{"site":{"name":"Koji","description":"AI-native customer research platform that helps teams conduct, analyze, and synthesize customer interviews at scale.","url":"https://www.koji.so","contentTypes":["blog","documentation"],"lastUpdated":"2026-06-13T12:47:29.675Z"},"content":[{"type":"blog","id":"b6318047-6345-4638-899c-4ee39933cb0b","slug":"koji-vs-ballpark-2026","title":"Koji vs Ballpark: Which Research Tool Wins in 2026?","url":"https://www.koji.so/blog/koji-vs-ballpark-2026","summary":"Ballpark is a simple, affordable survey and unmoderated-testing builder with unlimited seats and per-minute participant recruitment ($1/credit), best for quick surveys and usability tasks. Koji is an AI-native platform that moderates voice and text interviews with adaptive probing, supports six structured question types, and delivers automatic thematic analysis and one-click reports from €29/month with 10 free credits — better for teams needing interview depth at scale without a research team.","content":"# Koji vs Ballpark: Which Research Tool Wins in 2026?\n\n**TL;DR:** Ballpark is a clean, affordable survey-and-unmoderated-testing builder with unlimited seats, unlimited responses, and per-minute participant recruitment. Koji is an AI-native customer research platform that goes a level deeper: it *moderates* AI voice and text interviews with adaptive follow-ups, supports six structured question types in one study, and produces automatic thematic analysis plus one-click reports from €29/month. If you want a lightweight survey and screen-recording tool, Ballpark is great. If you want the depth of a real moderated interview at scale — without hiring a moderator — Koji is the better 2026 choice.\n\n## Quick comparison: Koji vs Ballpark\n\n| Feature | Koji | Ballpark |\n|---|---|---|\n| Category | AI-native customer research | Surveys + unmoderated testing |\n| Starting price | €29/month (Insights) · 10 free credits | 14-day free trial · per-minute participant credits ($1/credit) |\n| Seats | Included | Unlimited, no per-seat charge |\n| AI-moderated voice interviews | Yes — adaptive probing | No |\n| AI-moderated text interviews | Yes | No |\n| Question types | 6 structured (open-ended, scale, single/multiple choice, ranking, yes/no) | Survey question types + tasks |\n| Video & screen recording | Interview transcripts + analysis | Yes |\n| Automatic thematic analysis | Yes, across every response | Reporting + analytics (manual) |\n| One-click reports | Yes | Manual synthesis |\n| Best for | Teams needing interview depth at scale | Teams needing quick surveys + usability tasks |\n\n## What Ballpark is built for\n\nBallpark is a \"super simple\" research tool that combines surveys, video, and screen recording so you can mix and match study types. It offers a clean survey builder with branching and skip logic, multilingual surveys, screeners to qualify participants, and reporting and analytics. A standout is its pricing philosophy: **unlimited users and unlimited responses with no charge for seats**, so you can invite your whole product org. There is a 14-day free trial and just two plans.\n\nRecruitment is priced by the minute. You buy credits at **$1 each (bundles from 50 to 2,000)** and spend them based on method: **Standard (200k+ participants) is 1 credit per minute, Enhanced (3M+ participants) is 2 credits per minute, and Enhanced B2B is 4 credits per minute**. So a study of 50 people for 10 minutes each costs 500 credits on Standard, or 1,000 on Enhanced. You can also bring your own participants at no extra cost.\n\nThat is a genuinely good model for unmoderated usability tasks and quick surveys. The limitation is depth: Ballpark collects *responses*. It does not conduct a *conversation*. There is no AI interviewer listening to an answer and deciding what to probe next, and the analysis is reporting-and-analytics — you still read, code, and synthesize the open-ended responses yourself.\n\n## What Koji does differently\n\nKoji is built around the AI-moderated interview. You brief Koji's customizable AI consultant on what you want to learn, and it designs the study, runs AI voice or text interviews that adapt in real time to each participant's answers, and then performs automatic thematic analysis to produce a one-click report. You are not just collecting clicks and ratings — you are getting the \"why\" behind them, at the scale of a survey.\n\nCrucially, Koji lets you blend methods in a single study using **six structured question types — open-ended, scale, single choice, multiple choice, ranking, and yes/no** — so one study delivers both quantitative structure and qualitative narrative. Ballpark can collect structured survey answers, but it cannot moderate the follow-up conversation that turns a 2-star rating into a usable insight.\n\n## Why depth matters more in 2026\n\nThe numbers explain the shift. The user research software market is on track to grow from roughly **$2.41 billion in 2026 to $4.12 billion by 2035**, and over **78% of enterprises now run at least one user research platform**. Meanwhile, the data quality of static collection is eroding: **email survey response rates often fall below 5%**, and survey fatigue keeps pushing completion down.\n\nConversation is the antidote. Spoken, AI-moderated responses run about **3x longer than typed answers and reach up to 70% higher completion** than email or SMS, while capturing far more emotional nuance. A Ballpark survey tells you *what* happened; a Koji interview tells you *why* — and does the analysis for you. For a deeper look, see our [AI voice surveys guide](/docs/ai-voice-surveys-complete-guide) and the difference between [qualitative and quantitative research](/docs/qualitative-vs-quantitative-research).