If you’ve come across this article, then you’ve probably heard of Lyssna (previous UsabilityHub) . But if you don’t know what it is, we’ll give you a quick overview. Lyssna is a remote user research platform established in Australia that, with the use of several research approaches, generates speedy customer experience feedback. Today we’ve compiled a list of the best Lyssna alternatives for you, evaluating their costs, benefits and drawbacks.
What is Lyssna (UsabilityHub)?
Lyssna is a remote user testing platform that offers a lot of unmoderated tests and features such as first-click testing, five-second testing, design surveys, preference testing, prototype testing, card sorting and user interviews.
Lyssna pros:
- Very good customer support
- Quite easy to use
Why people are looking for Lyssna alternatives:
- Lack of customizing options and predefined instructions are often insufficient
- The quality of the panel respondents is not reliable
- The European non-English panels are still quite smaller compared to the English-speaking countries
Lyssna pricing:
The Basic plan is $89/month and the Scale plan $199/month. An Enterprise plan with custom pricing is available upon request. Lyssna offers a free plan with limitations for lightweight research.
Here’s a quick comparison table of 11 best Lyssna alternatives, their user ratings*, and pricing:
Rating | Ease of Use | Quality of Support | Pricing | |
UXtweak | 4.7 | 5.0 | ✓ Free plan starts at $49/month billed annually | |
Userbrain | 4.6 | 4.6 | ✗ No free plan from €99 per month | |
UserTesting | 4.4 | 4.4 | ✗ No free plan Upon request, starting at $30,000/year | |
Lookback | 3.5 | 2.1 | ✗ No free plan Insights hub - $344/month Billed annually | |
UserZoom | 4.5 | 4.7 | ✗ No free plan Upon request, starting at $70,000/year | |
Loop 11 | on G2 | N/A | N/A | ✗ No free plan Rapid Insights - $179/month Billed annually |
Maze | 4.2 | 3.5 | ✓ Free plan Pro plan - $75/month Billed annually | |
Userlytics | 4.5 | 4.9 | ✗ No free plan Upon request | |
Userback | 4.7 | 4.8 | ✗ No free plan From $59/month, billed annually | |
Forsta | 4.3 | 4.7 | Upon request | |
Useberry | on G2 | N/A | N/A | ✓ Free plan Growth plan - $67/month Billed annually |
*the ratings from the table are solely based on the tool’s reviews from Capterra
Read further to see the comparison in detail, including the tool’s features, and their pros and cons.
Best Lyssna alternatives
For each tool, we evaluated:
- short tool description and Lyssna comparison
- advantages and disadvantages
- user reviews
- pricing and plans
1. UXtweak
UXtweak offers powerful usability testing tools for websites and web apps, from prototype to production, as well as information architecture research and user behavior analytics. This platform is one of the best usability hub alternatives as it combines everything you need and more into one great spot.
Features of UXtweak include Website and Mobile Testing, Session Recordings with click, move, and scroll heatmaps generated any time, Card Sorting with open, closed and hybrid options, Tree Testing, 5 Second Test, First Click Test, Preference Test, Prototype Testing and Surveys.
Advantages of UXtweak:
- Moderated Testing
- Tree Testing
- Online Card Sort Tool (open, closed and hybrid)
- Prototype Testing (Invision, Figma, Axure)
- 155M+ User Panel to recruit participants from, with 2000+ profiling attributes
- Advanced analytics that are easy to understand – UXtweak offers a variety of data visualizations that will present you with a wealth of information about your users’ activity. Furthermore, you may select your responders, making the analysis of the findings much easier
- Many unique features – such as a Recruiting widget that converts real site visitors into website testers (facilitates testing with your real users), a built-in reward feature that motivates respondents, a Think-aloud protocol that collects audio feedback using their microphones
- Own Database – a CRM-like feature for managing a panel of your own testers and automatic invites
- Intuitive UI – even for a total novice, it’s simple and easy to use
Try selected UXtweak tools in these demos 👀👇
Disadvantages of UXtweak:
- Supports only 14 languages
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.8/5
Ease of Use – 4.7/5
Customer Service – 5/5
Pricing comparison:
UXtweak and Lyssna are on a similar price wave. Both offer a free starter plan, whereas Lyssna only offers tests up to two minutes long while Uxtweak offers an unlimited number of live studies, with no study length limits, and it is great for small-scale projects.
