Compare Dovetail and Lookback on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Surveys tools, Freemium vs Subscription pricing to decide which fits your…
At a Glance
Dovetail
Lookback
Primary category
Surveys
Surveys
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
Subscription
Starting price
Free
$299/year
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Yes
Platforms
Web
Web, iOS, Android
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Yes
Yes
Public API
Yes
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Dovetail
Free — $0/month N/A
Professional — ~$29-$39/user/month (billed annually, per third-party trackers) Annual
Enterprise — Custom (invoiced) Custom
Lookback
Freelance — $299/year Annual
Team — $1,782/year Annual
Insights Hub — $4,122/year Annual
Enterprise — Custom (contact sales) Annual
Pros & Cons
Dovetail
Pros
Strong AI-assisted synthesis reduces manual coding of qualitative data
Automated channels keep the repository updated without manual uploads
Free plan lets small teams or individuals try the product with no card required
Enterprise-grade security options support regulated industries like healthcare
Cons
Per-seat pricing can get expensive as more stakeholders need access
Free plan is limited to a single project and a single ingestion channel
Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, requiring a sales conversation
Usage-based add-ons like extra Channels add further cost on top of seat fees
Lookback
Pros
Captures face and voice reactions alongside screen behavior, not just screen recordings
Supports both live moderated and asynchronous unmoderated research in one platform
Session-based annual pricing lets independent researchers access the tool for a relatively low entry cost
Guest access broadens research visibility to non-researcher stakeholders
Built-in participant recruitment panel simplifies sourcing research subjects
Cons
Session-based pricing plus per-participant and incentive management fees can add up for high-volume research programs
Entry Freelance plan is limited to a single seat, restricting collaboration
Company is relatively small compared to larger competitors like UserTesting
Enterprise-grade security and compliance features are reserved for the top two tiers
Pay-as-you-go participant sourcing at 49 dollars each is priced at a premium versus buying in bulk
Use Cases
Dovetail
Centralizing scattered user research — A product team consolidates interviews, surveys, and call recordings from multiple tools into one searchable repository.
Synthesizing customer feedback at scale — A product manager uses AI chat to quickly answer questions like what enterprise customers say about a specific feature across hundreds of source clips.
Sharing findings across the organization — A research team builds shareable Docs with quotes and clips so sales and leadership can see evidence behind product decisions.
Lookback
Moderated usability interviews — UX researchers run live video sessions with participants, guiding them through tasks while observing facial reactions and verbal feedback in real time.
Unmoderated concept and usability testing — Teams deploy SelfTest studies to a broader participant pool to validate a design or concept asynchronously without scheduling live sessions.
Stakeholder research visibility — Non-researcher stakeholders use guest access to watch live sessions or review highlight reels, building shared understanding of user pain points across the organization.