Maze

Maze is a user and market research platform for teams that need to turn varied studies into product and business decisions. It is best suited to research and design teams working across multiple methods, with participant recruitment and AI tools in the same platform. Its breadth is appealing, but trial caps and custom pricing make it harder to evaluate or budget than a clearly priced service.

Overview

Maze combines qualitative and quantitative research, from prototype tests and surveys to moderated interviews, live website and mobile testing, card sorting, and tree testing. Teams can run moderated or unmoderated sessions and recruit participants, making it a strong fit when one team needs more than a survey tool or a single testing format.

Maze says its participant panel has over 6 million participants worldwide, and that more than 60,000 teams use the product. Its AI study builder, AI moderator, and AI-powered analysis and reporting broaden the workflow, though teams should note that AI-moderated studies are excluded from the trial.

Key features

• Multiple research methods: The mix of prototype tests, interviews, surveys, website and mobile testing, card sorting, and tree testing accommodates different questions without forcing teams into one study type.
• Recruitment and sessions: Participant recruitment, moderated sessions, and unmoderated studies give teams options for gathering feedback with or without a live facilitator. The worldwide panel is useful when a team wants a recruitment option within its research workflow.
• AI tools: An AI study builder and AI-powered analysis and reporting can support study creation and synthesis. The AI moderator adds another method, but cannot be assessed during the trial.
• Integrations: Figma, Atlassian, Slack, Amplitude, Google Calendar, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Notion connect Maze with common research and collaboration tools. Maze MCP connections for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Cursor also extend its connections to AI assistants and developer tools.
• Security and support: Maze states it is SOC 2 Type II certified and describes encrypted transmission, access controls, AWS data center security, GDPR compliance, SSO, and private workspaces. A Help Center and support requests are available; customer success is also a plan comparison category.

Pricing

Maze uses a freemium model, with a free plan and a 30-day free trial. The trial requires no credit card, but ends after 30 days or three studies, whichever comes first. Trial accounts can add up to five team members, and some features, including SSO and AI-moderated studies, are excluded. That is enough to explore a small study workflow, but not to evaluate the full feature set or a larger team.

• Free: free. It may suit a small team exploring the platform, but the unknown caps make it difficult to judge whether it can support regular research.
• Starter: Custom pricing; monthly billing or annual billing is available. Access and limits depend on the account. This paid option is for teams that need more than the free plan, but buyers will need plan details to compare its limits and cost.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing; contact sales for plan details. It is sales-managed and described as the most comprehensive plan, making it the tier to consider for broader organizational needs, though teams should confirm the specifics before committing.

Platforms

Maze is listed for Android, iOS, web, and API. Maze Participate is a participant-facing mobile app for testing native mobile apps, supporting iOS 16.5+ and Android 10+; this makes the mobile offering relevant to teams studying native app experiences, not simply a general-purpose Maze app for every workflow.

Who it's for

Maze is a good fit for product, design, and research teams that need several study methods, participant recruitment, and integrations with tools such as Figma, Slack, or Notion. It is less suited to buyers who need transparent paid-plan pricing up front, or who need to validate SSO or AI-moderated studies during a trial.

Pros and cons

• Pro: A broad set of qualitative and quantitative methods supports teams with varied research questions in one platform.
• Pro: Recruitment, a panel Maze says exceeds 6 million participants, and both moderated and unmoderated sessions offer flexibility in how teams gather feedback.
• Pro: Integrations span design, analytics, collaboration, and AI assistant tools, which can help research fit into existing workflows.
• Con: Trial access is capped at three studies and five team members, and excludes SSO and AI-moderated studies, limiting evaluation for larger teams or those features.

Alternatives

For teams focused on adjacent research and survey needs, these options offer different starting points:

• AI Market Research Software is a category to explore if AI market research is the priority.
• AI User Research Tools is a category to compare when AI-led user research is the focus.
• UX Research Software is a broader category for evaluating research platforms.
• Usability Testing Software is relevant when usability testing is the main requirement.
• GWI Audiences may suit teams seeking audience insights with a free plan that includes 10 Agent Spark prompts a month and unlimited GWI Canvas decks.
• Delve AI offers a free tier with one Audience Persona, one Website Persona from 3+ days of historical data, and 50 Digital Twin chat credits; consider it when those persona tools better match the task.
• NIQ is a paid alternative for teams comparing research and market tools across Android, iOS, web, API, and Windows.
• Qualtrics has a free surveys plan for one user, three active surveys, and 500 total responses, making it worth considering for an individual with modest survey needs.
• Dovetail has a free plan with one channel, one project, basic chat, and AI summaries; it is a relevant alternative for teams whose needs center on those capabilities.
• SurveyMonkey is another freemium survey option for readers comparing survey-focused tools.
• QuestionPro offers a free Essentials plan for one user, 200 responses per survey, and 30 question types; it may suit a single user with those needs.
• Voxpopme is a paid alternative with pricing by request.

Verdict

Choose Maze if your team needs one platform for varied research studies, participant recruitment, and AI-assisted analysis across existing tools. Its range of methods is the central reason to choose it; look elsewhere if you need clear public pricing or trial access to SSO and AI-moderated studies before making a decision.