With UXtweak, you may also pick a Plus plan for only $49/month, a Business plan for $144/month per month (all billed annually), or create a custom plan to fit your needs.
According to these figures, UXtweak is one of the most cost-effective usability testing tools available, making it an excellent Lyssna alternative.
2. UserTesting.com
UserTesting was one of the earliest unmoderated user research tools. It’s a rather good platform for anyone looking for Lyssna alternatives, however, the pricing is not within the available range for everyone. It has over 1.5 million members on its panel and customers may get an extremely quick response on their studies. UserTesting is a highly comprehensive platform with a lot of options for running and analyzing their user tests that can provide valuable insights.
Advantages of UserTesting:
- A big pool of responders assures you can always recruit within your target audience
- Instant insights – because of the large number of responses, you obtain all of the information in the shortest amount of time
- Advanced targeting – one of the features that users like the most is that the large participant pool helps them to more precisely target their ideal clients for research
Disadvantages of UserTesting:
- Very small non-English-speaking tester base
- Reports with flaws – some customers complain that UserTesting results are difficult to read and evaluate, making it difficult to rapidly summarize data
- The platform’s largest and most visible flaw is a large number of useless replies. While UserTesting has a big pool of testers, it appears that a significant portion of them are not competent to participate in meaningful research. Some responders are impatient, cheat, or just look inert, all of which detracts from the overall picture of the testing process
- No free trial – UserTesting does not provide a free trial to see if it is right for you
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.5/5
Ease of Use – 4.4/5
Customer Service – 4.4/5
Pricing comparison:
UserTesting’s pricing is available upon request. It starts at around $30,000 / year.
3. Lookback.io
Lookback.io is another good online user research tool for doing moderated and unmoderated user tests. This application is an excellent alternative to UserTesting, especially if you already have a pool of user test participants and want a lot of capabilities to customize your user testing workflow.
Advantages of Lookback.io:
- Live broadcasts – Lookback offers a feature that allows you to broadcast and discuss your studies with colleagues in real-time
- Allows several individuals to see your study and even take notes
- Unlimited number of participants
Disadvantages of Lookback.io:
- You must recruit your own testers
- No free version
- Connection dips – because Lookback offers live testing with participants, connection drops may occur throughout a session
- Issues with the mobile version and testing on iOS
Reviews and ratings:
Overall score – 3.3/5
Ease of Use – 3.5/5
Customer Service – 2.1/5
Pricing plans:
Lookback does not have a free plan, however, it does offer a 14-day free trial. They have a freelance plan for $25 per month which however allows only 10 sessions a year. The team plan is $149 per month, with a maximum of 100 sessions per year. The monthly cost of their professional “Insights Hub” subscription is $344.
4. Userlytics
Userlytics is another great Lyssna alternative. They are well-known for their extensive feature set and cost-effective pricing plan. An excellent platform to keep in mind, especially if the tool’s visual features aren’t important to you, as its UI is fairly outdated. Despite this they provide actionable insights and data to back your design decisions.
