Stroop vs Optimal Workshop[1]
Optimal Workshop set the standard for IA research. Stroop computes the same outputs and puts the tree test in the same study as the interviews and the usability round.
30 study-days free. No card.
Optimal Workshop's side of every comparison on this page comes from optimalworkshop.com, checked 17 October 2026. Where Optimal Workshop wins, the table says so.
Who should choose Optimal Workshop
- Information architecture is most of your work and you want the tool that set the standard. Optimal's pietrees and dendrograms are what researchers ask every other tool to match, us included.
- You want a panel and specialist recruitment from the same supplier. Optimal lists 20M+ participants through its panel partners.
- Procurement wants SOC 2, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials listed today. Optimal lists all three. We have none of them yet.
If that describes your team, choose Optimal Workshop. The rest of this page is for the teams it doesn't describe.
The tree test sits beside the rest of the research plan.
Recorded and moderated sessions in the same study as the tree test
A tree test, a Figma test and a moderated round can run on the same participants from one link, and their findings land in the same results, each citing the session it came from.
A workspace per client, on every plan
Optimal keeps multiple workspaces for Enterprise. In Stroop every client gets a workspace with its own participants, studies, brand and share pages, on every plan.
The pietree, computed the way you'd expect.
Success and directness with confidence intervals, first clicks, paths and destinations, scored by the product from sample data. Judge it against Optimal's.
What Optimal Workshop lists
- Pioneered tree testing and “remains the most widely used tool in the field”
- Analysis including pietrees and path data
- Clickmaps and heatmaps, user paths, data downloads
- AI answers validated by time-stamped citations
From optimalworkshop.com, checked 17 October 2026.
Line by line, with Optimal Workshop's wins marked.
Optimal Workshop's side comes from optimalworkshop.com, checked 17 October 2026. Where it wins, the row says so.
| Row | Optimal Workshop | Stroop |
|---|---|---|
| Track record in IA | Optimal Workshop“Pioneers of tree testing”They win | StroopNew |
| Participant panel | Optimal Workshop20M+ through panel partnersThey win | StroopNone. You invite participants or use a panel such as Prolific |
| Tree test, card sort, first-click | Optimal WorkshopYes | StroopYes |
| Moderated sessions | Optimal WorkshopInterviews listed | Stroop$9 a day, observers included |
| Diary studies | Optimal WorkshopNot offered | StroopFrom $20 a day |
| IATs and reaction-time tasks | Optimal WorkshopNot offered | Stroop$8 a day, scored |
| Analysis | Optimal WorkshopAI answers validated by time-stamped citations | StroopEvery sentence cites the participant and second. Uncited claims are rejected |
| Multiple workspaces | Optimal WorkshopEnterprise | StroopEvery plan |
| Usage reports | Optimal WorkshopEnterprise | StroopA statement per workspace, every month |
| Seats and responses | Optimal WorkshopUnlimited | StroopUnlimited |
| Entry price | Optimal Workshop$199 a month billed annually, $2,388 a year | Stroop$79 a month, credited in full against usage |
| Studies included | Optimal Workshop5 launched a year on Starter, then study bundles priced on request | StroopNo allowance. $3 a day per study |
| Security certifications | Optimal WorkshopSOC 2, ISO 27001, Cyber EssentialsThey win | StroopNone yet. EU data region and a DPA |
The same study, priced both ways
A year of IA studies, each a 7-day tree test or card sort. Move the slider to how many you launch.
Stroop
$395
5 studies of 7 days over 5 months, the $79 fee in each of those months and $0 in the rest.
Optimal Workshop
$2,388 a year
Starter, $199 a month billed annually. 5 launched studies a year, unlimited seats and responses.
List price, checked 17 October 2026
Switching takes a weekend.
- Participant lists come across as CSV or XLSX. Map the columns once and each person lands in the right workspace with their attributes.
- Trees import from an indented list, CSV or JSON, so the tree you tested on Optimal goes straight into a new study.
- Past Optimal results stay with Optimal unless you export them. We don't import them.
Questions
Are Stroop's tree test results as good as Optimal's?
- Judge for yourself: the pietree and similarity matrix on this page are rendered by the product from sample data. Tree tests report success, directness, first clicks, paths and destinations with confidence intervals; card sorts give a similarity matrix, a dendrogram and placements. If something you rely on is missing, email us.
Can I run a tree test without paying for every other method?
- Yes. You pay the day rate of the method you run: a tree test is $3 a day whether or not anyone in your organisation opens an IAT. Combine it with a recorded task in one study and the study pays the higher rate.
What do five tree tests a year cost?
- Each 7-day tree test is $21. Spread over five months, each month costs the $79 fee, credited against that month's usage, so the year is $395. Months with nothing live cost $0. Optimal Starter is $2,388 a year for five launched studies.
What is Stroop?
- Stroop is the all-in-one research and testing platform. Run usability tests, prototypes, surveys, tree tests, diaries and IATs in one study, and get results back transcribed, scored and charted, with every finding linked to the session it came from. The first 30 study-days are free, with no card.
Every finding, traced to the moment it came from.
30 study-days free. Any method. No card.