PyGaze review
A free, flexible library for developers building custom gaze experiments in Python.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
PyGaze is an open-source Python toolbox for researchers and developers creating gaze-contingent or non-gaze-contingent eye-tracking experiments. It provides a programming interface for supported hardware, experiment display utilities, calibration, gaze sampling, event detection, pupil-size retrieval, and experiment logging. The library supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, and can also run with a dummy mouse-based tracker for development scenarios.
As a free and open-source project, PyGaze avoids a paid plan structure and focuses its value on programmable experiment control. Its common interface connects EyeLink, SMI/iViewX, and Tobii systems, allowing developers to work across major tracker integrations through one library. PsychoPy and PyGame support covers stimulus presentation, while calibration, validation, fixation-triggered drift correction, online fixation detection, and online saccade detection address key parts of a live study workflow.
PyGaze is most suitable when a research team needs control over experiment logic and is comfortable working in Python. It is less suitable for teams seeking no-code study creation, a hosted platform, or a broad visual analysis environment. The product's scope is concentrated on building and running experiments, collecting gaze data, and logging results rather than providing a complete suite for gaze visualization and export workflows. Choose PyGaze for a customizable development library that brings multiple trackers and experiment components together; choose an alternative when analysis and reporting are the primary requirements.
PyGaze pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free and open source across Windows, macOS, and Linux
- Common interface for EyeLink, SMI/iViewX, Tobii, and dummy tracking
- Supports calibration, event detection, stimulus presentation, and logging
- Where it doesn't
- Requires Python development rather than no-code study creation
- Not a complete visual analysis suite
- Custom experiments require implementation and configuration
PyGaze fact sheet, pricing and score →
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