Advantages of Userlytics:
- You can acquire AI-generated transcriptions of your audio recordings, which are automated and multilingual
- Userlytics provides tools for card sorting and tree testing
- Worldwide participant panel – their responder pool is large, and they offer deep targeting, allowing you to contact a variety of user personas from all over the world
- Delivers detailed reporting on quantitative indicators including time on task, SUS, NPS, and SUPR-Q
Disadvantages of Userlytics:
- Several clients complained about audio difficulties during testing and that the procedure was a touch too sluggish
- Outdated user interface – their user interface is archaic and not very intuitive, and it might be improved
- There are no PDF reports available
- Userlytics doesn’t give a lot of information about the participants’ demographics, meaning you have weaker targeting options
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.6/5
Ease of Use – 4.5/5
Customer Service – 4.9/5
Pricing comparison:
Userlytics don’t disclose their pricing online, you have to contact them to get a quote.
5. Userbrain
Userbrain is noted for its unusual pricing options – you can pay a flat fee for every participant you test with, forgoing the subscription fee. A good alternative to Lyssna if you’re looking for a no-strings-attached program. They’re new to the market, but they’re suitable for running basic unmoderated prototype tests and uncovering common user experience issues.
Advantages of Userbrain:
- UserBrain has a pay-as-you-go option that allows you to pay for a single test without having to commit to a monthly membership
- Quick results – you’ll get your answers in a matter of hours
- You may invite as many people to your team as you like to Userbrain and give roles to them
Disadvantages of Userbrain:
- Limited demographics – the demographics area of UserBrain may be expanded to offer more information on your testers. It’s also worth mentioning that you won’t be able to select testers from particular cities or regions
- Basic analytics – this platform just shows you the results of a few basic tests. If you’re looking for detailed insights about your users’ activity, they might not be the ideal alternative
- Customer service – several customers have complained that customer support is sluggish and unresponsive
- Userbrain doesn’t offer 5-second Test or First-Click Tests
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.3/5
Ease of Use – 4.6/5
Customer Service – 4.6/5
Pricing comparison:
The Starter plan is €99 per month and the most popular Pro plan is €299 per month. You may choose the Enterprise plan for €799 per month. The pay-as-you-go option is $39 per participant
6. Loop11
Loop11 is a web-based usability testing application that provides a variety of UX research options, that’s why it’s another one of Lyssna alternatives. It has both moderated and unmoderated tests, as well as benchmarking, A/B testing, and other tools to help you assess your users.
Advantages of Loop11:
- Record audio and video
- Seeing and hearing your participants take the exam aids in a more complete analysis of the feedback
- AccessWorks database for all accessibility testing needs, reducing the time that would otherwise be spent recruiting volunteers for face-to-face testing
Disadvantages of Loop11:
- Loop11 does not provide a pool of participants, therefore you’ll have to issue invites to your own users to receive results for your study
- After a test has been initiated, no changes can be made – You can’t alter a test after posting it; you can only delete it
- No free version
- Slow loading time
- No screening, only in the ProPlan for $239
Reviews & ratings
Overall rating – 4.5/5 on G2.
Pricing plans:
In comparison to some other prominent platforms on the market, Loop 11 price is rather costly. Although they provide a 14-day free trial, you will have to pay for any future tests. The Rapid Insights plan costs $199 per month, which is a lot given it only allows for three tests every month with a limit of ten participants in each. The pro plan is $399 / month and an Enterprise plan is $599.
7. Maze
Maze is a web-based remote usability testing platform. Maze is a great alternative to Lyssna thanks to its seamless integration with Adobe XD, Figma, InVision, and more, making it very easy to test your websites. Sharing is easy too, with URL-based studies.
Advantages of Maze:
- Capture video and screen recording with excerpts for better sharing among fellow researchers
- Easy collaboration with colleagues
- Wireframe and Usability testing
- Concept and Idea Validation
- Content & Copy testing
- UX panels
- 1 free project to try Maze
Disadvantages:
- Maze is more expensive compared to Lyssna
- The free version is very limited
- Basic analytics for your studies
- The surveying capabilities of Maze are limited
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.0/5
Ease of Use – 4.2/5
Customer Service – 3.5/5
Pricing plans:
Both offer free plans, however, Maze’s free plan is more limited than the Lyssna one. Lyssna offers 4 paid plans to choose from. Maze offers only 3. Both offer an Enterprise plan tailored to your testing needs. The most basic Maze Starter plan is $99 / month and a Team plan with 5 seats is $1,250 / month.
