Why Choose Optimal over Askable
Teams that switch from Askable to Optimal typically do so for these four reasons:
1. Proven Unmoderated Research Expertise
Optimal brings over a decade of specialized experience in unmoderated research, where powerful analytics meet a user-friendly platform, helping teams test, validate assumptions, and ship with confidence.
“Tree testing & card sorting… They’ve helped me validate and restructure site navigation for clients where information architecture was causing drop-offs. The visual outputs are incredibly useful when sharing insights back to stakeholders who don’t want to wade through raw data.”
G2 review, verified user in Computer Software
“Optimal has become more than a tool for us; it’s a trusted partnership with the company that continues to grow."
G2 review, verified user in Government administration
Why it matters: Your team gets reliable, repeatable insights, without the learning curve or risk of low-quality data that slows projects down.
2. Advanced Research Capabilities
While Askable has centered on participant recruitment, Optimal includes: Built-in UX testing tools, AI-powered analysis and insights, Automated reporting and visualization, Survey and prototype testing capabilities.
“[Optimal is] Very easy to use. Easy to share. Easy to show to my students how to use it. Easy to get key insights. New features added constantly.”
G2 review, Verified User
Why it matters: You can go from recruiting participants to analyzing results, all in one platform, eliminating the need to juggle multiple tools or pay for add-ons.
3. Enterprise-Grade Support
Optimal provides dedicated account management and comprehensive fraud prevention assurance, whereas Askable offers standard support options without the specialized enterprise features global brands require.
“The Optimal support team is fantastic… quick, knowledgeable, and proactive. They’ve saved us hours when running large studies.”
G2 review, Verified User
Why it matters: Enterprise teams get proactive guidance, verified data quality, and faster resolutions so research never becomes a bottleneck.
4. Scalability for Growing Teams
As teams need more sophisticated testing and analysis capabilities, they must invest in additional tools. Optimal grows with research programs from basic recruitment through advanced insight generation.
“Optimal handles both small and large projects with ease… it’s powerful without being complicated.”
G2 review, Verified User
Why it matters: You’ll never outgrow the platform, Optimal scales with your organization’s maturity, ensuring your research keeps pace with your product roadmap.
Askable vs Optimal: Key Differences
Platform Scope and Capabilities
Optimal: Optimal delivers a mature platform refined through continuous customer feedback and innovation. It provides end-to-end UX testing; tree testing, card sorting, surveys, live site testing, first click testing, user interviews and prototype testing, all backed by powerful analytics and visualization tools.
Askable: Askable was built around participant recruitment and only recently expanded into unmoderated research. Reviews mention missing depth in this area, limited analytics, no advanced visualizations, and a lack of essential survey functions like conditional logic or branching.
“Askable is great for finding participants, but the research tools feel pretty basic. I often export data elsewhere for analysis.”
Verified G2 Reviewer, UX Researcher
Askable: Askable was built around participant recruitment and only recently expanded into unmoderated research. Reviews mention missing depth in this area, limited analytics, no advanced visualizations, and a lack of essential survey functions like conditional logic or branching.
“Askable is great for finding participants, but the research tools feel pretty basic. I often export data elsewhere for analysis.”
Verified G2 Reviewer, UX Researcher
Built for Enterprise Research at Scale
Optimal: Optimal scales effortlessly from individual projects to organization-wide research programs, with enterprise-grade compliance (SOC 2, SSO, and audit controls), dedicated account management, and advanced automation features.
Askable: As research programs grow, teams often outgrow Askable’s capabilities, requiring multiple tools to achieve the same level of testing, analysis, and reporting.
“Feature limitations impact overall usability, it’s great for simple projects, but not enough for complex research.”
Verified G2 Reviewer
Askable: As research programs grow, teams often outgrow Askable’s capabilities, requiring multiple tools to achieve the same level of testing, analysis, and reporting.
“Feature limitations impact overall usability, it’s great for simple projects, but not enough for complex research.”
Verified G2 Reviewer
Global Reach and Participant Quality
Optimal: Optimal partners with multiple global panel providers, connecting to over 100 million verified participants across 150+ countries. Built-in fraud detection and screening workflows maintain data integrity across markets.
Askable: Askable’s panel has limited ability to support global or multi-market studies. Reviewers also highlight a downward trend in participant quality.
Askable: Askable’s panel has limited ability to support global or multi-market studies. Reviewers also highlight a downward trend in participant quality.
User Experience and Support
Optimal: Optimal’s clean, intuitive design helps new users get started quickly, while enterprise customers benefit from dedicated onboarding and responsive technical support.
Askable: Users report that Askable’s interface can be confusing and that onboarding resources are limited.
Askable: Users report that Askable’s interface can be confusing and that onboarding resources are limited.
Askable vs Optimal: Feature Comparison
Capability
Optimal
Askable
Platform core capability
End-to-end UX research
Recruitment
Participant Reach
100M+ verified participants in 150+ countries
50+ countries
AI/Insights
AI-powered analysis & reporting
Some AI features
Pricing Model
Flat-rate, predictable pricing, unlimited participants
Variable, usage-based and per-participant markups
Support
Dedicated enterprise support
Standard support
When to Choose Each Platform
Choose Askable if:
You’re an individual researcher, agency, or small team running smaller, ad-hoc studies.
You primarily need a fast, simple way to recruit participants
You already use other tools for testing, analytics, or reporting.
Your research focus is Australia or New Zealand, and your projects don’t require global reach.
Choose Optimal if:
You want an all-in-one research platform that combines participant recruitment, testing, analytics, and reporting.
You need advanced moderated or unmoderated research tools, tree testing, card sorting, surveys, prototype testing, live site testing, user interviews, and AI-powered analysis.
You’re looking for strong local coverage in Australia and New Zealand or for global reach. Optimal is backed by a global participant network spanning 150+ countries.
You value enterprise-grade features like SOC 2 compliance, SSO, dedicated support, and scalability across teams. Optimal supports some of the world’s largest enterprises.
Summary: Askable or Optimal?
Askable are good at participant recruitment in Australia and New Zealand. Optimal matches that local strength while adding advanced testing tools, analytics, and the ability to scale research globally, making it the better choice for teams that want depth, flexibility, and enterprise-level capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Askable and Optimal differ in what they’re built for?
Askable started as a participant recruitment platform, while Optimal was designed from day one as a UX research and insights solution. Askable helps you source participants; Optimal helps you run, analyze, and scale research across teams, from recruitment to insight reporting. Teams using multiple tools for testing and analysis often consolidate into Optimal to simplify their workflow.
How does the participant reach compare?
Askable’s panel strength lies in Australia and New Zealand, which makes it good for local studies. Optimal matches that local strength while extending to a global network of 100M+ verified participants across 150+ countries. That means you can start locally and scale globally without changing platforms.
Can I use my own participants in Optimal?
Yes! Optimal supports both panel recruitment and bring-your-own-audience, with no additional cost or platform limitations.
Is Optimal suitable for enterprise teams?
Absolutely. Optimal includes SOC 2 compliance, fraud prevention, global support, and account management. Our Enterprise plan is designed specifically for enterprise research needs.