Quirkos
Quirkos is an Edinburgh-based software company that builds visual qualitative data analysis software for academic researchers, market research firms, non-profits, and public-sector organizations, sold via low-cost Cloud subscriptions and perpetual desktop licenses globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersEdinburgh, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Quirkos does
Quirkos Limited is a privately held, founder-operated software company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, that develops qualitative data analysis software for academic researchers, market research firms, non-profits, and public-sector organizations. Founded by Dr. Daniel Turner in 2014, the company offers a visual coding environment built around 'Quirks' (bubble-shaped codes) on a flexible canvas, with projects stored in an open SQLite-based .qrk format and cross-platform delivery via Windows, Mac, Linux, browsers, tablets, and smartphones. The product line comprises the offline Quirkos 3 desktop application ($69 perpetual license), the Quirkos Cloud subscription ($5/month, minimum 3 months) that unlocks the browser-based Quirkos Web app and real-time collaboration, and Quirkos Transcribe, an end-to-end encrypted automated audio/video transcription service supporting six languages.
The company monetizes through a mix of recurring Cloud subscriptions, one-time perpetual desktop licenses, discounted organizational site/group licenses, transcription usage, and a published textbook, 'Making Qualitative Research Happen.' Go-to-market is product-led and community-led: a 14-day unrestricted free trial, self-serve e-commerce, an extensive blog with 100+ posts, a free curated qualitative research course, YouTube tutorials, a podcast, certified trainers worldwide, and dedicated pricing tiers for students, academics, non-profits, public sector, and a 25% global majority world discount. Hosting is delivered via SOC 1/2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, and PCI-DSS compliant infrastructure across six regions (US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia), and the company markets a deliberate anti-AI-analysis privacy stance, with no customer data used for AI training.
Quirkos is a bootstrapped, capital-efficient micro-software firm of 1–10 employees with no disclosed external funding, serving a global long tail of individual researchers and small teams alongside a handful of high-profile institutional users (Oxford, MIT, United Nations, Ipsos, University of Toronto, Wikimedia). Its core differentiation rests on ease-of-use, an accessible price point roughly half that of enterprise incumbents like NVivo, MAXQDA, and Atlas.ti, and a contrarian privacy positioning that, combined with REFI-QDA cross-compatibility, makes it a credible low-cost alternative in the qualitative analysis software market.
Quirkos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Quirkos
- Legal name
- Quirkos Limited
- Website
- https://quirkos.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Quirkos is an Edinburgh-based software company that builds visual qualitative data analysis software for academic researchers, market research firms, non-profits, and public-sector organizations, sold via low-cost Cloud subscriptions and perpetual desktop licenses globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Quirkos industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Qualitative Data Analysis Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (51321)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Data Exploration & Ad-Hoc Query Tools (HDAEAMAL)
Keywords
Where Quirkos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Edinburgh
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Quirkos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Quirkos Cloud Subscriptions: Recurring annual or quarterly subscription providing access to Quirkos Web browser version and cloud storage. Includes live collaboration, project sharing, and automatic backups. Minimum subscription is 3 months.
- Offline Software Licenses: One-time perpetual license purchase for Quirkos 3 desktop application for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Provides lifetime access on one or two computers with offline project storage.
- Group/Organizational Site Licenses: Discounted site licenses for organizations and teams. Volume pricing for multiple users with group rates.
- Qualitative Research Textbook: Sale of physical and digital copies of 'Making Qualitative Research Happen' textbook published by Quirkos Ltd. Physical book priced at £30 with eBook included; eBook only at £8.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Quirkos Cloud subscription at $5/month |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Offline License at $69 lifetime |
| Subscription | Annual | Student pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Academic and Non-Profit pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Public Sector pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Commercial pricing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Site/Group Licenses |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Quirkos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Quirkos develops and sells qualitative data analysis (QDA) software that lets researchers code, organize, and visualize text-based qualitative data using a visual bubble-based 'Quirks' canvas. It is offered as a subscription cloud product (Quirkos Cloud with Quirkos Web browser app) and a perpetual offline desktop license (Quirkos 3) for Windows, Mac, and Linux, with an add-on automated transcription service (Quirkos Transcribe) and educational resources including a textbook and free qualitative research course.
Product overview
Quirkos is a simple qualitative data analysis software company offering two deployment options: a desktop application (Quirkos 3) for offline use on Windows, Mac, and Linux, and a cloud-based subscription service (Quirkos Cloud) that includes access to Quirkos Web in the browser. The product features visual 'Quirk' bubble-based coding for qualitative text analysis. Add-on services include Quirkos Transcribe for automated audio/video transcription. The company also publishes educational resources including the textbook 'Making Qualitative Research Happen' and offers free curated courses, workshops, and example datasets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Quirkos Cloud: Cloud subscription service for storing projects on secure remote servers with automatic backup and syncing, including live collaboration features.