8. UserZoom
UserZoom is a comprehensive platform packed full of features for solo researchers and whole teams of UX researchers alike. According to their profile on g2.com, they “ streamline the research process so you can produce high-quality research, fast, consistently, and at scale—at every stage in the product development lifecycle.”
Advantages of UserZoom:
- Comprehensive platform with lots of tools for moderated and unmoderated research
- Usable at every stage of development, and launch
- Video and audio recordings of user interactions with your product.
Biggest downsides:
- Price is a big drawback – the intended audience is big companies
- UI can be a bit outdated at times
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.4/5
Ease of Use – 4.5/5
Customer Service – 4.7/5
Pricing:
UserZoom comes in two packages – UserZoom & UserZoom GO, but their pricing is not known, you have to contact them for a quote and a custom plan. The pricing for UserZoom starts at around $70,000/year.
9. Useberry
Useberry, a user experience online tool with Greek roots, offers a variety of remote testing solutions that can support your online commercial activities. Screen activity tracking, heatmaps, user journey mapping, unmoderated testing, and prototyping are some of Useberry’s capabilities.
Advantages of Useberry:
- Integrated user panel for your testing needs
- Multiple user testing methods to choose from
- Easy URL study sharing
- Has a free plan offer
Disadvantages:
- Users state that Useberry is in some instances too expensive
- Some problems with Figma integration may occur
User reviews:
Overall rating – 4.5/5 on G2.
Pricing comparison:
Useberry offers a Free plan, Growth plan for $67 / month. You can also contact Useberry directly for an Enterprise plan that is built according to your needs.
10. Userback
Userback is a platform all about getting user feedback through visual cues, acceptance testing, and bug finding. You can test every part of a website and as a bonus, this app has many options for integration with multiple tools, ranging from WordPress to Jira.
Advantages of Userback:
- Many integration opportunities
- Reliable bug tracking, with replicating
- Web testing, and acceptance testing among other popular tools
- Commenting straight onto a website
- Highlighting problems straight on websites
- JavaScript, or Chrome Extension set-up
Disadvantages:
- The steep learning curve at the start
- Only a handful of videos that explain the process of using Userback
- Only one language is supported – English
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.8/5
Ease of Use – 4.7/5
Customer Service – 4.8/5
Price comparison:
Userback starts at $59 / month, with basic features, and continues through $119 to $217 / month. You can try Userback for 14-days as a free trial option, then continue paying the desired amount.
11. Forsta
Forsta is a CX and analytic research platform that was started in 2021 by a merger of 3 different companies – Confirmit, FocusVision, and Dapresy.
Forsta is heavily focused on CX, and analytics, so if you are looking only for a software solution to your UX with different types of website usability testing, this platform doesn’t precisely cover that topic. Nonetheless, it’s a sophisticated platform invaluable to digital marketers and might be just what your product team needs.
Advantages of Forsta:
- Exceptional online surveys tool
- Versatile platform
- An admirable portfolio with market leaders using their software
- Deep analytics
Disadvantages:
- No UX-based tools besides session replay
- Steep learning curve
Reviews and ratings:
According to Capterra:
Overall score – 4.5/5
Ease of Use – 4.3/5
Customer Service – 4.7/5
Pricing comparison:
Forsta doesn’t provide data for pricing, you’ll have to contact them directly for a quote
Conclusion
With so many options on the market, it is difficult to find the right UX platform. Our initial choice may not always meet our high expectations, which is why having alternatives is important.
Don’t wait around, run your first test with UXtweak today! Change the way users perceive your website for the best. Let your customers decide what works best for them!
Editor’s note: this post was originally published on November 9, 2021 and was updated on October 10 2023, to stay relevant and comprehensive.
