6 best user interview tools for remote usability research

Choosing the right user interview tool means 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 chapter compares the best features (and not-so-good bits) of seven self-service user interview tools so you can find the right one for your next project.

1. Ethnio

2. User Interviews

3. Loop11

4. Lookback

5. Userfeel

6. Lyssna

6 best user interview tools, apps, and platforms

The below tools are all self-service user interview 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.

💡Pro tip: before deciding on which tool to use, it’s crucial to take stock of how your team operates and think strategically about how a new tool could fit into your current processes. If you’re experiencing a lack of focus or direction, browse through our guide on product management and feel confident about picking a tool that complements or streamlines your workflow.

1. Ethnio

Ethnio’s main user interview dashboard (Source: ethn.io)

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 $82 per seat/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

Inviting participants in the User Interviews dashboard (Source: userinterviews.com)

What it is: User Interviews is a user research recruiting platform for moderated and unmoderated research.

Price: from $49/session or $2,460/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

A remote user interview in Loop11 (Source: loop11.com)

What it is: Loop11 is a UX research and insights platform with moderated and unmoderated remote usability testing​ tools.

Price: from $199/month for 3 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

A user interview in Lookback with screen sharing and observer chat (Source: lookback.com)

What it is: Lookback is a qualitative user research platform for remote tests, including card sorting, tree testing, and 1:1 interviews.

Price: from $299/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

Adding notes to a moderated user interview in Userfeel (Source: userfeel.com)

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. Lyssna

Lyssna’s participant recruitment dashboard

What it is: Lyssna (formerly UsabilityHub) is a remote user research platform that offers unmoderated tests like card sorting, first click, and five-second testing, as well as a full-blown user interview tool.

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:

• No built-in call software

• No participant screen sharing, so you can’t watch users navigate your website during interviews

🏆 Use Lyssna for user interviews if: 

• 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

Understanding customers at scale has a lot of moving parts. Instead of manually sifting through support tickets, call recordings, and chat logs on your own, give an all-in-one solution like Contentsquare Conversation Intelligence a try. You'll save time (and mental energy) by having everything analyzed automatically in one dashboard and you'll be in the right place to view your results alongside insights from our other tools like Heatmaps, Session Replay, Surveys, and Journeys.

FAQs about user interview tools