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Surveys · head to head

Medallia vs Optimizely

Medallia logo

Medallia

Surveys

Enterprise experience management platform for customer, employee and contact centre feedback

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Optimizely logo

Optimizely

Marketing

Digital experience optimization

From
$10000/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Medallia there is no published pricing and no self-serve tier, so evaluating cost requires a sales process before any real budgeting can happen.; Optimizely no pricing is published and no minimum is stated
  • They diverge on capability: Medallia covers Multi-channel feedback capture, Optimizely covers A/B testing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medallia and Optimizely actually diverge.

Attributes where Medallia and Optimizely differ
AttributeMedalliaOptimizely
Starting priceOn request$10000/year
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Mobile
CategorySurveysMarketing
FoundedUnknown2010

Identical on both: pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Medallia

  • Multi-channel feedback capture
  • AI text and sentiment analysis
  • Role-based reporting
  • Contact centre analytics
  • Experience orchestration
  • Market research tools

Only in Optimizely

  • A/B testing
  • Multivariate testing
  • Personalization
  • Feature management
  • Analytics
  • Google Analytics
  • Adobe Analytics
  • SOC2

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Medallia

  • A retail or hospitality chain that wants customer feedback, digital behaviour and call transcripts unified in one platformnot Optimizely
  • An enterprise with a dedicated CX team needing role-based dashboards from frontline staff to the executive teamnot Optimizely
  • A contact centre wanting agent coaching and quality management driven by the same data as customer satisfaction scoresnot Optimizely
  • A company running employee and customer experience programmes and wanting one vendor across bothnot Optimizely

Optimizely

  • A/B testing and experimentation across web and product experiencesnot Medallia
  • Feature flagging and personalisation for digital productsnot Medallia

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Medallia

  • There is no published pricing and no self-serve tier, so evaluating cost requires a sales process before any real budgeting can happen.
  • Implementation is a project, not a signup, and typically involves data integration and consulting work before the platform produces usable dashboards.
  • The breadth of modules means a buyer who only needs a simple survey tool is paying for enterprise infrastructure they will not use.
  • Switching away later means re-architecting how feedback is collected across the organisation, which creates real vendor lock-in once rolled out.
  • Smaller teams and mid-market companies are effectively priced out, since the platform and its go-to-market are built for large enterprise accounts.

Optimizely

  • No pricing is published and no minimum is stated
  • Every plan is individually packaged, so no two quotes are necessarily comparable
  • Reaching a figure requires a demo or sales conversation

Pricing, plan by plan

Medallia

On request
  • Medallia Experience Cloud$undefined/year
    • No published pricing, sold as a multi-year enterprise contract
    • Pricing depends on modules (CX, EX, contact centre, market research)
    • Implementation and integration typically charged separately

Optimizely

$10000/year
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • A/B testing
    • Personalization
    • Feature management

Which should you pick?

Choose Medallia if

  • You need multi-channel feedback capture.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want ai text and sentiment analysis.
Medallia review

Choose Optimizely if

  • You need a/b testing.
  • You work on Web, Mobile.
  • You also want multivariate testing.
Optimizely review

Questions people ask

Is Medallia or Optimizely better?
Neither clearly leads. Medallia starts at On request and Optimizely at $10000/year, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medallia or Optimizely?
Medallia starts at On request and Optimizely at $10000/year.
Does Medallia or Optimizely run on more platforms?
Medallia runs on Web, iOS, Android. Optimizely runs on Web, Mobile.
What is Medallia best used for?
Medallia is most often used for a retail or hospitality chain that wants customer feedback, digital behaviour and call transcripts unified in one platform, an enterprise with a dedicated cx team needing role-based dashboards from frontline staff to the executive team, a contact centre wanting agent coaching and quality management driven by the same data as customer satisfaction scores, a company running employee and customer experience programmes and wanting one vendor across both. Of those, a retail or hospitality chain that wants customer feedback, digital behaviour and call transcripts unified in one platform and an enterprise with a dedicated cx team needing role-based dashboards from frontline staff to the executive team are not what Optimizely is typically brought in for.
What can Medallia do that Optimizely cannot?
Medallia covers Multi-channel feedback capture, AI text and sentiment analysis, Role-based reporting, Contact centre analytics. Optimizely covers A/B testing, Multivariate testing, Personalization, Feature management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Medallia: Is there a self-serve or free version?

No. Medallia sells only through direct sales with quoted enterprise contracts; there is no published price list.

Optimizely: How much does Optimizely cost?

Optimizely does not publish pricing rates. The company states that every plan is individually packaged based on specific customer needs. Interested customers must request a demo or contact the sales team to receive customized pricing.

Source
Medallia: Can a mid-sized company buy Medallia?

Technically yes, but the sales motion, implementation cost and contract structure are built for large enterprise deployments, not smaller teams.

Optimizely: What is the pricing model for Optimizely?

Optimizely uses a custom enterprise pricing model rather than published rate cards. Pricing is determined through direct consultation with the sales team based on the customer's digital needs and feature requirements.

Source
Medallia: Does it replace a standalone survey tool?

It can collect surveys, but its value is in unifying multiple feedback channels; a company only needing surveys is better served by a cheaper dedicated tool.

Optimizely: Is there a free trial of Optimizely?

Optimizely does not specify free trial availability on its website. Customers interested in exploring the platform are directed to request a demo through the company's website to discuss trial options.

Source
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