UserTesting Classic vs. the New Experience

Learn about the key differences between UserTesting Classic and the New experience, including test types, task options, recruitment, and results.

 

On this page:

 


Watch our quick video, or read about the differences below:

 

 

Test types

The Classic experience centers on one primary format: the unmoderated think-aloud test, where participants navigate to a URL, complete tasks, and narrate their thoughts on video. The New experience keeps that foundation and significantly expands on it with three distinct test types:

  • Think-out-loud test — The evolved version of classic, now with branching logic, new task types (NPS, matrix, and ranking questions), and compatibility with Figma prototypes and QX score.
  • Interaction test — A quantitative-first format with no video recording. Participants complete navigation or Figma tasks and answer structured questions. Supports QX score for tracking changes in digital experience quality over time.
  • Survey — Text-only, high-volume feedback with rating scales, NPS, and matrix questions, plus AI-powered thematic analysis.

Coming soon: Live Conversation (moderated interviews) will be available in the New experience interface.

The test builder has been unified across all three new test types with the same creation flow and interface. The classic builder works differently and lives in a separate workflow.

Tip: Already created a Classic test? You can duplicate it and convert it directly into the updated think-out-loud format from the three-dot menu.

 

 

Task types

This is where the two experiences differ the most. Classic and the New experience share several task types, but the new experience adds meaningful new capabilities.

Task / feature

Classic

New experience

Verbal response

Yes

Yes

Multiple choice

Yes

Yes

Rating scale

Yes

Yes

Written response

Yes

Yes

URL, image, video & audio assets

Yes

Image only

Camera task (mobile)

Yes

Classic only

 Balanced comparison

 Yes

 Yes

Five second test

Yes

Classic only

Card sort

Yes

Classic only

Tree test

Yes

Classic only

Navigation task

No

Yes

 Figma task

 No

 Yes

QXscore

No

Yes

NPS question

No

Yes

Matrix question

No

Yes

Ranking question

No

Yes

Branching logic

No

Yes


 

Recruitment

The core recruitment options work the same way in both experiences. In either platform, you can:

  • Pull participants from the UserTesting network
  • Invite participants via a shareable invite network link
  • Specify contributors by username

The new experience adds two enhancements to the recruitment flow:

  • Screener branching logic — Participants only see questions relevant to them, improving targeting and data quality.
  • Reusable audiences — Save and reuse the same demographic criteria across multiple tests.

A few things are not yet available in the new experience:

  • Favorite contributors 
  • Custom network 

 

 

Results and analytics

Both experiences provide core analytics: Rating scale results, multiple choice results, and time-on-task data. The new experience goes further in several areas:

Feature

Classic (Metrics tab)

New experience (Results tab)

Rating scale results

Yes

Yes

 Multiple choice results

 Yes

 Yes

 Matrix question results

 No

 Yes

 NPS results

 No

 Yes

 Written responses

 Yes

 Yes

Time on task

Yes

Yes

 Success rate

 No

 Yes (Navigation task)

 Figma paths

 No

 Yes (Figma task)

QXscore

No

Yes (QXscore task)

AI-generated themes

No

Yes (Surveys)

Sessions page

Yes

Yes

 Highlight reels

 Yes (including instant highlight reels)

 Yes

Path visualizations

Yes

Not yet available

Not sure which experience to use? Take the survey in our course or review the decision tree diagram to help determine which experience best fits your testing needs: New or Classic Think-Out-Loud course module.

 

 

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