Comparing research platforms
Maze vs. Dscout: Which platform drives better product decisions?
Maze is a flexible alternative to Dscout, empowering agile teams to make quick, data-driven decisions at the speed of product development
Maze vs. Dscout: Introduction
Choosing the right platform can make all the difference in your user research processes. Maze and Dscout are two leading options, but which is the better fit for your team?
Dscout is a research tool specializing in in-context and diary studies. It’s built for companies that need to capture real-world user behaviors via methods like field studies, diary studies, and user interviews. Dscout’s panel and video-based user feedback make it strong for in-the-moment insights. Alongside these video-focused research methods, it also offers usability testing and card sorting.
Maze is an end-to-end platform for unmoderated, moderated, qualitative, and quantitative research. It offers a full suite of testing methods, including prototype testing, live website testing, user interviews, surveys, card sorting, and tree testing. Alongside a comprehensive suite of research tools, Maze also supports teams with participant recruitment and management, AI-powered workflow and research optimization, and in-depth UX reporting.
In this comparison, we break down how Maze and Dscout compare in:
- User-friendliness and ease of use: Which user research platform is easier for your team to adopt? Will it support organization-wide research?
- Versatility and functionality: Does it support a full range of UX research methods? How well does it fit with your existing design tools?
- Product decision-making: How quickly can you gather insights and make decisions?
Maze vs. Dscout comparison (from G2 user reviews)
Maze | Dscout | |
|---|---|---|
Overall rating (G2) | 4.5/5 out of 100+ reviews | 4.5/5 out of 170+ reviews |
Ease of setup | 9.4 / 10 | 8.4 / 10 |
Ease of use | 9.0 / 10 | 8.4 / 10 |
Pricing |
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Maze vs. Dscout: Main differences
What really sets Maze and dscout apart for teams doing user research?
Breadth of AI research capabilities
While Dscout offers some AI capabilities—like quick research summaries, AI-generated themes, and question optimization—Maze offers more. Maze AI offers everything Dscout AI offers, plus AI-moderated interviews and prototype testing for AI-generated designs.
International research participants
Dscout’s research participant panel is primarily US-based, which limits international reach and research validity. Maze Panel recruits participants from a pool of 6M+ participants based in 130+ countries across the globe, helping you get international insights.
Intuitive research democratization
Dscout can be complicated to set up and get to grips with. Maze is an enterprise-ready, user-friendly platform that enables every designer, product team, and researcher company-wide to make product decisions based on user insights.
Maze vs. Dscout: Feature comparison
Features
Dscout
Maze
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Axure, Figma
Figma
Axure, Figma
Bolt, Figma Make, Lovable, Replit
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Bolt, Figma Make, Lovable, Replit
Amplitude, Atlassian, Miro, Notion, Slack
Only Miro and Slack
Amplitude, Atlassian, Miro, Notion, Slack
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Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom
Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Zoom
Maze vs. Dscout: AI capabilities
Features
Dscout
Maze
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Maze vs. Dscout: Takeaways
Choosing between Maze and Dscout depends on your team’s research needs, workflow, and vision.
Dscout primarily focuses on usability testing, surveys, live interviews, and diary studies. Via these methods, it provides research teams with some (but not all) of the tools needed for uncovering user insights. It has a responsive panel of testers, although they’re primarily US-based testers on mobile apps and devices, which can limit geographical reach and desktop testing results. While Dscout AI offers some features, it’s not the most comprehensive set of AI capabilities on the market.
Maze, is designed for teams that need a complete suite of UX research tools and methods. Beyond those provided by Dscout, Maze includes live website testing, tree testing, AI-moderated interviews, and prototype testing for AI-generated designs. Maze Panel and Maze Reach support participant recruitment and management, while the Maze AI suite automates key steps—like question optimization and research analysis—to speed up your research workflow. For product teams focused on speed, flexibility, and continuous discovery, Maze provides a cost-effective, end-to-end research solution.
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"Maze takes the guesswork out of understanding user problems, letting you focus on what matters most."
Henrique Johansson Tramontina
Principal Product Designer at Hopper
Why product and design teams are making the switch to Maze
Run research on live flows and experiences
Maze offers a wider range of research tasks for everyday use, including website testing, providing real user experience insights, which are crucial for refining your design or product.
AI prototype testing, done right
Beyond traditional prototype testing, Maze also supports testing AI-generated prototypes created in tools like Figma Make, Bolt, Loveable, and Replit, making it easy to test early concepts before investing valuable resources.
All-in-one holistic platform
Get the full picture faster with a breadth of native quantitative and qualitative research methods that anyone in your team can quickly put live to deliver value to customers more often.
Intuitive & user-friendly
Don't slow down your research workflows. Maze is an easy-to-use platform with which tests can be carried out on any device, offering a breadth of research methods that anyone in your team can quickly learn to put live.
Maze vs. Dscout frequently asked questions
Can Maze do moderated testing?
Can Maze do moderated testing?
Yes! Maze supports moderated testing through Interview Studies and live prototype walkthroughs. Teams can host real-time sessions via integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, and scale automatically using Maze’s AI moderator, which plans, runs, and analyzes interviews 24/7.
Moderated sessions can include live prototype or concept validation tests, enabling researchers to observe participants, ask contextual follow-ups, and capture behavioral insights in real time—all within Maze.
Does Maze have advanced AI functionalities?
Does Maze have advanced AI functionalities?
Maze AI enhances the entire research workflow from planning studies to running them and interpreting results. Maze includes features like AI Moderator for automated interviews, Perfect Questions for bias-free question design, dynamic follow-ups for contextual probing, and automated themes for instant summaries. It also supports AI prototype testing through integrations with Figma Make, Bolt, and Loveable.
Can I switch from dscout to Maze?
Can I switch from dscout to Maze?
Yes, Maze’s user-friendly research and testing platform makes it easy to transition from other tools, with resources to help migrate your workflows.
Can I request a demo?
Can I request a demo?
Absolutely! Tell us a little about your company here and we’ll connect you with someone in our team.
Which platform is better for remote user research: Maze or Dscout?
Which platform is better for remote user research: Maze or Dscout?
Maze is better than dscout for conducting remote user research. Maze is designed for remote, end-to-end user research. Teams can run moderated, unmoderated, and AI-moderated studies, including Prototype Testing, Live Website Testing, and Mobile Testing. With Maze Panel, researchers can recruit participants from over 150 countries, and Maze Reach enables recontacting or segmenting your own user base for follow-up studies. Combined with integrations for Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet, Maze makes running and analyzing global remote research seamless, fast, and scalable.