Hawkeye vs RealEye

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.

RealEye is a cloud-based webcam eye-tracking research platform for building online studies, tracking participants, and analyzing results. Researchers can use images, videos, or live websites as stimuli, configure display settings, and add instructions and follow-up questions. The dashboard includes heatmaps, gaze and fixation analysis, Areas of Interest statistics, survey answers, and raw or processed data exports. A facial coding feature analyzes neutral, happy, and surprised expressions. External survey connections can redirect participants to services such as Qualtrics, Google Forms, or SurveyMonkey and pass participant identifiers through URL parameters. RealEye says webcam image and sound processing happens in the browser, and that it stores gaze-point predictions rather than webcam images or sound. It states that it is GDPR compliant and runs on AWS data centers in the United States. Participants using a researcher's own link need a laptop or PC with a webcam; smartphone tests are also offered. Basic costs $325 a month billed annually or $390 a month. Standard costs $825 a month billed annually or $990 a month.