Learn / Guides / User interviews guide
7 best user interview tools for remote usability research
Choosing the right user interview tool will mean fewer hours spent on time-consuming admin like finding participants, scheduling calls, and sifting through notes—and more time putting valuable user insights into action. You know, that part you actually need your brain for!
This guide compares the best features (and not-so-good bits) of seven self-service user interview tools (including our own, Hotjar Engage 👋) so you can find the right one for your next project.
Run remote user interviews with Hotjar
Reach your target users, save admin time, and combine insights all in one place.
Top user interview tools compared
Use the table below to quickly compare popular user interview tools based on their main features, and pick the right one to streamline your workflow.
7 best user interview tools, apps, and platforms
The below tools are all self-service usability testing and UX research tools with dedicated interview features to help you find answers to your most burning research questions. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution: pick software that suits your team’s goals, whether that’s increasing empathy for your users, deciding which product features to prioritize, or validating assumptions.
1. Hotjar
What it is: Hotjar Engage, formerly known as PingPong, is an online user interview tool for recruiting, scheduling, running, and analyzing moderated remote user research sessions. Here’s how it works in 83 seconds:
Price: from $0/month for five interviews
Key features:
Recruit your own users or choose from Hotjar’s pool of 200,000+ participants
Schedule calls and send out calendar invites
Manage and pay incentives
Use the built-in call software or integrate with your Zoom account
Run interviews without testers needing software or browser extensions to participate
Invite observers to your interview calls
Automate interview recording
Automate transcripts in 20 languages
Add notes and create and share highlights with your team to improve cross-functional collaboration
The not-so-good bits:
You can’t run unmoderated research tasks in Hotjar Engage, but you can create concept tests in Hotjar Surveys
You’ll need to integrate with Zoom to run remote mobile user tests (Plus plan or higher, from $350/month)
🏆 Use Hotjar for user interviews if:
You want an all-in-one user interview tool to recruit, schedule, run, and analyze moderated user interviews
You want to start with a free plan and scale up as you grow
You want to combine user interviews with Hotjar’s other UX tools like Heatmaps, Recordings, Surveys, and Funnels
2. Ethnio
What it is: Ethnio is a UX research recruiting platform.
Price: from $79/month for five screeners
Key features:
Use screener templates to find your own research participants
Target screeners by device, browser, or location
Integrate with Zoom, Google Calendar, and Outlook to schedule and run interviews
Manage and send cash and gift card incentives worldwide
The not-so-good bits:
You’ll need to be on the Pro or higher plan (from $349/month) to send incentives to more than one country
Ethnio only helps you find users and schedule interviews; you’ll need to use other tools to run the call, take notes, and analyze results
🏆 Use Ethnio for user interviews if:
You need a dedicated tool to recruit and manage your own participants
3. User Interviews
What it is: User Interviews is a user research recruiting platform for moderated and unmoderated research.
Price: from $45/session or $2100/year for 60 sessions
Key features:
Source participants from a pool of more than three million users in seven countries
Use advanced targeting to find users by segment or attribute
Manage incentive payments and set rates yourself
Sync your calendar and automatically schedule sessions
The not-so-good bits:
You can’t recruit your own users without adding an integration (e.g. with Loop11; charges apply)
Not many features beyond recruiting—you’re on your own with running the interview and analyzing key insights
🏆 Use User Interviews if:
You want to quickly screen users from a huge testing pool
You need to use precise targeting to find a very niche audience
You want to combine moderated and unmoderated user interviews with focus groups
You want the option of pay-as-you-go pricing
4. Loop11
What it is: Loop11 is a UX research and insights platform with moderated and unmoderated remote usability testing tools.
Price: from $199/month for three projects
Key features:
Recruit your own participants using pop-up invitations or email links
Run tests on any device using the browser extension or app
Invite observers to interviews
Create highlight clips and time-stamped notes
Generate AI summaries from automated interview transcripts
The not-so-good bits:
You can only recruit your own participants. If you want to use a testing panel, you’ll need to contact Loop11 for more information or integrate another tool like User Interviews or TestingTime (charges apply).
Additional features like heatmaps and video downloads are only available on Pro or higher plans (from $399/month)
🏆 Use Loop11 for user interviews if:
You want to combine user interviews with other UX testing tools, like information architecture and prototype testing
You want to recruit your own test participants
You want a quick way to summarize interview highlights
5. Lookback
What it is: Lookback is a qualitative user research platform for remote tests, including card sorting, tree testing, and 1:1 interviews.
Price: from $300/year for 10 sessions
Key features:
Recruit your own participants using an email template
Run moderated or unmoderated user interviews on any device
Invite observers to sessions
Generate automatic transcriptions
Create shareable highlights and time-stamped notes
Get support from very detailed help docs and tutorials
The not-so-good bits:
No monthly pricing plans
No participant pool and limited help recruiting your own participants
Participants need to add a browser extension to share their screens
🏆 Use Lookback for user interviews if:
You want a tool to regularly run and analyze interviews with your team
You want to combine interviews with other usability tests like remote ethnography
You want to use a self-service tool with detailed help docs
6. Userfeel
What it is: Userfeel is a pay-as-you-go user testing tool for running moderated and unmoderated user interviews remotely.
Price: from $30/60-min unmoderated session; $60/60-min moderated interview
Key features:
Recruit your own users or screen from 850,000+ participants in 40+ countries
Run moderated and unmoderated sessions
Schedule moderated interviews
Create interview highlight videos and notes
Automate transcriptions
The not-so-good bits:
All testers must download Userfeel’s app to participate, which could be a barrier if you’re trying to recruit your own users
There’s no built-in way to share video highlights with your team—you’ll need to download or send them to YouTube as a workaround
You can’t provide incentives to users you recruit yourself
🏆 Use Userfeel for user interviews if:
You need to pay per interview instead of committing to a monthly or annual subscription
You want to run unmoderated and moderated user interviews
You need access to a large pool of global testers
7. UsabilityHub
What it is: UsabilityHub is a remote user research platform focusing on unmoderated tests like card sorting, first click, and five-second testing. A beta interview tool was added in July 2023.
Price: from $0/month for three seats
Key features:
Create survey screeners to find qualified participants
Schedule interviews using Google Calendar
Run moderated remote interviews using Zoom
Manage incentive payments
The not-so-good bits:
The interview feature is only included in the free plan while in beta (subject to change)
No built-in call software
No participant screen sharing, so you can’t watch users navigate your website during interviews
No analysis tools like video highlights or transcription
🏆 Use UsabilityHub for user interviews if:
You’re looking to test a new beta tool for free
You want to combine interviews with unmoderated tests like prototype and preference tests
Pick a tool to save time; spend it making better user experiences
User interview projects have a lot of moving parts. Instead of trying to recruit, schedule, run, and analyze interviews on your own, give an all-in-one interview tool like Hotjar Engage a try. You’ll save time (and mental energy) by having everything in one dashboard—plus, you’ll be in the right place to view your results alongside insights from our other tools like Heatmaps, Recordings, Surveys, and Funnels.
Run remote user interviews with Hotjar
Reach your target users, save admin time, and combine insights all in one place.
