Quirkos
Quirkos is qualitative analysis software for exploring and interpreting text data.
What Quirkos is
Quirkos is qualitative analysis software for exploring and interpreting text data. It imports Word documents, plain text, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and text copied from websites or other programs. As users code material, the software displays codes visually and supports groups, hierarchies, color coding, overlap views, and word clouds. Query View offers text searches, filters based on data criteria, and side-by-side comparisons of data groups. Quirkos Cloud provides live synchronization, editing, and chat, with unlimited collaborators and collaborations at no extra fee. Projects can be exported to Excel for analysis in SPSS or R, or in REFI-QDA format for other qualitative programs. Quirkos Transcribe converts audio and video into transcripts, accepts files up to 2 GB, and includes 100 free minutes for Cloud users. It runs in the web app; its five best-supported selectable languages are English, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Good
- Imports Word, PDF, Excel, and plain-text material.
- Visual coding includes hierarchies, color, overlaps, and word clouds.
- Cloud supports unlimited collaborators at no extra fee.
- Exports to Excel and REFI-QDA formats.
- Offline licence supports local projects without internet access.
Watch out
- No free plan; a 14-day trial is listed.
- Transcribe works only in the web app.
- Five best-supported selectable transcription languages are listed.
- Transcribe requires Quirkos Cloud for its separate plan.
Who it suits
Quirkos suits researchers working with qualitative text across disciplines, especially those who need visual coding, group comparisons, or collaboration. Its offline licence may suit users who need local projects without registration or internet access.
Verdict
Quirkos combines qualitative coding, queries, collaboration, and export options, with both cloud and offline licensing. Check the plan details against your transcription and deployment needs before choosing.
Plans and prices
From Quirkos's own pricing page, checked 29 Sep 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Quirkos Cloud — Student | $5 a month | unlimited cloud storage · live collaboration and project sharing · 100 free transcription minutes · paid annually |
| Quirkos Cloud | $8 a month | unlimited cloud storage · live collaboration and project sharing · access to Quirkos Web and Quirkos 2 · paid quarterly |
| Quirkos Cloud — Academic and Nonprofit | $13 a month | unlimited cloud storage · live collaboration and project sharing · 100 free transcription minutes · paid annually |
| Quirkos Transcribe | $15 a month | up to 50 hours of audio per month · requires Quirkos Cloud · paid quarterly |
| Quirkos Cloud — Public Sector | $17 a month | unlimited cloud storage · live collaboration and project sharing · 100 free transcription minutes · paid annually |
| Quirkos Cloud — Commercial | $23 a month | unlimited cloud storage · live collaboration and project sharing · 100 free transcription minutes · paid annually |
| Offline Licence — 1 computer | $69, paid once | Quirkos 3 · offline local projects · no registration or internet access required · lifetime |
| Offline Licence — 2 computers | $110, paid once | Quirkos 3 · offline local projects · no registration or internet access required · lifetime |
The facts
Each one read from Quirkos's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Audience and history
- Quirkos says it serves researchers across disciplines and was founded in 2013 before launching in October 2014.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Collaboration
- Quirkos Cloud supports live synchronization, editing, chat, and an unlimited number of collaborators and collaborations at no extra fee.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Exports and interoperability
- Users can export project data to Excel for analysis in SPSS or R and export in REFI-QDA format for use in other qualitative programs.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Import formats
- It imports Word documents, plain text, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, and text pasted from websites or other programs.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Privacy
- The privacy policy says offline mode sends no project or usage data, while Cloud stores account details and project data on its servers and uses regional hosting where possible.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- Quirkos is qualitative analysis software designed to help users explore and understand qualitative text data.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Queries
- Query View supports text searches, filters by data criteria, and side-by-side comparisons of data groups.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Security
- Quirkos says Transcribe encrypts audio before upload and does not share or process its transcription data with third parties or make it accessible to staff.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Support
- Quirkos offers email and phone support, and says its support team has experience in technical support and qualitative analysis.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Transcription
- Quirkos Transcribe converts audio and video into transcripts, includes 100 free minutes for Cloud users, and supports files up to 2 GB.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Transcription limitation
- Transcribe works in the Quirkos Web browser app, and its five best-supported selectable languages are English, Italian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.checked 29 Sep 2026
- Visual analysis
- The software visualizes codes as users work and supports code groups, hierarchies, color coding, overlap views, and word clouds.checked 29 Sep 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2013checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Edinburgh, Scotland, UKchecked 28 Sep 2026
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