Five reasons to move your focus groups from Zoom or Teams to Qualzy Live.
A small fixed cost that won't break the budget
Generic tools are often free or close to it, and that's hard to argue with. Qualzy Live costs a little more, but it's a small fixed cost per session for a large research benefit.
Part of a fully integrated qual experience
Schedule, run and analyse your interviews and groups as part of a larger qualitative research project, alongside your diaries, discussions and activities, all within the one platform.
A backroom that keeps your clients “behind the glass”
No more “that's just Bob” with the camera off. Bob can now observe the session from a hidden backroom, chatting to the other observers by text or video and passing the moderator notes.
Real exercises and media, not just screen sharing
Images, videos and documents, as well as exercises like polls, can be shown to participants with one click. No more fumbling for the right screen or tab in the middle of a session.
You end the session. Your research materials prepare themselves.
Qualzy Live gives you the materials your research needs: suggested clips, theme discovery and more, all built around your research objectives, so you can quickly find what matters in every session.
“It’s nice how cheap Zoom is, but I’m willing to pay if it improves my research. Paying £25 [$30] per session is very reasonable for the additional capabilities that Qualzy Live offers me.”
Confidentiality and your clients' questions.
When a client, a procurement team or an ethics committee asks how your sessions are handled, these are the answers.
- ISO 27001 certifiedQualzy is ISO 27001 certified and GDPR compliant, and recordings are kept under the same controls.
- Consent recorded for every participantEach participant's consent is recorded, online or read aloud at an in-person interview.
- Observers never in the recordingClients watch from a hidden backroom. Participants never see them, and they never appear on the film.
- Retention you chooseYou decide how long recordings are kept.
Built for meetings, or built for research.
| Feature | Qualzy Live | Generic video tools |
|---|---|---|
| The basics | ||
| Video interviews and focus groups | Yes | Yes |
| Waiting room, moderator admits | Yes | Yes |
| Screen sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Basic moderator controls | Yes | Yes |
| Co-moderator and handover | Yes | Yes |
| Group and private chat | Yes | Yes |
| Reactions and raised hands | Yes | Yes |
| Background blur | Yes | Yes |
| Recording and transcript | Yes | Yes |
| Participants in the session | ||
| Tracked tech check | Yes | No |
| Multiple booking methods | Yes | No(some have paid add-ons) |
| Reserves and waiting lists for groups | Yes | No |
| Your discussion guide in the room | Yes | No |
| Stimulus without screen sharing | Yes | Partly(some can play a video file) |
| Polls with eight question types, and a whiteboard | Yes | Partly(on some paid plans) |
| Recorded breakout rooms | Yes | No |
| Mark-up on images and PDFs, with a heat map | Yes | No |
| Dial testing | Yes | No |
| Live transcript | Yes | Partly(if the host turns it on) |
| Your clients and the backroom | ||
| Observers invisible to participants | Yes | No |
| Backroom chat | Yes | No |
| Backroom video meeting | Yes | No |
| Whisper to the moderator | Yes | No |
| Observers follow the guide live | Yes | No |
| Observers move between breakout groups | Yes | No |
| Moderator steps into the backroom at a break | Yes | No |
| Debrief in the backroom after the session | Yes | No |
| Languages | ||
| Interpreter on a hidden line | Yes | No |
| Live captions in each moderator's and observer's own language | Yes | Partly(on higher plans) |
| Translated transcript | Yes | Partly(on some paid plans) |
| Names and brands taught to the transcript | Yes | Partly(with an AI licence, set by an admin) |
| Support and coaching | ||
| Support that works out the likely cause of a problem | Yes | Partly(an admin dashboard on business plans) |
| A coach beside you: what's still to cover, who has gone quiet | Yes | Partly(an AI assistant, with a licence) |
| Part of your Qualzy project | ||
| Live sessions inside your Qualzy project | Yes | No |
| Live sessions and online responses analysed together | Yes | No |
| Afterwards | ||
| Clips that look like a close-up, not a box in a grid | Yes | No |
| Moments marked live, on the recording | Yes | No |
| Browse the recording by guide section | Yes | No |
| An AI research analysis of every session | Yes | Partly(a meeting summary, with an AI licence) |
| One set of findings across the whole project | Yes | No |
| Recorded in-person interviews get the same outputs | Yes | No |
Generic video tools checked against Zoom and Microsoft Teams help pages, October 2026. Plans change; tell us if we've got something wrong.
Frequently asked questions.
Is Qualzy Live as easy for participants as Zoom?
Yes. Participants join in a web browser on any device, with nothing to install. They click the link on their own page, check their camera and microphone in a ready room, and you admit them from the waiting room. A tech check days before the session catches problems early.
Can I keep using Zoom for some sessions?
Yes. If a client insists on their own system, or a session has already happened, import the recording into your Qualzy project. It's transcribed, translated if needed, summarised and broken into key points with verbatims, alongside your Qualzy Live sessions. Already recorded on Zoom or Teams? Import it.
What does it cost compared with a free Zoom account?
A basic Zoom account can cost nothing. Qualzy Live has introductory pricing at the moment, with one price per session. That covers a session of up to three hours, with observers, moderators and interpreters included, and a no-show costs nothing. On a Qualzy subscription, some sessions are included. See Qualzy Live introductory pricing.
Want to know more? Let's have a quick chat.
Book a 15-minute call and we'll talk through how you could get more out of your interviews and groups with Qualzy Live.