Google Optimize vs. UserTesting

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Optimize
Score 6.7 out of 10
N/A
Google offers the Optimize A/B testing tool for testing website content and versions.N/A
UserTesting
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
UserTesting helps UX researchers, designers, product teams, and marketers gather actionable insights through research, testing, and feedback. With a network of real people ready to share their perspectives, UserTesting enables organizations to make customer-first decisions at scale.N/A
Pricing
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Editions & Modules
Google Optimize
Free
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Features
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Testing and Experimentation
Comparison of Testing and Experimentation features of Product A and Product B
Google Optimize
4.9
8 Ratings
52% below category average
UserTesting
-
Ratings
a/b experiment testing4.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Split URL testing2.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Multivariate testing4.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-page/funnel testing1.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Cross-browser testing6.44 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app testing2.72 Ratings00 Ratings
Test significance1.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Visual / WYSIWYG editor3.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced code editor2.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Page surveys5.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Visitor recordings10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Preview mode3.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Test duration calculator9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Experiment scheduler7.05 Ratings00 Ratings
Experiment workflow and approval8.93 Ratings00 Ratings
Dynamic experiment activation6.92 Ratings00 Ratings
Client-side tests7.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Server-side tests2.62 Ratings00 Ratings
Mutually exclusive tests8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Audience Segmentation & Targeting
Comparison of Audience Segmentation & Targeting features of Product A and Product B
Google Optimize
7.0
8 Ratings
22% below category average
UserTesting
-
Ratings
Standard visitor segmentation6.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Behavioral visitor segmentation7.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Traffic allocation control8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Website personalization7.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Results and Analysis
Comparison of Results and Analysis features of Product A and Product B
Google Optimize
8.2
8 Ratings
5% below category average
UserTesting
-
Ratings
Heatmap tool2.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Click analytics9.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Scroll maps9.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Form fill analysis8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Conversion tracking9.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Goal tracking8.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Test reporting7.06 Ratings00 Ratings
Results segmentation10.04 Ratings00 Ratings
CSV export9.93 Ratings00 Ratings
Experiments results dashboard9.97 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Small Businesses
Convert Experiences
Convert Experiences
Score 9.9 out of 10
Smartlook
Smartlook
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Dynamic Yield
Dynamic Yield
Score 9.0 out of 10
Optimal
Optimal
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Dynamic Yield
Dynamic Yield
Score 9.0 out of 10
Optimal
Optimal
Score 9.1 out of 10
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User Ratings
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Likelihood to Recommend
5.0
(10 ratings)
7.6
(189 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
7.5
(8 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(167 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.7
(4 ratings)
6.6
(166 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
4.6
(4 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google OptimizeUserTesting
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
It is a little too limited for a full stack experimentation programme. Many times we required development support or tech advise but we were simply unable to get this due to it being google. This was a big problem for us. However it is quite good if you were looking to get started in experimentation and didn’t have the budgets for a wider tool
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UserTesting
UserTesting has been great for moderated customer interviews/usability testing as well as for unmoderated testing of messaging, imagery, prototypes and live experiences. I would say that the scope of what you want needs to be limited, as the participants are only paid so much and tests are supposed to not exceed a certain amount of time. For customer interviews, I think it can be difficult to onboard customers to UserTesting if they have never used it before. If I set up interviews, I don't even have them use the UserTesting scheduling tool, I actually set up all the interviews with the customers myself through the tool (being mindful of time zones!). When we run the meeting, they really don't even know UserTesting is involved. Might be nice for UserTesting to allow the upload/connecting to of a Zoom interview and let it do the transcription/analysis from there.
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Pros
Google
  • Easy to follow set up procedures. Once I walk a client through the process, it's effortless for them to emulate on subsequent tests.
  • Lots of geo and user attribute customization features to be able to drill down into specific targeted audiences — all based on the power of Google's immense data system.
  • Google Optimize is the logical choice for many people to start with since most are already familiar with and using GA.
