Strella vs. Qualtrics: Modern AI-Powered Research vs. Established Enterprise Surveys

For more than two decades, Qualtrics has been the go-to for large enterprises seeking robust survey and feedback management. But as customer expectations evolve and speed-to-insight becomes critical, many teams are discovering that legacy survey platforms can’t keep up with today’s demand for rapid, rich qualitative research.

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Strella was built for this new reality—where AI-moderated interviews run 24/7, synthesis is instant, and every team (not just research specialists) can uncover deep, actionable insights.

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Let’s break down how the two platforms differ so you can choose the right fit for your team.

Study Setup & Interview Guide

AI-generated, expert-level guides built in minutes and fully customizable

Highly configurable survey builder, but manual setup required for advanced studies

Interview Moderation

Flexible, both researcher and AI-led moderation with 24/7 availability, multilingual capabilities, and dynamic probing

Primarily quantitative surveys; limited real-time qualitative capabilities

Stimuli & Context Awareness

Real-time, adaptive probing based on visual or interactive stimuli (prototypes, ads, Figma files)

Supports media in surveys but lacks dynamic context-driven interactions

Synthesis & Reporting

Instant, real-time synthesis with AI dashboards, highlight reels, and searchable transcripts

Comprehensive analytics for survey data; qualitative data synthesis is manual

Existing Research Integration

Upload past research (calls, transcripts, notes) and query it alongside new studies

No native past research integration; data remains siloed unless manually merged

Team Usability & Accessibility

Built for modern, cross-functional teams—easy to use regardless of research background

Optimized for experienced enterprise users with dedicated research/ops resources

Participant Scale & Reach

Pricing

Flexible, scalable plans to match team size and usage

Enterprise contracts, often annual with higher upfront commitments

Always-On, AI-Moderated Interviews

With Strella, research doesn’t have to wait. Our dynamic AI-moderated interviewer runs 24/7—supporting both ad hoc studies and ongoing projects—so you can capture rich customer insights whenever you need them, without slowing down other work.

Instant Synthesis for Faster Decisions

No more days lost to manual review. Strella turns raw conversations into highlight reels, thematic dashboards, and actionable insights the moment interviews finish—helping teams learn faster and make smarter product and UX decisions.

Research That Works for Everyone

Strella’s intuitive design makes high-quality research accessible to all—whether you’re a dedicated UX researcher or a product manager running your first study. The platform’s simplicity, combined with AI-powered depth, means any team member can capture and share valuable customer insights.

Find your perfect
research platform

When Strella is Your Ideal Choice

You want to take advantage of always-on, 24/7 AI-led interviews that integrate seamlessly with your existing projects and workflows
You need to learn faster and build smarter—eliminating the habit of skipping research due to bandwidth or budget constraints

You’re looking for an AI-native research platform purpose-built for how modern teams work, not a retrofitted legacy tool

When Qualtrics Could Work for You

You’re focused on running large-scale, structured surveys as part of established, recurring research programs
You have a dedicated research ops team and the bandwidth to manage manual setup, analysis, and reporting
You’re invested in a legacy enterprise platform designed for complex survey administration rather than rapid, iterative qualitative work

"We were blown away by how much benefit we saw from using Strella. It enables us to run tests more efficiently & frequently - it’s as if we’ve added a member to our team focused solely on UX."

Seth Stephan

Director of Experience Design

“I was amazed by the speed to insights, how seamless it is to build discussion guides, and the AI moderator's ability to ask thoughtful follow up questions based on responses!”

Sarika Patel

Senior Researcher, Consumer Insights

"Compared to other user research tools I’ve used, Strella is smarter at uncovering the insights that truly matter. It was a mic drop moment when I played the highlight reel - hearing the insights surfaced from real users has been a game changer for us."

Bret Dennis

Director of SEO & Organic Growth

"Strella has enabled me to increase my research output, and the quality of insights have been accurate and actionable."

Becca Flores

UX Researcher

"Strella's multilingual AI moderator has allows us to connect with and gather feedback from customers we couldn't reach before. Having those insights get instantly translated and included in the synthesis and report is hugely valuable"

Joe Sioufi

Lead Product Designer

“Strella makes it effortless for our team to gather continuous user feedback at a scale and frequency that was previously impossible.”

James Evans

Co-Founder & CEO

“Strella has enabled me to do fast, continuous research - I was especially impressed with how adaptive and dynamic the AI moderator was.”

Luke Armstrong

Founder, Design Agency

“Before Strella, we only had the bandwidth and budget for 1-2 qual research projects a year. Now, our qual capabilities are fully unlocked. The change in our speed to insight has been nothing short of groundbreaking.”

Casey Greulich

Senior Director, Consumer Insights

"With Strella, I can streamline the entire process of planning, conducting, and reporting on a moderated test from weeks to just a few days—sometimes even just a couple of hours. It’s a game-changer!"

Adeel Fahimullah

Head of Product Design

"Strella saved us weeks of work on our new onboarding flow. We gathered actionable insights and were able to make fast changes in just 24 hours!"

Jack Jundanian

GM of New Verticals

"The best UX research isn’t AI vs. Humans—it’s AI + Humans. Specifically AI + Strella. With Strella I was able to create a better analysis than on my own... In 1/10th the time."

Adam Root

Chief Product Officer

"Before Strella, studies took weeks. Now we get insights in a day — sometimes in just a few hours. And because participants open up more with the AI moderator, the feedback is deeper and more honest. Research is now faster, richer, and easier to access across our team."

Brian Santiago

Senior Product Design Manager

"Using Strella has significantly accelerated our research timeline! Without Strella it has taken our team a month to schedule and complete 6 interviews. With Strella we were able to run 15 interviews in less than 48 hours!"

Julie Griffin

Product Designer