flowres.io is a cloud-native platform for qualitative research. It handles your entire workflow: recruit participants, host live sessions, analyze data with AI, and export PowerPoint slides without downloading software or jumping between tools.
Work fully in the cloud from any browser on any device. There are no software downloads, license keys, or updates to manage.
Conduct live sessions on the video tools your participants already use. Enjoy built-in features like a hidden client backroom, private messaging, and HIPAA-compliant audio streams.
Find participants through Respondent.io, distribute rewards instantly via Tremendous, and book sessions using Calendly or MS Bookings, all without leaving the platform.
Analyze your sessions using chat or comparative grid views. Every insight generated by AI links directly to the exact quote and original session source for instant verification.
Turn your research analysis into a polished slide deck instantly. Use the SlideBuilder add-in to populate your own custom presentation template without manual copy-pasting.
Bring in unlimited teammates, moderators, translators, and clients at no extra charge. Choose between pay-as-you-go options ($70/credit) or monthly subscriptions starting at $1,100 with zero hidden fees.
Access around-the-clock support five days a week with a rapid 31-second average response time, complete with free onboarding and live session assistance.
Works effortlessly with Zoom, delivering substantial savings while ensuring premium observer experience with client chatrooms. End to end platform with accurate transcription, multiple language support, clipping and AI analysis abilities with dedicated client chatrooms
| flowres | MAXQDA | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | ||
| Deployment model | Cloud-native; no download | Desktop software (Windows/Mac); limited web version |
| Transparent pricing | Starting price listed. No limitation on number of seats or licences. | Starting price not listed. Tier-based pricing. . |
| Price | Pay-as-you-go from $70/credit; subscriptions from $1,100/month | Pricing varies basis number of seats, has to be computed online. |
| Free trial | No credit card required | Trial with feature restrictions |
| Unlimited users | All plans | Per-seat pricing; TeamCloud costs extra |
| Research workflow | ||
| Participant recruitment | Built in via Respondent.io | Not available |
| Incentive distribution | Built in via Tremendous | Not available |
| Scheduling integration | Calendly and MS Bookings | Not available |
| Live session moderation | Full; IDIs and focus groups | Not available |
| Zoom / Teams / Meet integration | Standard on Zoom; Teams and Meet available for enterprise | Not available |
| Client backroom | Private backroom for observers, private chat, and audio-only HIPAA streaming | Not available |
| Live moments bookmarking | Available | Not available |
| Transcription | ||
| Automated transcription | Included in 19 languages at no added cost | Paid add-on feature |
| Live moments bookmarking | Available | Available only with paid add-on |
| Human proofreading | Available as add-on | Available as add-on |
| Interactive transcript editor | Find and replace; speaker name editing | Available in desktop version |
| Analysis | ||
| AI analysis | Included in all plans with chat, grid views, and instant source citations | AI Assist available as a paid add-on |
| Manual coding (CAQDAS) | Thematic tagging and coding built in | Built-in deep multi-level coding |
| Mixed methods (qual + quant) | Qualitative-first | Integrated statistics module |
| Video clipping and reels | Built in; no export required | Not available |
| Analysis in grid format | Compare across sessions and segments | Not available |
| Reporting | ||
| SlideBuilder PowerPoint add-in | Generate slides directly in your template, using flowres.io analysis | Not available |
| Export transcripts and analysis | Bulk downloads and AI transcript exports | Multiple export formats |
| Security and compliance | ||
| GDPR-compliant | ✓ | ✓ |
| ISO 27001 certified | ✓ | Not publicly confirmed |
| HIPAA-ready | ✓ | Not publicly confirmed |
| Data used for LLM training | Never | Not publicly confirmed |
| Support | ||
| Customer support hours | 24x5 support with an average 31-second response time | Standard support hours and community forums |
| Onboarding support | Free onboarding and setup support for your first sessions | Paid training workshops |
| ESOMAR / MRS / QRCA member | ✓ | ✗ |
MAXQDA is strictly an analysis tool for importing finished data. flowres.io lets you run live sessions, generate transcripts, and perform analysis in one seamless environment without friction.
Replace your complex software stack with flowres.io. Handle recruiting, scheduling, rewards, hosting, transcription, AI analysis, video clipping, and slide generation in a single workspace instead of paying for multiple separate tools.
AI analysis in flowres.io reviews your entire session set and links every insight back to original participant quotes with a single click. Unlike MAXQDA, where AI is a paid add-on, flowres.io includes AI analysis across every plan.
“Analysis was actually really great... the platform learned and understood the conversation flow pretty soon and accurately. So when I prompted, it accurately answered the questions and provided quotes that accurately reflected what I was trying to capture. The synthesis reflected what I was hoping for summarize, as a moderator and analyst.”
“We used specialized platforms only for a few projects when clients demanded it. When I realized how much we had spent on these platforms in 2022, I decided to search for a better option. I spent days looking at several platforms out there, and the platform that I found to be meeting all our needs was flowres.”
“I took the same questions from my interview guideline and asked them to that collective set of 20-plus interviews. I was able to catch nuances- see the thread and the corresponding quotes. Digging in, uncovering, discovering. A perfect example of human-centered AI: I'm in the driver's seat.”
“What I appreciate most is that the technology doesn’t replace the researcher. We’re still reading, questioning, checking themes against the transcripts, looking for contradictory evidence, and discussing where our interpretations differ. flowres.io helps us get closer to the data and makes it easier to explore patterns across a large body of qualitative work. And that is exactly how I want to use AI in research: not to hand over thinking, but to give researchers more capacity to think.”
“There's so many examples of how supported we felt and how we really appreciated ways of working that you guys demonstrated to us. There's several times the Tech team went over and above, to help work with the tool.”
ISO 27001 certification and GDPR-ready infrastructure for enterprise-grade compliance.
HIPAA-friendly features, including audio-only streams and PII redaction capabilities.
AWS-hosted, SSL-certified infrastructure for secure data handling and storage.
Moving from MAXQDA to flowres.io is simple. Upload existing audio, video, or transcripts directly into flowres.io for automatic transcription and instant AI analysis.
You can transition smoothly by running new research projects on flowres.io while keeping historical projects active in MAXQDA.
For teams conducting qualitative research involving interviews and focus groups, flowres.io replaces MAXQDA by providing live hosting, recruitment, transcription, AI analysis, and reporting in one place. MAXQDA is better suited for academic researchers focused purely on manual coding of static documents.
Yes. flowres.io provides built-in thematic tagging and coding capabilities alongside automated AI analysis tools.
MAXQDA charges per seat/ license and adds extra costs for AI Assist, TeamCloud, and transcription. flowres.io includes unlimited team members, transcription, and AI tools in all plans, making total project costs lower and more predictable.
No. MAXQDA is a data analysis tool, not a session management platform. There is no observer backroom, live moderation environment, or video conferencing integration.
SlideBuilder is a PowerPoint add-in exclusive to flowres.io that populates presentation slides directly from analyzed data. MAXQDA does not support deck-making.
Yes. You can import audio, video, and text transcripts from MAXQDA into flowres.io for seamless analysis.
