The lightweight user research stack
Track competitors, interview users, run card sorts and tree tests, synthesize findings — and share results with stakeholders. One workspace for your entire research process.
No credit card required · Unlimited free studies · Setup in under 5 minutes
Results
Real teams. Real numbers.
“We redesigned our entire navigation based on CardSort data. Task completion jumped 47% in the first month.”
“I used to spend 2-3 weeks on IA research with Maze. Now I get better insights in 2 days. The Prolific integration alone saves me hours.”
“Our study completion rate went from 45% to 92%. The gamified experience genuinely gets better data — not a gimmick.”
Study Types
Your entire user research toolkit. One login.
Every study type you need.
Maze charges $99/month for card sorts alone. Lyssna locks tree testing behind a $75/month paywall. CardSort gives you every method in one place — starting free.
- Open & closed card sorts
- Tree tests to validate navigation
- Surveys for qualitative follow-up
- Discovery interviews with sentiment tracking
- Competitive SWOT analysis
- Built-in Prolific recruitment
Research Workspace
Not just studies. A full research project workspace.
Most tools give you a study runner and nothing else. CardSort gives you a project workspace — track competitors, capture interviews, run studies, synthesize findings, and publish stakeholder reports.
Competitive Analysis
Track competitors with AI-generated SWOT observations. Identify market gaps before running your first study.
Discovery Interviews
Log interview notes, track participant sentiment, and surface recurring themes automatically with AI.
Validation Studies
Card sorts, tree tests, and surveys — validated with real users via Prolific or your own audience in minutes.
Findings & Themes
Pin insights, pain points, opportunities, and risks across every phase. Group by theme, filter by type.
Stakeholder Reports
Publish a shareable, AI-narrated research report with one click. No login required for viewers.
AI Throughout
SWOT suggestions, interview theme detection, synthesis reports, and AI-powered insights.
Why Teams Switch
Maze is powerful. It's also overkill.
Most teams don't need a $200/month enterprise platform. They need to run research, get results, and ship. That's CardSort.
5-minute setup
Pick a study type, add your cards, publish. No 30-minute onboarding flows, no seat-based pricing negotiations.
$0/month
Unlimited studies, real-time analytics, dendrograms, similarity matrices, CSV export. The features Maze charges $99/month for.
Refreshingly simple
No seat limits, no feature gates, no sales calls. Sign up, create a study, share a link. Your participants don't need accounts either.
Comparison
More features. Less money. No compromises.
Go Further
Add AI to your research stack. $19/month.
The free plan covers the fundamentals. Pro adds AI-driven studies, automated analysis, and insights that would take your team days to produce manually.
Everything you need to get started
- Card sorts & surveys
- Research workspace (competitive, interviews, findings)
- Real-time results dashboard
- Built-in Prolific recruitment
- Unlimited studies
AI-powered research on autopilot
- Everything in Free
- Advanced analytics & dendrograms
- AI insights & stakeholder reports
- White labeling
- CSV export
- Remove CardSort branding
That's $0.63/day — less than a coffee. Cancel anytime.
Advanced Analytics
Similarity matrices, dendrograms, and detailed pattern analysis to uncover how users think about your content.
AI Insights
Get automated analysis of your results — pattern summaries, category recommendations, and actionable findings written for you.
Comparison Reports
Run multiple studies and let AI compare results across iterations. Track how your IA improves over time.
Instant Insights
Results update in real-time. No spreadsheet wrangling.
Dendrograms, similarity matrices, and automatic pattern detection — the analytics enterprise tools charge $200/month for. On Pro, at a fraction of the price.
- Real-time results as responses come in
- Automatic cluster detection
- Dendrograms & similarity matrices (Pro)
- CSV export for stakeholder reports (Pro)
Built-in Recruitment
Maze doesn't recruit participants. We do.
Most research tools stop at study creation and leave you to figure out recruitment. CardSort has Prolific built in — 200K+ verified participants, right from your dashboard. No separate account needed.
- Prolific integration — verified participants from ~$1.50
- 10 free recruitment credits on every account
- AI test responses to preview before you launch
- Share your link anywhere — email, Slack, social
How It Works
The full research cycle. One platform.
Plan
Set a research brief — define your objectives, questions, and target audience. Track competitors with AI-assisted SWOT analysis.
Discover
Capture user interviews, track sentiment, and let AI surface recurring themes across your participant pool.
Validate
Run card sorts, tree tests, and surveys with real users via Prolific or your own audience. Results update live.
Report
Synthesize findings by theme. Publish an AI-narrated stakeholder report with one click — shareable by URL, no login required.
Ditch the $99/month research tools
Competitive analysis, interviews, studies, findings, and stakeholder reports. The full user research workflow, free.
No credit card · No contracts · Cancel anytime
Free Guide: UX Research Methods Compared
Learn which research method to use when — card sorts vs. tree tests vs. surveys. Plus a decision framework for your next project.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
You don't need a $99/month tool.You need a research workflow.
Competitive analysis, discovery interviews, card sorts, tree tests, findings, and stakeholder reports. The full user research cycle — free.
No credit card · No contracts · Cancel anytime