What qualitative data analysis software costs

published Oct 30, 2026 by datasciencesoftware.com

Qualitative data analysis (QDA) software helps you code interviews, field notes and documents. The three big commercial packages (NVivo, ATLAS.ti and MAXQDA) all publish prices, but they split them by buyer type, term and product. That makes a quick comparison harder than it should be. This page lines them up, using only prices on each vendor’s own shop.

What do NVivo, ATLAS.ti and MAXQDA cost?

Each figure is the cheapest published option that applies, for one user, before tax. Multi-year totals use the cheapest single option over that period: renewing every year, a 3-year term, or a perpetual license. Dedoose figures assume you log in every month. “Business” is an organization under 200 people.

Some cheapest options are a different product from the one you might expect:

• ATLAS.ti for faculty, year 1: the web-only plan ($22 per month, $264 a year) costs less than the $336 desktop seat. It doesn’t include the Windows and Mac apps.
• NVivo for business, year 1: NVivo AI Cloud ($770 per year) costs less than NVivo Desktop ($1,005). Lumivero sells them as separate products, and only AI Cloud includes its AI features.
• Three years: ATLAS.ti and MAXQDA sell 3-year terms paid up front. NVivo sells a perpetual license instead, which beats renewing the annual subscription from the third year.

Use the cost finder to change the buyer type and the number of years.

What do students pay?

Student licenses come with conditions. ATLAS.ti’s are personal, need proof of eligibility, and are only for your own degree studies. MAXQDA’s are for students and Ph.D. candidates under its student license agreement. The 6-month MAXQDA license activates on one device, and the 12-month license on two. Both MAXQDA licenses end on their own, with nothing to cancel.

Faculty and business: annual, multi-year or perpetual?

• MAXQDA sells single-user licenses by the year ($278 academic, $633 business), or for 3 or 5 years up front. Analytics Pro, which adds statistics, is $317 or $759 a year. MAXQDA record.
• ATLAS.ti licenses by seat, meaning one active user at a time. ATLAS.ti says a seat can be shared across a team. An educational seat is $336 a year or $738 for 3 years; a commercial seat is $628 or $1,275. ATLAS.ti record.
• NVivo Desktop is $520 a year for academics and $1,005 for businesses. Perpetual licenses are $1,100 and $2,125. Over three years, the perpetual license costs less than renewing ($1,100 against $1,560 for academics). Major version upgrades aren’t included. NVivo record.

Government and non-profit buyers get separate prices from all three vendors; the records list them.

Which qualitative analysis software is free?

Sources: each tool’s record page lists the official pages we read. Checked Oct 30, 2026.

Taguette focuses on highlighting and tagging text, then exporting the tagged quotes and codebook. QualCoder 4.0 was released on October 2, 2026, with installers for all three desktop systems. Both are open source, so no vendor can withdraw the free license. We haven’t tested either, so compare their feature lists against what your project needs.

How does Dedoose’s pricing work?

Dedoose runs in a browser and charges by the active month: you pay only for the months you log in. It’s $12.95 a month for students and $17.95 for individuals, with group rates for 2 or more users. New individual accounts get the first 30 days free. For a project with a few months of intensive coding, that can cost less than any annual license. Dedoose record.

Check whether your university already pays

Universities often license QDA software for their members. Harvard Library, for example, offers NVivo as a free download to its FAS community. Check your university’s software or library page before you buy a personal license.

Why do other sites show different prices?

Our observation. When we searched for “nvivo student license price” on October 30, 2026, Google’s AI answer gave $130 but also mentioned “$118–$115 USD/EUR”, mixing regions and optional AI features. Other results on the first page included university store listings for NVivo 12 full licenses. The prices on this page come from each vendor’s current shop and link back to it.

What should you check before you buy?

1. Your university’s software page. A campus license may already cover you.
2. The term. A 6-month license is enough for a single-semester course.
3. Desktop or web. ATLAS.ti’s cheapest plans are web only, and NVivo AI Cloud is a separate product from NVivo Desktop.
4. Tax. Prices here are before tax. Vendors add tax at checkout according to where you are.