MAXQDA
MAXQDA: A broad desktop toolkit for research teams combining qualitative, text and statistical analysis. Ranked #3 of 37 in Text Analytics Software by our editors (9.0/10); pricing: 14-day trial; best for established mixed-methods research teams.
At a glance
- Editor score9.0 / 10
- Pricing14-day trial
- Best forEstablished mixed-methods research teams
- Free planNo
- Sentiment analysisYes
- Founded1989 · Berlin, Germany
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Combines qualitative, quantitative text and statistical analysis
- Supports sentiment analysis, topic modeling and AI coding
- Handles documents, PDFs, surveys, audio and video data
Where it doesn't
- No free plan; access is paid after the 14-day trial
- Desktop deployment is limited to Windows and macOS
- Does not include entity extraction or intent detection
Our verdict on MAXQDA
MAXQDA is desktop software for qualitative, quantitative text and mixed-methods analysis. It is designed for researchers, universities, research institutions and corporations working with varied evidence, including text, PDF documents, survey responses, audio and video. Its scope suits established research teams that need coding, memos, visualizations, quantitative text analysis and statistical tools in one environment. The product is provided by VERBI Software GmbH and was founded in 1989.
The strongest reason to consider MAXQDA is its breadth across research methods. Users can categorize and code survey responses, analyze word frequencies and dictionaries through MAXDictio, apply sentiment analysis, explore topics, and use the Stats module for statistical analysis. AI features add document chat, AI coding, summaries, reports, topic analysis and automatic audio and video transcription. That combination makes it a fit for mixed-methods projects where qualitative interpretation and quantitative review need to sit together. Teams focused only on narrow text classification may not need this wider research toolkit.
MAXQDA follows a paid model with no free plan and offers a 14-day free trial. The published plan names include MAXQDA and MAXQDA Analytics Pro, with highlights covering qualitative and mixed-methods analysis, MAXDictio and Stats. It runs on Windows and macOS and uses an on-premise deployment model, which fits teams seeking desktop-based research software. Choose MAXQDA if your work spans multiple data types and methods and benefits from optional AI support. Consider an alternative if you require a free tier, web-first deployment, entity extraction or intent detection.
Your product? Our editors can test MAXQDA in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
MAXQDA pricing
All 2 MAXQDA plans and prices →
MAXQDA fact sheet
| Free plan | No |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Not verified |
| Sentiment analysis | Yes |
| Entity extraction | No |
| Intent detection | No |
| Topic analysis | Yes |
| Analysis sources | Documents |
| Supported languages | Not verified |
| Deployment options | On_premise |
| Free trial | 14 days |
| Deployment | Desktop, Self-hosted |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
| Compliance & security | GDPR |
| Support | Phone, Email, Tickets, Docs, Live chat · 24/7 |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | 14-day trial (source) |
| Website | maxqda.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Alternatives to MAXQDA
- Brandwatch Consumer IntelligenceA broad conversation-analysis suite for organizations that need social and public-web insight.9.4
- spaCyA free developer toolkit for building and deploying custom NLP pipelines.9.2
- ChattermillA broad customer-feedback analytics platform for themes, sentiment, and CX metrics.8.9
MAXQDA vs the competition
- MAXQDA vs Brandwatch Consumer Intelligence
- MAXQDA vs spaCy
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- MAXQDA vs ATLAS.ti
Compare MAXQDA with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
MAXQDA is ranked in 5 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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