Hawkeye vs PyGaze

Hawkeye is an eye-tracking tool for examining how people look at websites, images, and prototypes. It is software-based and does not need dedicated eye-tracking hardware, though its iPhone and iPad app requires a TrueDepth camera. Users can test websites and images without code changes, and the tool supports prototypes made with InVision, Marvel, and Sketch. Results show where participants looked and for how long through heat maps, screen recordings, and focus-point diagrams. Hawkeye can aggregate results across testers and provide statistics for individual interface elements. CSV exports include eye position, UI element, and touch data. Participants can be invited by text message using their phone numbers. Calibration centers the user's head, verifies calibration, and reports a five-star rating and accuracy estimate. Sign-in is available with Slack or Google, and company Slack teammates are automatically added to the same team. The free plan includes one project and five sessions; the Starter Plan costs $39.99 per month, billed monthly. Hawkeye runs on iPhone, iPad, and the web.

PyGaze is an open-source Python toolbox for running eye-tracking experiments. It provides a shared interface for stimulus presentation and tracker communication, with support for EyeLink, SMI, Tobii, and mouse-simulated tracking. For stimuli, it works with PsychoPy and PyGame. The EyeTracker interface covers calibration, recording, gaze sampling, pupil-size retrieval, and fixation and saccade event functions. Gaze-contingent tools include forced retinal location, a cursor that follows gaze, and areas of interest. PyGaze is free at free and supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. Downloads include pip installation instructions for those systems, source packages, and portable Windows environments. The about page recommends Python 2.X and describes its audience as people with minor to advanced programming skills. Some tracker connections require separate steps: PyLink is proprietary and requires registration with SR Research, while SMI and Tobii API downloads must be requested from their makers. PyGaze supplies fresh gaze samples at the tracker’s sampling rate and returns the newest available sample between fresh samples.