A free OptimalSort alternative, no sign-up to build

Build open, closed or hybrid card sorts, preview them and download the results without an account. Sign in only when you want to share a study with participants.

Build a card sort

What it looks like

Screenshots of the free tools, using the built-in example data.

The card sort as a participant sees it: a list of cards on the left and named groups on the right, with two groups already filled.
What your participants seeCards on the left, their own groups on the right.
Card sort results: a similarity matrix with a percentage in each cell showing how often two cards were grouped together, shaded from light to dark red.
Card sort resultsHow often any two cards were grouped together.

Side by side

Price
UX Academy: Free. Building, previewing and downloading need no account.
OptimalSort: Starter plan: $199 a month, billed annually, 5 studies launched per year.
Sort types
UX Academy: Open, closed and hybrid.
OptimalSort: Open, closed and hybrid.
Results
UX Academy: Dendrogram, similarity matrix, agreement per category, tagged answers and a PDF report.
OptimalSort: Automated analysis, dendrograms and agreement visuals.
Participants
UX Academy: A share link you send to your own testers.
OptimalSort: A share link, Optimal's panel or managed recruitment.

Optimal Workshop details from optimalworkshop.com/pricing and /optimalsort, checked 19 October 2026. Plans change, so check their site. OptimalSort is a product of Optimal Workshop; we are not affiliated.

See all the free tools compared

What you get here

Descriptions and images

Explain a vague card, or sort by picture.

Unsorted and subsets

Let people leave cards out, or show each a few.

Filters, tags, agreement

Slice results and tag free-text answers.

PDF report and CSV

Take the results away in either.

Build a card sort

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an account to build a card sort?

No. You can build a sort, preview it as a participant and download your results without signing up. You only sign in (free, by email link) when you want to share the study with participants or save your work.

Which sort types can I run?

Open, closed and hybrid. In an open sort people make and name their own groups, in a closed sort they use your categories, and in a hybrid sort they can do both.

How many cards can a study have?

Up to 60. You can paste a list of cards in one go, and turn on random card order so everyone sees a different sequence.

What do I get from the results?

A dendrogram, a similarity matrix showing how often each pair of cards was grouped together, agreement for each category and the group names people chose in an open sort. You can filter by a question answer or by the source of the share link, tag free-text answers, and download a PDF report or CSV files.

Can I stop a study automatically?

Yes. Set a response limit, a close date, or both, and the study stops taking responses on its own. You can also close it by hand at any time.

Is this made by Optimal Workshop?

No. OptimalSort is an Optimal Workshop product. This is a separate tool built by UX Academy and we are not affiliated with them.