\n\n## Pricing compared\n\nBallpark separates the platform (free seats, paid by usage) from recruitment ($1/credit, per minute). For high-volume unmoderated tasks with your own participants, that can be very cheap. Koji's model is a flat subscription — **€29/month for Insights (29 credits) or €79/month for Interviews (79 credits)**, with 10 free credits to start. A text interview is 1 credit, a voice interview is 3 credits, and Koji only charges for conversations that pass its quality gate (scoring 3+), so low-effort responses do not cost you. The practical difference: with Ballpark you pay for responses and still do the synthesis; with Koji the moderation *and* the analysis are baked into the price.\n\n## Where Ballpark is the better fit\n\n- You mainly need **quick surveys and unmoderated usability tasks** (first-click tests, prototype walk-throughs) with screen recording.\n- You want **unlimited seats** so the whole team can view results without per-seat fees.\n- You are comfortable **doing your own synthesis** of open-ended responses.\n- Your budget favors **pay-as-you-go** over a subscription.\n\nFor that lightweight, broad-distribution use case, Ballpark is a tidy, well-priced tool. Compare it against the wider field in our [best usability testing tools](/blog/best-usability-testing-tools-2026) and [best survey software](/blog/best-survey-software-2026) roundups.\n\n## Where Koji wins\n\n- **It moderates the interview** — AI voice and text sessions with adaptive probing, no human moderator required.\n- **Six structured question types in one study**, blending qualitative and quantitative in a single flow. See [survey question types](/docs/survey-question-types).\n- **Automatic thematic analysis** — themes and quotes surface across every transcript with no manual coding.\n- **One-click reports** — from raw conversations to a shareable report in hours.\n- **No moderator bias** — every participant gets the same consistent interviewer.\n\n## The verdict\n\nBallpark and Koji sit at different depths of the research stack. Ballpark is an excellent, affordable tool for surveys and unmoderated usability tasks with generous seat pricing. Koji is the AI-native platform for teams that need the depth of a moderated interview — the \"why,\" not just the \"what\" — analyzed and reported automatically, at a scale Ballpark's response-collection model cannot match.\n\nIf you only need quick feedback and tasks, Ballpark is a fine pick. If you need real customer understanding without a research team, Koji gets you from question to insight 10x faster.\n\n## Try Koji free\n\nWant interview depth without the interviewing? [Start with Koji free](https://www.koji.so) — 10 credits, AI-moderated voice or text interviews, six structured question types, and an analyzed report in hours. No research expertise required.","category":"Comparisons","lastModified":"2026-06-13T03:15:27.521297+00:00","metaTitle":"Koji vs Ballpark (2026): Best User Research Tool Compared","metaDescription":"Koji vs Ballpark for 2026: AI-moderated interviews vs surveys and unmoderated testing, pricing, depth, and analysis. See which research tool fits your team.","keywords":["koji vs ballpark","ballpark alternative","ballparkhq pricing 2026","ai user research","unmoderated testing","ai moderated interviews","survey tools 2026"],"aiSummary":"Ballpark is a simple, affordable survey and unmoderated-testing builder with unlimited seats and per-minute participant recruitment ($1/credit), best for quick surveys and usability tasks. Koji is an AI-native platform that moderates voice and text interviews with adaptive probing, supports six structured question types, and delivers automatic thematic analysis and one-click reports from €29/month with 10 free credits — better for teams needing interview depth at scale without a research team.","aiKeywords":["koji vs ballpark","ballpark alternative","ai moderated interviews","unmoderated testing","survey tools","customer research automation"],"aiContentType":"comparison","faqItems":[{"answer":"Ballpark is a survey and unmoderated-testing builder — it collects responses, ratings, and screen recordings, and you synthesize the results. Koji is AI-native and conducts the interview itself: AI-moderated voice and text sessions with adaptive follow-ups, six structured question types, and automatic thematic analysis with one-click reports.","question":"What is the difference between Koji and Ballpark?"},{"answer":"Ballpark charges nothing for seats and bills recruitment per minute ($1/credit), which is cheap for high-volume unmoderated tasks with your own participants — but you still do the analysis yourself. Koji is €29/month with 10 free credits and includes moderation and analysis, so the cost per finished insight is often lower despite the subscription.","question":"Is Ballpark cheaper than Koji?"},{"answer":"Not in the AI sense. Ballpark focuses on surveys and unmoderated usability tasks with video and screen recording. It does not have an AI interviewer that listens and probes follow-up questions. Koji's AI consultant moderates voice and text interviews live and adapts to each answer.","question":"Does Ballpark run moderated interviews?"},{"answer":"Yes for depth-oriented research. Koji supports six structured question types — open-ended, scale, single choice, multiple choice, ranking, and yes/no — so a single study captures both quantitative structure and qualitative narrative, then analyzes it automatically. For purely lightweight surveys or first-click tasks, Ballpark remains a tidy option.","question":"Can Koji replace a survey tool like Ballpark?"},{"answer":"Pick Ballpark if you mainly need quick surveys and unmoderated usability tasks, want unlimited free seats for the whole team, prefer pay-as-you-go pricing, and are happy to do your own synthesis. For moderated interview depth and automatic analysis at scale, choose Koji.","question":"When should I pick Ballpark over Koji?"}],"relatedTopics":["ai user research","unmoderated testing","survey software","ai moderated interviews","usability testing","customer research automation"]}],"pagination":{"total":1,"returned":1,"offset":0}}