Qualitati vs Dedoose: AI-Native Research Platform vs Web-Based Mixed-Methods QDA
Dedoose is the affordable web-based workhorse for mixed-methods coding — strong qual-quant linking at a low active-month price; Qualitati is the AI-native alternative that adds AI-moderated interviews, automated theme discovery, and conversational surveys on top of QDA coding.
At a glance
Qualitati and Dedoose are both fully web-based qualitative research platforms — no desktop install on either side. Dedoose is a classic mixed-methods QDA tool: manual excerpt coding, code weighting, descriptor variables, and charts linking qualitative codes to quantitative data, at
7.95 per active month for individuals (as of July 2026). Qualitati is AI-native: it runs AI-moderated interviews and conversational surveys, transcribes audio, auto-codes with AI, and generates codebooks with reliability statistics. Dedoose stays stronger for hands-on mixed-methods statistics; Qualitati automates the collection and first-pass analysis Dedoose expects you to do by hand.Qualitati is best for
Researchers who want AI to run interviews and do first-pass coding — AI-moderated interviews, ThemeLens theme discovery across up to 100 transcripts, and codebook generation with Cohen's kappa — all in the browser.
Dedoose is best for
Mixed-methods teams that live in code weighting, descriptor fields, and qual-quant charts — especially distributed academic teams that valued Dedoose's low, pay-per-active-month pricing long before AI tools existed.
Qualitati vs Dedoose: feature-by-feature
| Feature | Qualitati | Dedoose |
|---|
| Price | Free to start (30 credits on signup), pay-as-you-go credits | 7.95 per active month (individual); 2.95 student; group rates lower |
| Billing model | Credits — pay only for what you use | Active-month billing — pay only for months you log in |
| Installation | Web-based, nothing to install | Web-based, nothing to install |
| AI-moderated interviews | Yes — text + voice, 10+ languages | No |
| AI auto-coding / theme discovery | ThemeLens + QDA Workspace — up to 100 transcripts at once | Manual excerpt coding; no AI auto-coding advertised as of July 2026 |
| Mixed-methods statistics | Basic (code frequencies, charts) | Advanced — code weighting, descriptors, qual-quant charts |
| Inter-rater reliability | Cohen's kappa in QDA Workspace | Training Center with pooled Cohen's kappa tests |
| Conversational surveys | Built-in, with adaptive follow-ups | No |
| Audio transcription | Included (Google/ElevenLabs cascade; Xunfei for Chinese) | Not built-in — upload transcripts; A/V storage beyond a small free allowance billed separately |
| Team collaboration | Real-time web sharing | Real-time web collaboration (a longtime strength) |
| Language support | 10 languages interface (en, zh, fr, nb, nl, de, es, pt, ja, ar) | English interface; codes any Unicode text |
| Media types | Text, transcripts, CSV, PDF | Text, audio, video, images, spreadsheet data |
| Learning curve | Low — most features work on first use | Moderate — excerpt/code workflow to learn |
Choose Qualitati when…
- You want AI to run the interviews and do first-pass coding for you.
- You need theme discovery across dozens of transcripts in minutes, not weeks.
- You need built-in transcription and multilingual interviews (Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, etc.).
- You want AI-generated codebooks with Cohen's kappa without manual setup.
- You're starting fresh and want a free tier rather than a subscription.
Choose Dedoose when…
- Your design leans on mixed-methods statistics — code weighting, descriptors, qual-quant charts.
- You code video and image data, not just text and transcripts.
- Your team already has a Dedoose workflow and Training Center habits for inter-rater reliability.
- You want the lowest possible flat price for purely manual coding.
Frequently asked questions
Is Qualitati a good Dedoose alternative?
Yes — and the move is smoother than from desktop tools, because both platforms are fully web-based with nothing to install. Qualitati adds what Dedoose does not have: AI-moderated interviews (text and voice), adaptive conversational surveys, built-in transcription, and AI-assisted inductive/deductive coding with automatic codebook generation. Dedoose keeps a genuine edge in mixed-methods statistics — code weighting, descriptor fields, and qual-quant charts. Qualitati is free to start with 30 credits on signup.
How much does Qualitati cost compared to Dedoose?
Both are affordable by QDA standards. Dedoose charges
7.95 per active month for individuals as of July 2026 (2.95 for students, group rates from about 3.95–5.95 per user), and you only pay for months in which you log in. Qualitati is free to start (30 credits on signup, no credit card) and then pay-as-you-go: 1 credit per minute for text interviews, 5 credits per minute for voice interviews, and 1 credit per 1,000 words of thematic analysis. If you only need manual coding, Dedoose's flat rate is hard to beat; if you want AI to run interviews and do first-pass coding, Qualitati's credits replace hours of manual work.Can I migrate my Dedoose project to Qualitati?
Yes. Qualitati accepts transcript uploads (.txt, .docx, .pdf) and CSV/Excel data for thematic analysis. You can import existing interview transcripts exported from Dedoose into the QDA Workspace and re-run AI-assisted coding.