TL;DR: The best MaxDiff survey software in 2026 is Sawtooth Software for advanced best-worst scaling (the academic gold standard), Conjointly for the best all-in-one suite, and Qualtrics for enterprises already on its platform. MaxDiff produces a clean, defensible ranking of which features or messages matter most — but it never tells you why one item beat another, or what would change the order. That is why high-performing teams pair a MaxDiff tool with Koji, which runs AI-moderated voice and text interviews to explain the reasoning behind the ranking, in hours instead of weeks. Here are the 9 best MaxDiff tools, ranked, with pricing and what each is good for.
The 2026 MaxDiff software ranking at a glance
- Koji — Best for the why behind a ranking (the qualitative layer + native ranking questions)
- Sawtooth Software — Best for advanced, custom MaxDiff (the gold standard)
- Conjointly — Best all-in-one MaxDiff, conjoint, and pricing platform
- Qualtrics — Best for enterprise experience-management programs
- QuestionPro — Best mid-market MaxDiff on a budget
- Displayr — Best for analysts who want MaxDiff plus deep reporting
- SurveyKing — Best free/low-cost MaxDiff entry point
- OpinionX — Best free best-worst and stack-ranking tool
- Pollfish / Prodege — Best for fast consumer panel reach
What MaxDiff is — and what it cannot tell you
Maximum Difference Scaling (MaxDiff), also called best-worst scaling, is a survey technique that produces a robust ranking of items — product features, value propositions, messages, or benefits — by relative importance. Instead of asking respondents to rate everything on a 1–5 scale (where everything ends up "important"), MaxDiff shows small subsets and asks people to pick the best and worst in each set. Across many sets, this forces clear trade-offs and yields a far more discriminating priority order than rating scales. For the full methodology, see Koji's MaxDiff analysis guide.
In a typical design, each respondent completes about 12–16 best-worst questions, each showing a random subset of items. The output is a preference share or utility score per item — clean, quantitative, and easy to present to stakeholders. MaxDiff is the right tool when you have a long list (10–30+ items) and need to know what to prioritize.
But MaxDiff has the same blind spot as conjoint: it ranks what matters and is silent on why. It will tell you "self-serve onboarding" ranked #1 and "advanced reporting" ranked #8 — not what customers mean by self-serve, what bad experience made it #1, or what would push reporting up the list. That reasoning is exactly what AI-moderated interviews capture.
The 9 best MaxDiff survey tools in 2026
1. Koji — the reasoning behind the ranking
Koji is not a best-worst calculator, and that is precisely why it completes a MaxDiff study. After MaxDiff tells you the order, Koji explains it: AI-moderated voice and text interviews probe why an item ranked where it did, what experience drives it, and what would change the priority — with no moderator bias and automatic thematic analysis. Koji also includes a native ranking question type (one of six structured types: open_ended, scale, single_choice, multiple_choice, ranking, and yes_no), so for shorter lists you can run a prioritization exercise and capture the reasoning in a single conversation, then get a one-click report in hours. Best practice in 2026: run MaxDiff for the ranking, run Koji to explain and pressure-test it. Pricing: free to start (10 credits), then €29/month.
2. Sawtooth Software — the gold standard
Sawtooth is widely regarded as the reference platform for MaxDiff and choice-based methods, especially in academic and advanced research settings. It offers deep modeling control — anchored MaxDiff, sparse designs, hierarchical Bayesian estimation — but typically requires specialized expertise and a more involved setup. Best for dedicated research teams. (Sawtooth Discover, the browser-based tool, is reported at about $4,500 per researcher per year.)
3. Conjointly — best all-in-one
Conjointly offers MaxDiff alongside conjoint, Gabor-Granger, Van Westendorp, TURF, and brand-price trade-off, including brand-specific MaxDiff combinations. Each MaxDiff question asks respondents to pick the best and worst from a random subset, and respondents typically complete 12–16 questions. Its Professional license starts around $2,985/year — the most complete preference-research suite for the money.
4. Qualtrics — enterprise-grade
Qualtrics supports MaxDiff through its choice-modeling capabilities, but the method lives outside the core survey builder and sits on higher-tier licenses with a more rigid workflow. It makes sense for organizations already standardized on Qualtrics; for everyone else, the cost is hard to justify for MaxDiff alone.
5. QuestionPro — mid-market value
QuestionPro delivers MaxDiff, conjoint, and TURF at a fraction of enterprise pricing, with a usable interface for non-specialists. The best balance of capability and cost for mid-market teams.
6. Displayr — analysis-first
Displayr pairs MaxDiff data collection with a powerful statistical and reporting environment — ideal for analysts who want to model, simulate, and visualize results in one place.
7. SurveyKing — free/low-cost entry
SurveyKing offers MaxDiff with free and low-cost tiers and clear documentation — a reasonable starting point for students and very small teams.
8. OpinionX — free best-worst & stack ranking
OpinionX provides free best-worst and stack-ranking surveys that cover lightweight prioritization without enterprise machinery. Great for early-stage teams testing what matters cheaply.
9. Pollfish / Prodege — consumer panel reach
Pollfish (Prodege) pairs survey methods with fast access to a large consumer panel, useful when you need MaxDiff results from a specific audience quickly. Strong for B2C reach, lighter on advanced modeling.
MaxDiff software pricing compared (2026)
| Tool | Best for | Reported starting price |
|---|---|---|
| Koji | Qualitative why + ranking | Free, then €29/mo |
| Sawtooth | Advanced/anchored MaxDiff | ~$4,500/researcher/yr |
| Conjointly | All-in-one MaxDiff suite | ~$2,985/yr |
| Qualtrics | Enterprise XM | Premium tier (5-figure) |
| QuestionPro | Mid-market MaxDiff | Mid-market tiers |
| OpinionX | Best-worst / stack ranking | Free tier |
| SurveyKing | Simple MaxDiff | Free / low-cost |
How to choose the right MaxDiff setup
- You need a defensible ranking across a large sample: start with Sawtooth or Conjointly, then explain the order with Koji interviews.
- You are mid-market and budget-conscious: QuestionPro or Conjointly cover almost everything.
- You have a shorter list and want the why immediately: lead with Koji's ranking questions plus AI-moderated follow-up, and add a full MaxDiff survey only if you need statistical projection for a large item set.
MaxDiff answers what to prioritize. It cannot answer why this item, what it means to customers, or what would change the order — which is why pairing best-worst scaling with qualitative depth produces sharper roadmap, messaging, and feature decisions. Explore related methods in Koji's conjoint analysis guide, TURF analysis guide, and concept testing methodology, and check your numbers with the survey sample size guide.
Explain your MaxDiff results with Koji
A MaxDiff ranking is a leaderboard with no commentary. It tells you feature A beat feature B — never why, never what customers actually meant, never what would flip the order next quarter. Koji fills that gap with AI-moderated interviews that run in hours, not weeks, with automatic thematic analysis and one-click reports — 10x faster insights, no research expertise required. Start free with Koji and turn your next MaxDiff study into priorities you can defend and act on.
