Top Features

• Conduct moderated and unmoderated studies
• Collect qualitative and quantitative feedback
• Target specific users or panels
• Analyze user behavior with session recordings and heat maps
• Collaborate with team members in real-time

Pricing

Lookback offers a free version, as well as an enterprise plan with additional features and add-ons. Check out the pricing options here.

My Perspective

Lookback is a valuable tool for user research, as it allows for live observation and commenting during interviews and offers features such as video analysis. Lookback can help teams make data-driven decisions and achieve better outcomes.

9. Loop11

Loop11 Overview

When the pandemic hit and I had to try and test out remote usability testing tools, Loop11 was my go to tool for remote usability testing. The tool offers a range of features, including the ability to create customized tests, an in-built screen recording feature, and the option to target specific user segments.

Top Features

• User-friendly interface for quick and efficient test setup
• Recruit test participants from a global user panel or upload your own participants
• Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities
• Option to collect qualitative and quantitative data
• Real-time data analytics and user feedback tracking

Pricing

Loop11 offers a free plan with limited features and several paid plans starting at $59 per month. Check out the pricing options.

My Perspective

I love Loop11 as I could conduct tests quickly and easily, and I enjoyed the fact that the tool provides clear and actionable insights into user behaviour. The in-built screen recording feature has also been noted as a valuable asset, as it allows users to see exactly what users are doing and how they interact with their website or application.

Additionally, the tool’s ability to target specific user segments is a great way to understand the user experience for specific groups of people.

10. UserZoom

UserZoom Overview

UserZoom offers a suite of tools for remote usability testing, remote user research, and collecting user feedback. With UserZoom, you can conduct unmoderated and moderated tests, impression testing, preference tests, conversion funnel analysis, and much more.

Top Features

• Conduct remote unmoderated and moderated user testing
• User research and feedback collection through surveys and interviews
• Impression testing and preference testing
• Conversion funnel analysis
• Record and analyze user interactions
• User panel management and participant recruitment
• Integration with popular prototyping tools

Pricing

UserZoom offers a free plan, as well as monthly and annual subscription plans with different levels of access to features and support. The starting price for the monthly subscription is $149 per month for their Basic plan. Check out the pricing options and sign up for a free trial on the UserZoom pricing page.

My Perspective

UserZoom is a well-rounded remote user research platform that offers a comprehensive suite of tools for UX researchers. It’s super easy to set up, intuitive and has efficient data analysis capabilities.

I appreciate its mobile research capabilities, making it easy to conduct research on the go. The platform’s range of features and data analysis tools make it a top choice for UX researchers working at Enterprise level companies looking to streamline their research processes.

11. Maze

Maze Overview

Maze is a usability testing tool that provides a suite of features to conduct remote and in-person usability studies with real users. I love that Maze offers recording and playback, collaboration capabilities, project management and analytics. The product provides an easy-to-use interface and is handy for non-technical users.

Top Features

• Moderated and unmoderated testing options
• Testing on various devices including smartphones and smart devices
• Collect user feedback
• Identify usability issues
• Test prototypes

Pricing

Maze offers a free plan and an enterprise plan. Prices for the enterprise plan start at $99 per month with a 14-day free trial. To see the full pricing table, visit the pricing page.

My Perspective

Maze is suited for anyone on the product development team whether you are a product manager, UX researcher, UX designer or UX consultant looking to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback to improve the user experience of their products.

It is an ideal choice for both small and large businesses looking for an all-in-one usability testing platform with its accessible interface, remote and in-person testing options, and collaboration capabilities.

12. Mouseflow

Mouseflow Overview

Mouseflow is a usability testing tool that allows website owners and designers to track and analyze visitor behavior, providing valuable insights into how users interact with their site.

The cool thing about Mouseflow is that it provides heat maps, session replays, and funnels, and the tool integrates with a variety of popular website analytics platforms, including Google Analytics, Segment, and Hotjar.

Top Features

• Session recordings and heat maps to track user behavior
• Conversion funnel analysis to identify usability issues
• Unmoderated and moderated testing options
• Collaborative analysis and reporting features
• User feedback collection through surveys and form analytics

Pricing

Mouseflow offers both free and paid plans, starting at $24 per month. The free plan allows you to monitor up to 3 website pages with basic features, while the paid plans offer unlimited pages and additional features like funnel analysis and form analytics.

