What's the difference between User Interviews and Lookback?

User Interviews is recruitment only — find and pay participants. You conduct interviews separately (Zoom, Grain, etc.). Lookback is a full platform — recruitment + moderation + recording + insights. Choose User Interviews if you want recruitment flexibility. Choose Lookback if you want an all-in-one platform.

How does participant screening work?

You post your study requirements (e.g., 'B2B SaaS users, 10+ employees, India'). User Interviews' team screens the participant pool and matches qualified candidates. You review and approve before paying. This ensures high-quality participants.

Can I find India-specific participants?

Yes, but India pool is smaller than US/Europe. Better for finding English-speaking Indian tech users, less reliable for regional languages or non-tech users. If you need large India panel, consider recruiting manually or using local services.

What happens if a participant doesn't show up?

User Interviews has a participant guarantee. If someone doesn't show, they provide a replacement. This removes the risk of wasted interview slots.

User Interviews Review 2026: Research Recruitment Platform

👥 Best for flexible participant recruitment

Quick Verdict

User Interviews is a participant recruitment platform — post your research study, User Interviews' team matches you with qualified candidates from their network, you screen and approve, then pay per participant recruited. At $40 per participant ($150/month subscription), it's cheaper than Lookback (which charges per session) but gives you more control. Best for teams that want recruitment without the full moderation platform. India participant pool is smaller than US/Europe but growing. Good fit for English-speaking tech users, limited for regional markets.

Recruitment ease

4.4/5

Participant quality

4.3/5

Screening tools

4.1/5

India availability

3.5/5

Cost efficiency

4.0/5

What is User Interviews?

User Interviews is a research recruitment marketplace. Instead of manually sourcing participants (which takes weeks), you post your study requirements on User Interviews, their team screens from a network of 500,000+ qualified participants globally, matches you with candidates, you approve them, and they show up for your interviews. You pay $40 per recruited participant plus a $149/month platform fee. Crucially, User Interviews handles all logistics — scheduling, payment, no-show replacements — so you focus on interviews.

For Indian research teams, User Interviews is useful for English-speaking B2B users (founders, engineers, product managers) but limited for consumer research or regional languages. The India pool includes tech startup employees, SaaS users, and English-speaking professionals, but is smaller than the US/Europe pool.

Quick facts: Founded 2012 · San Francisco · 500K+ participant network · Recruitment-focused · Global + India pool · No moderation — interviews are separate · Participant guarantee (replacements for no-shows)

Key Features

Advanced Screening Criteria

Define requirements: "B2B SaaS users, 10+ employees, India, 18–45, Python knowledge." User Interviews screens from their pool automatically.

Diverse Participant Network

500K+ qualified participants globally. Segments: developers, business users, consumers, specific industries. India pool growing (estimated 20K+).

Pre-Screened & Vetted

User Interviews team verifies identity and qualifications before matching. Reduces risk of unqualified or fake participants.

Scheduling & Logistics

User Interviews handles scheduling, sends reminders, collects payment info. Participant no-show? They provide a replacement at no extra cost.

Pay Per Recruit

$40 per recruited participant. You only pay for people who show up. No monthly participant minimums.

Interview Flexibility

Conduct interviews however you want (Zoom, Grain, in-person). User Interviews is recruitment-only, doesn't do recording/transcription.

Who Should Use User Interviews

B2B SaaS teams recruiting specific user segments — Finding "React engineers in fintech" or "product managers at Series B SaaS"? User Interviews excels at these narrow segments.
Teams wanting recruitment without a full platform — If Lookback feels too heavyweight, User Interviews gives you recruitment only. You use Grain, Zoom, or Lookback for actual interviews.
Companies with a dedicated research team and budget — If you have 2+ researchers and a $5K/month research budget, User Interviews is a good fit.
Not for: India-specific consumer research — India pool is too small for mass consumer studies. For consumer research, recruit manually or use local services.
Not for: Teams wanting moderation included — User Interviews is recruitment-only. If you want full moderation (Lookback style), look at Lookback instead.

Pricing

User Interviews charges per recruit + monthly subscription. $40 per participant + $149/month.

Core ⭐

$40 per recruit

+ ₹12,516/mo ($149)

✅ Post unlimited studies
✅ Pre-screened participants
✅ Participant guarantee
✅ Scheduling included
✅ Basic reporting

Pro

$35 per recruit

+ ₹25,032/mo ($297)

✅ Everything in Core
✅ Bulk discounts
✅ Advanced reporting
✅ Priority matching
✅ API access

Enterprise

Custom

Volume pricing

✅ Everything Pro
✅ Dedicated support
✅ Custom recruiting
✅ Bulk pricing
✅ SLA guarantees

🇮🇳 Indian pricing note: User Interviews charges in USD. $40 per participant is ₹3,360. $149/month subscription is ₹12,516. For a 10-person study: $400 + $149 = ₹47,460 ($560 total). This is cheaper than Lookback's per-session model for recruiting-heavy studies.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Eliminates manual recruitment — huge time saver
Pre-screened participants reduce quality risk
Participant guarantee — no-shows are replaced free
Pay per recruit (transparent pricing)
Flexible — use any interview method
No long-term contracts
Global participant pool

Cons

India pool is small (~20K) vs 500K global
Recruitment-only — no moderation, recording, transcription
Recruitment time can be 1–2 weeks
Participant availability may not match your timezone preferences
Not suitable for very niche segments (rare user types)
Monthly subscription required even if you don't recruit that month

FAQ

How long does recruitment take?

Typically 5–10 business days. User Interviews team screens, matches, and sends you candidates. You review, approve, and schedule. If participants are hard to find (very niche), it can take 2–3 weeks.

What if a participant doesn't show up?

User Interviews provides a free replacement. You don't pay extra. This guarantee removes risk from your research schedule.

Can I recruit India-specific users?

Yes, but limited. India pool is mainly English-speaking tech users (engineers, founders, product managers). For Hindi-speaking users, non-tech segments, or tier 2/3 cities, User Interviews pool is too small. Consider supplementing with manual recruiting.

Should I use User Interviews or Lookback?

User Interviews if: you want recruitment only, plan to use Grain or Zoom for interviews, and prefer pay-per-recruit pricing. Lookback if: you want moderation included, want a full platform, and don't mind higher per-session costs ($40–100/session). User Interviews costs less for 10+ person studies, Lookback is easier for small studies (1–3 people).

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User Interviews