Optimal Workshop vs Userlytics

From $199 per month (billed annually, includes 5 launched studies)

From $30 per session (volume/annual rates; platform access from $699/month)

Annual plans reduce the effective monthly rate substantially; recruitment is separate.

Two shapes. Buy sessions project-by-project with no subscription (5-session minimum), or take a self-recruitment subscription — Premium $699/month for 5 seats and 50 participants, Advanced from $999/month for 10 seats and unlimited self-recruited participants. Panel sessions go as low as $30 on the Enterprise plan. The per-session option suits intermittent research; the subscriptions only pay off with steady volume.

Free plan with limited participants per study.

Free trial with a small number of sessions.

Established

Optimal Workshop · since 2008

Established

Userlytics · since 2009

• The reference tool for card sorting and tree testing; the analysis visualisations are excellent.
• Tree testing validates navigation before any build effort is spent.
• Well-established methodology support and training material.

• Pay-as-you-go avoids an annual commitment for occasional studies.
• Both moderated and unmoderated in one platform.
• Genuinely international panel including many non-English markets.

• Narrow scope — it does not do usability testing of interfaces.
• Expensive per seat for occasional use.
• Interface is dated in places.

• Interface is less polished than the market leaders.
• Analysis tooling is basic compared to UserTesting.
• Panel quality varies by market.

Teams restructuring navigation, taxonomy or content on a large site.

Teams that research a few times a quarter and cannot justify an annual platform contract.