My Perspective

Mouseflow will provide a solid and deep understanding of website visitor behavior. The heat maps and session replays are especially useful, providing detailed information on how users interact with the site.

Additionally, the integration with popular analytics platforms makes it easy to get the data you need to improve your site’s user experience. Mouseflow is easy to use, and the customer support team is helpful and responsive.

13. Crazy Egg

Crazy Egg Overview

Crazyegg is a usability testing tool that helps businesses understand how users interact with their website. With its powerful heatmap and session recording features, it provides a visual representation of user behavior on a website, helping businesses to identify areas of improvement and optimize their user experience.

Top Features

• Heat maps to visually track clicks, taps, and mouse movements
• Scroll maps to show how far users are scrolling down a page
• Session recordings to see exactly how users interact with your website or mobile app
• Conversion funnel analysis to identify where users are dropping off
• User panel to collect qualitative and quantitative feedback from real users

Pricing

Crazy Egg offers a free plan with limited features, as well as an enterprise plan with more features and customization options. Prices start at $24 per month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. For more information, check out the pricing page.

My Perspective

I appreciate Crazy Egg’s simplicity and ease of use. The heatmap feature in particular is helpful in understanding user behavior and identifying areas of improvement on their websites. The session recording feature is also highly useful in gaining a deeper understanding of user behavior.

14. Trymata

Trymata Overview

Trymata is a usability testing tool that allows you to identify usability issues in your website or app with remote, unmoderated user testing. It provides both qualitative and quantitative feedback from real users and allows you to test prototypes, websites, and mobile apps first impressions, ease of use, and overall satisfaction.

Top Features

• Get qualitative and quantitative feedback from real users
• Test prototypes, websites, and mobile apps
• Unmoderated user testing with session recordings
• Collect user feedback with moderated and unmoderated studies
• Identify usability issues with impression testing, conversion funnel analysis, and heat maps

Pricing

Tryamata offers a free plan with limited features, as well as an enterprise plan with additional features and higher user limits. Check out the pricing options.

My Perspective

Trymata is best suited for product managers, user researchers, and UX designers looking for a simple and effective tool for conducting usability testing and getting fast results. I appreciate that compared to the rest Trymata is quite affordable. Would love it if Trymata had more advanced features such as A/B testing.

15. UserBrain

Userbrain Overview

Userbrain is a usability testing tool that provides qualitative feedback for website and mobile app prototypes. The tool provides video recordings of user sessions, enabling businesses to see how their users interact with their digital products.

Top Features

• Conduct moderated and unmoderated tests
• Receive qualitative and quantitative feedback from real users
• Test prototypes on smart devices and cross-browser testing
• View session recordings to identify usability issues
• Collaborative analysis with team members

Pricing

Userbrain offers a free plan with limited features and a paid enterprise plan with additional features. For more information on pricing options, visit the pricing section.

My Perspective

UserBrain is a simple and straightforward user testing tool, with a particular focus on qualitative feedback. The ability to see video recordings of user sessions provides valuable insight into how users interact with a website or mobile app.

What Are User Testing Tools?

User testing tools allow businesses to assess the usability and functionality of their products or websites. The best usability testing tools provide quick and efficient ways to gather insights and feedback from real users, enabling businesses to improve their offerings and create more enjoyable and user-friendly experiences.

Those of us working at startups know exactly how important it is to gather the right feedback quickly and for free. With a range of options available, no matter what company you are working in you can choose the best usability testing tool to fit your specific needs and budget.

Summary 

In conclusion, selecting the best user testing tool depends on the type of research you want to carry out and the size of your budget. Some of the top options for a website redesign on the market include UserTesting, Hotjar, Lookback, Loop11, and UserZoom.

Each usability testing tool offers unique features and approaches to user testing, making it important to carefully evaluate and compare the options before making a final decision. Ultimately, I’ve compiled the best usability testing tool for any type of research you are carrying out, and I hope this will help speed up your decision making process and reduce decision fatigue.

FAQ

Which User Testing tool is best?

In my perspective, HotJar is overall one of the best usability testing tools on the market in 2023.

Which is better Trymata (formerly known as TryMyUI) or UserTesting?

In my perspective, UserTesting is better, as it offers moderated and unmoderated usability testing as well as surveys and works best for carrying out user interviews.

Which tool is used for usability testing?

The best tool for moderated usability testing is UserZoom, the best tool for unmoderated usability testing is Lookback, and the best overall tool for usability testing is UserTesting.