Best Pupil Core Alternatives in 2026
The top Pupil Core alternatives are Tobii Pro Lab, SR Research Data Viewer and Labvanced: 15 eye tracking software our editors would look at instead of Pupil Core, in our ranking order.
Pupil Core: A capable research toolkit with broad desktop support and a high one-time hardware price. Where it falls short: the standard one-time price is €3,615.
Switching from Pupil Core? For most eye tracking software buyers the best Pupil Core alternative is Tobii Pro Lab, built for full-featured professional eye-tracking research. On a budget, Feng-GUI starts at $67/mo. Labvanced has a free plan, which Pupil Core does not. Labvanced offers the most participant limit (10).
Why People Look for a Pupil Core Alternative
- The standard one-time price is €3,615
- Requires wearable eye-tracking hardware
- May be more than needed for simple gaze-recording projects
- No free plan — 6 of the alternatives below have it
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallTobii Pro Lab9.4
Full-featured professional eye-tracking research
Visit Tobii Pro Lab - Lowest priceFeng-GUI7.9
Paid plans from $67/mo
Visit Feng-GUI - Best free optionLabvanced9.0
Has a free plan (Pupil Core has none)
Visit Labvanced - Most participant limitLabvanced9.0
10
Visit Labvanced
All 15 Pupil Core Alternatives, Ranked
Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.
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Best forFull-featured professional eye-tracking research
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Editor score 9.4 vs 8.3
A broad Windows toolkit for designing, recording, analyzing, and exporting eye-tracking research.
9.4/10★★★★★Visit Tobii -
Best forCross-platform EyeLink data analysis
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Editor score 9.1 vs 8.3
A deep EyeLink analysis workspace for research teams on Windows, macOS, or Linux.
9.1/10★★★★★Visit SR Research -
Best forAffordable hybrid and remote experiments
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Free plan
- Editor score 9.0 vs 8.3
A flexible choice for affordable remote and in-lab eye-tracking studies.
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Labvanced -
Best forMature live studies with rich analysis
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Editor score 8.8 vs 8.3
A mature live-study suite for researchers needing detailed gaze analysis and reporting.
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit EyeWorks -
Best forFree multi-format gaze analysis
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Free plan
- Editor score 8.6 vs 8.3
A capable free analysis workspace for imported eye-tracking data, not a recording platform.
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit GazePlotter -
Best forBrowser research with surveys and facial coding
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Editor score 8.5 vs 8.3
A broad browser research platform combining eye tracking, surveys, and facial coding.
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit RealEye -
Best forLive synchronized hardware studies
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Editor score 8.4 vs 8.3
A mature hardware-led suite for live synchronized studies, with Windows-only access.
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit Ergoneers -
Best forFree post-hoc Pupil data analysis
A focused open-source desktop tool for analyzing recorded Pupil eye-tracking data.
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Pupil Labs -
Best forDevelopers building gaze experiments in Python
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Free plan
A free, flexible library for developers building custom gaze experiments in Python.
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit PyGaze -
Best forFree remote usability testing
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Free plan
A free remote testing option with webcam tracking, recordings, heatmaps, and API access.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit GazeRecorder -
Best forFast predictive visual-attention analysis
A cloud platform for fast visual-attention reports across images, websites, and videos.
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit Feng-GUI -
Best for3D gaze and webcam applications
A focused SDK for webcam and 3D gaze applications, priced for serious prototyping.
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit GazeSense -
Best forFree privacy-focused browser gaze tracking
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Free plan
A privacy-focused browser library for real-time webcam gaze prediction.
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit WebGazer.js -
Best forLow-cost remote webcam studies
A flexible remote webcam option, with limited visualization and analysis depth.
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit Chiasm -
Best forQuick iPhone and iPad prototype tests
- Better than Pupil Core:
- Free plan
A focused way to run eye-tracking tests with an iPhone or iPad.
7.5/10★★★★☆Visit Hawkeye
Pupil Core Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Pupil Core?
Tobii Pro Lab: #1 in our Eye Tracking Software ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. A broad Windows toolkit for designing, recording, analyzing, and exporting eye-tracking research.
