Two usable free-tier starting points
Useberry documents ten monthly responses collected through your own share link. Its paid panel is a different recruitment route. The Free configuration also limits projects, versions and blocks; the current seat help permits additional Free seats up to twenty at no extra charge. A one-seat base description is therefore not the same as a hard one-person team limit. [S01] [S32] [S33]
Userbrain documents five own-user sessions and three test setups per month in Free, with one seat. A participant invited by you is not a participant the platform recruits and pays for you. [S09]
| Route | Suitable starting task | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Useberry Free | A bounded structured test within the share-link allowance | Unlimited projects or free participant recruitment |
| Userbrain Free | A small set of recordings with your own invited people | That every paid analysis feature is included |
| Lookback trial | Evaluate its recording/interview workflow during the stated trial | A permanent zero-cost production plan |
| Maze current pricing | Inspect the applicable package directly | Legacy free-plan or Starter-plan limits from older articles |
A trial is not a recurring free allowance
Lookback’s cited trial offers five sessions over sixty days and excludes exports. Its published paid plans use annual commitments. That can be a useful evaluation route, but it should not appear under “free forever.” [S12]
This edition does not assert a current numerical Maze free allowance. The captured public package page does not provide a complete basis for that claim. This is a completed editorial decision to omit an unsupported number, not a suggestion to fill it from an old comparison article. [S13]
Your own participants still create work
Inviting people yourself may remove a panel bill. It does not automatically remove recruiting effort, incentives, scheduling, test preparation or interpretation. Put those items in a separate budget even when the software line is zero. A study can be inexpensive in cash and costly in staff time.
For a share-link test, make the task understandable without private context. Use a demonstration account and synthetic data where an account is necessary. Do not ask participants to disclose passwords or perform a genuine purchase merely because a prototype resembles a live checkout.
Choose by the first useful output
For a specific prototype path or first click, start with the documented structured method. For a screen/audio account of someone attempting your task, start with the recording workflow. These are editorial routes, not rankings of participant quality. A free plan that collects the wrong evidence is not the cheapest solution to your actual question.
Use the tool picker with “permanent free only.” Its results depend on the chosen method and own-user count; it does not classify trials or undocumented limits as permanent free capacity. For incentives and other costs, use the budget calculator.