Sawtooth Software review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Survey software for conjoint and MaxDiff market research
Black Friday: is there a Sawtooth Software sale?
Sawtooth Software report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for conjoint and MaxDiff studies
Sawtooth Software runs conjoint and MaxDiff studies, with a free plan up to 50 respondents a survey. Paid plans are quote-only and annual, and the top tier is a Windows program.
Who Sawtooth Software is for
- Fits if you need conjoint or MaxDiff, not a general survey tool
- Works for students and small projects under 50 respondents
Who Sawtooth Software is not for
- Tight if you run real studies, as the free plan stops at 50 respondents per survey
- Skip it if you want a price list, since Professional and Premier are quote-only
- Skip it if you want monthly billing, as only annual subscriptions are sold
- Watch out: Lighthouse Studio, the Premier tool, is a Windows-installed program
Why Sawtooth Software gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyOnly the free plan has a published price; paid plans are by quote, so value sits at C.
- CFree plan and trialFree Discover plan: unlimited surveys and questions, conjoint and MaxDiff, up to 50 respondents per survey.
- BFeaturesChoice-based conjoint, MaxDiff, standard questions, analysis, AI open-end help and a respondent panel. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in this narrower job.
- CEase of useNo rating on record. Conjoint design has a learning curve.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb plus a Windows program (Lighthouse Studio), with two integrations listed.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Sawtooth Software's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Sawtooth Software? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/sawtooth-software#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/sawtooth-software.svg" alt="Sawtooth Software: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Sawtooth Software stands among form and survey tools
Sawtooth Software's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 88 of the 148 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 27.
It stands best on features (B, above 96 of 148) and worst on ease of use (C, above 7).
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 149 form and survey tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Sawtooth Software’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 35 of 148, level with 71
- CFree plan and trialAbove 32 of 148, level with 78
- BFeaturesAbove 96 of 148, level with 48
- CEase of useAbove 7 of 148, level with 135
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 46 of 148, level with 101
Keep Sawtooth Software, or make your own?
Your call
A form at its plainest is questions, a button and a table of answers.
You could make the core of Sawtooth Software for yourself: surveys and reports. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call.
What you could make
- Surveys and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- A real app for Windows. Something home-made would be a web page.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Sawtooth Software’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Sawtooth Software?
Sawtooth Software makes survey tools for market researchers. Discover runs in the browser, and Lighthouse Studio is a Windows application for more customized surveys. Both are built around choice-based conjoint and MaxDiff studies, with the analysis done in the same product.
Worth knowing
- Only the free plan has a published price; Professional and Premier are sold by quote.
- Only annual subscriptions are sold; monthly payment is not offered.
- The free plan stops at 50 respondents per survey.
- Lighthouse Studio (Premier) is a Windows-installed application.
Key features
- Choice-based conjoint
- Design and field conjoint studies to see which features and prices people pick. Advanced conjoint types are in the Premier plan.
- MaxDiff (best-worst scaling)
- Respondents pick best and worst from small sets of items. Up to 120 items per exercise on Discover and up to 2,000 on Lighthouse Studio.
- Standard survey question types
- Multiple choice, grids, open-ends, ranking, constant sum and numeric questions, with skip logic and quotas.
- Built-in analysis
- Real-time reports, crosstabs, key drivers and cluster analysis, with export to SPSS and Excel.
- AI follow-up and open-end analysis
- Smart follow-up questions and open-end analysis are listed in the plan comparison as AI features.
- Respondent panel
- Sawtooth says its panel service reaches over 200 million verified respondents worldwide.
Sawtooth Software pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sawtooth Software has a free plan.
- Starts at
- Not published
- Free plan
- Free plan on Discover: unlimited surveys and questions, choice-based conjoint and MaxDiff, up to 50 respondents per survey.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Discover with up to 50 respondents per survey, unlimited surveys and questions, and choice-based conjoint and MaxDiff. |
| Professional | Custom | Discover with unlimited respondents per survey. Price is by quote; annual subscriptions only. |
| Premier | Custom | Lighthouse Studio for Windows with advanced conjoint and MaxDiff and more customization. Price is by quote. |
Read from sawtoothsoftware.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Sawtooth Software before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- EducationAcademic pricing for students and educators
Sawtooth lists discounts for students or educators using the software for non-commercial use.
Stated on sawtoothsoftware.com
Works with
- SPSS
- Excel
Sawtooth Software alternatives
- Sawtooth Software vs Conjointly
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- Sawtooth Software vs Qualtrics
Free plan · from $420/mo
- Sawtooth Software vs Alchemer
Free plan · from $315/yr
- Sawtooth Software vs QuestionPro
Free plan · from $99/mo
Common questions
Does Sawtooth Software have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Sawtooth Software is listed for Web and Windows.
Does Sawtooth Software have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Sawtooth Software is listed for Web and Windows.
Is Sawtooth Software open source?
Sawtooth Software is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.