Read full review
UserTesting
  • Product Manager who follows up on your UserTesting usage and gives advice/support when you need it.
  • UserTesting University is a great platform to learn how to use UT and general information about research.
  • UserTesting can find participants quickly, so you won't need to wait long before you can start the analysis.
Read full review
Cons
Google
  • Only works for browsers, not for the apps testing.
  • Missing possibility to test complicated features.
  • Audience division in groups is not always accurate.
Read full review
UserTesting
  • Sometimes there are restrictions around types of research that can be used for moderated user-testing with our own users.
  • For tests on relatively small areas of a website or app, the AI analysis seems rather overblown, like it's trying too hard to come up with something insightful when the test is actually about something quite small (e.g. structure of a mobile app menu).
  • It's difficult to invite our own users to unmoderated user-testing because they wouldn't know how the UserTesting interface works - this is particularly an issue for mobile research.
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Likelihood to Renew
Google
No answers on this topic
UserTesting
I'm very happy with my experience of the product and the level of service and learning resources they provide. If the service becomes more expensive than it currently is then we might not be able to justify additional cost - but this is theoretical. I would recommend UserTesting and would ideally renew our contract.
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Usability
Google
Google has always been known to make easy-to-use products. The Google Optimize interface is intuitive and easy to follow for anyone.
Read full review
UserTesting
It's very good, I have used other tools in the past and this is by far the most intuitive and user friendly. Testament to this is the ease with which other non researchers who have been onboarded to the tool with our additional seat have found it easy to use
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Reliability and Availability
Google
No answers on this topic
UserTesting
Never encountered any problems
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Performance
Google
No answers on this topic
UserTesting
Perfectly fine. Never had any problems.
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Support Rating
Google
Google has well-documented resources and unlimited use cases that can be found online. Plus, their support is always helpful and available.
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UserTesting
I have contacted UserTesting's customer service online, by email, or by phone a few times, and each time, I have encountered the same professionalism and expertise. Even in person during a work event, they were there, and it was the same experience.
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Implementation Rating
Google
No answers on this topic
UserTesting
From a technical perspective, the implementation was extremely smooth. Most of the change management / implementation hurdles were clearing use of the tool through our various security, legal, and information privacy teams. Once these concerns were addressed (UserTesting.com was very helpful in providing all the needed documentation), the implementation process was very simple and we were able to get going right away.
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Alternatives Considered
Google
Google Optimize being part of the Google stack makes it great in reporting and analysis. Wish Google would add more features like dynamic tests, multi funnel tests, conversion calculator based on the total number of traffic of the page being tested instead of using the websites total traffic. Should integrate form analysis, heatmap, and page analytics.
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UserTesting
The quality of the participants: they usually have good feedback and act like "professional" users. Which is good when we want a few insights in a short amount of time. Also, the interface is good. I miss having more features, like a good transcription tool like we have in Condens
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Scalability
Google
No answers on this topic
UserTesting
The package we have limits the number of people who can set up tests. This prevents us from scaling the use of the platform.
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Return on Investment
Google
  • We were able to increase our main KPI for conversions by almost 50% by testing button copy.
  • We were able to increase secondary KPIs for conversions by almost 30% by testing form design.
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UserTesting
  • Content is key to the sign up journey and UserTesting helps me improve that.
  • UserTesting has helped me improve the Cashier on our site, making it easier for users to deposit money.
  • UserTesting is helping me iterate all our content decisions, helping us improve the UX across all platforms.
Read full review
ScreenShots

UserTesting Screenshots

Screenshot of UserTesting's several solutions for gathering rich customer experience narratives.Screenshot of Interactive Path Flows
Built on recent research in data mining, the Interactive Path Flow aggregates interaction data across multiple participant sessions to visualize the customer journey, surface unexpected behaviors, and locate key moments in the customer journey.Screenshot of Keyword Mapping
Similar keywords are automatically grouped based on overall sentiment (positive, negative, or neutral) to identify themes. Highlight reels associated with each keyword are grouped together, to discover the why behind each sentiment.Screenshot of Video capture and live streaming
Digital and real-world customer experiences are recorded on desktop and mobile devices or live streamed for in-platform viewing.Screenshot of Audience targeting
Audiences are specified by screening contributors from UserTesting’s global network of contributors or connecting to any preferred network.