Is there a free alternative to Pupil Core?
Yes. Labvanced, GazePlotter, Pupil Player, PyGaze and GazeRecorder have a free plan or a free tier (7 of the 15 alternatives on this page).
What is the cheapest paid alternative to Pupil Core?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, Feng-GUI starts lowest, at $67/mo.
Why do people look for Pupil Core alternatives?
The standard one-time price is €3,615; Requires wearable eye-tracking hardware; May be more than needed for simple gaze-recording projects.
Which Pupil Core alternative has the most participant limit?
Labvanced, with 10.
How do I switch from Pupil Core?
Export your data from Pupil Core (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Pupil Core.
How to Switch from Pupil Core
- Export your data from Pupil Core (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Pupil Core.
Pupil Core vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Input method | Study mode | Gaze visualizations | Export formats | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Pupil Core | No | €2,995 one-time | Hardware | Live | gaze circles, gaze crosses, gaze polylines, light points, fixation overlays, surface heatmaps | MP4, CSV, NumPy, PNG, TLV | 8.3 |
| 1 | Tobii Pro Lab | No | Hybrid | Both | heatmaps, color-coded gaze plots, dynamic visualizations | PLOF 2.0; raw and pre-calculated metric data | 9.4 | |
| 2 | SR Research Data Viewer | No | Hardware | spatial overlays, temporal graphs, animated playback, static heatmaps, dynamic heatmaps, beeswarm animations | tab-delimited .txt reports; gaze overlay images; gaze overlay videos; Excel, R, and SPSS import destinations | 9.1 | ||
| 3 | Labvanced | Yes | Hybrid | Both | heatmaps; gaze coordinates; fixations; dwell time; time to first fixation; fixation duration; number of fixations | CSV; TSV; JSON experiment specification | 9.0 | |
| 4 | EyeWorks | Hardware | Live | Heatmaps, GazeTraces, GazeClusters, GazeStats, GazeClips, BeeSwarms, Dynamic Heatmaps | CSV; standard statistical analysis packages | 8.8 | ||
| 5 | GazePlotter | Yes | Free | Hardware | Scarf Plot; AOI Comparison; Transition Matrix; AOI Timeline; Recurrence Plot; Scanpath; Scanpath Similarity; Metric Timeline; Metric Correlation | JSON; PNG; JPG; ZIP; CSV; ScanGraph | 8.6 | |
| 6 | RealEye | No | $325/mo | 8.5 | ||||
| 7 | Dikablis D-Lab | No | Hardware | Live | heat map; shadow map; gaze path; bee swarm | CSV; compressed study archive | 8.4 | |
| 8 | Pupil Player | Free | Hardware | circles, crosses, polylines, light points, heatmaps, fixation overlays | MP4, CSV, NumPy, PNG, GAZE.TLV | 8.2 | ||
| 9 | PyGaze | Yes | Free | Hybrid | Live | 8.1 | ||
| 10 | GazeRecorder | Yes | Free | Webcam | Remote | heatmaps, gaze paths, fixation metrics, areas of interest | video recordings, session recording data | 8.0 |
| 11 | Feng-GUI | No | $67/mo | heatmaps, gaze plots, focus maps, Areas of Interest reports | raw image, JSON, CSV | 7.9 | ||
| 12 | GazeSense | No | $199/mo | Hybrid | Both | fixations, gaze-paths, heat maps, graphs, gaze rays, 2D screen gaze points | CSV | 7.8 |
| 13 | WebGazer.js | Yes | Free | Webcam | real-time gaze coordinates, calibration points | 7.7 | ||
| 14 | Chiasm | No | €199/mo | Webcam | Remote | download from Chiasm; stream to own server | 7.6 | |
| 15 | Hawkeye | Yes | Hardware | Both | heatmaps, focus point diagrams | CSV, screen recordings, heatmaps | 7.5 |
Head-to-Head
- Pupil Core vs Tobii Pro Lab
- Pupil Core vs SR Research Data Viewer
- Pupil Core vs Labvanced
- Pupil Core vs EyeWorks
- Pupil Core vs GazePlotter
- Pupil Core vs RealEye
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update