- Quirkos Web
- Quirkos 3
- Quirkos Transcribe
- Making Qualitative Research Happen
Products and services
- Quirkos Cloud Recurring subscription service providing access to Quirkos on all devices via the Quirkos Web browser application, with unlimited secure cloud storage, real-time multi-user collaboration, project sharing, automatic backups, and cross-device sync; targeted at individual researchers, students, academics, and professionals.
- Quirkos 3 (Offline Desktop Application) Perpetual one-time licensed offline desktop application for Windows, Mac, and Linux that brings the updated visual interface from Quirkos Web to a fully offline experience, storing projects locally on the user's computer with no registration required; targeted at individual users who prefer offline workflows or low-cost perpetual ownership.
- Quirkos Web (Browser App) Browser-based version of Quirkos that runs entirely in modern internet browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) with no installation required; available to Quirkos Cloud subscribers at no additional cost and includes the same core visual coding features as the desktop application.
- Quirkos Transcribe Automated transcription service that converts audio and video files to text in minutes for use as qualitative sources in Quirkos; supports English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, uses end-to-end encryption, and is explicitly not used for AI training. Sold with 100 free minutes and usage-based pricing.
- Making Qualitative Research Happen (Textbook) A textbook on qualitative research published by Quirkos Ltd., covering the qualitative research process from research question to dissemination, with contributions from expert authors including Mónica Sánchez-Hernández, Helen Kara, Christina Silver, Kimberly Hirsh, and Anuja Cabraal; sold as a physical book (£30, includes eBook) or eBook only (£8).
Quantifiable outcome
- 1000+ scholarly publications using Quirkos
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Quirkos
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Quirkos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability3 records
Feature8 records
Quirkos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Quirkos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- NVivo (Lumivero): NVivo is the market-leading qualitative data analysis software, offering coding, visualization, and collaboration features across academia and commercial research. It is Quirkos's primary competitor and the incumbent against which Quirkos positions on price, ease-of-use, and privacy.
- MAXQDA: MAXQDA is a long-established qualitative and mixed-methods data analysis software widely used in academic and social research. Quirkos explicitly supports cross-compatibility with MAXQDA via REFI-QDA, recognizing it as a direct competitor for the same qualitative researcher persona.
- Atlas.ti: Atlas.ti is a QDA software platform with strong academic adoption and a network model for team collaboration. Like NVivo and MAXQDA, it is one of the three incumbents Quirkos cross-impersonates via REFI-QDA, targeting the same PhD-student and qualitative-researcher workflow.
- Dedoose: Dedoose is a web-based qualitative and mixed-methods analysis tool, popular in social science research. It overlaps directly with Quirkos on the cloud-native, browser-accessible QDA workflow and competes for the same SME and small-team research buyers.
Emerging players
- Taguette: Taguette is an open-source QDA tool aimed at qualitative researchers seeking a free alternative to commercial incumbents. It competes most directly with Quirkos on the price-sensitive postgraduate and global-majority-world buyer segments.
- Otter.ai: Otter.ai provides AI-powered transcription and meeting note-taking, overlapping with Quirkos Transcribe on the audio-to-text pre-analysis workflow. While Otter pushes AI-assisted summary, Quirkos competes on confidentiality and end-to-end encryption for research-sensitive audio.
- Trint: Trint is an AI transcription and editing platform with collaborative workflows targeted at journalists and researchers. It overlaps with Quirkos Transcribe and the broader qualitative research pre-analysis workflow.
- Rev: Rev provides AI- and human-powered transcription services with enterprise collaboration features, comparable to Quirkos Transcribe for researchers converting interview audio into analyzable text.
Broad incumbents
- Qualtrics: Qualtrics is a broad experience-management platform with text-analysis and survey-response capabilities. While not a dedicated QDA tool, its text-analysis modules overlap with Quirkos on the commercial market-research and customer-feedback segment.
Others
- IBM SPSS: IBM SPSS is a dominant statistical analysis platform frequently paired with QDA tools in mixed-methods research. Quirkos explicitly exports data for SPSS/Excel analysis, making SPSS an adjacent ecosystem participant in the qualitative-to-quantitative workflow.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Quirkos social profiles
Digital presenceQuirkos compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Quirkos financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Quirkos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Quirkos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Quirkos M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Quirkos
What does Quirkos do?
Quirkos develops and sells qualitative data analysis (QDA) software that lets researchers code, organize, and visualize text-based qualitative data using a visual bubble-based 'Quirks' canvas. It is offered as a subscription cloud product (Quirkos Cloud with Quirkos Web browser app) and a perpetual offline desktop license (Quirkos 3) for Windows, Mac, and Linux, with an add-on automated transcription service (Quirkos Transcribe) and educational resources including a textbook and free qualitative research course.
Is Quirkos a public or private company?
Quirkos is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Quirkos founded?
Quirkos was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Quirkos based?
Quirkos is headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Quirkos make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Quirkos Cloud Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are offline Software Licenses, group/Organizational Site Licenses and qualitative Research Textbook.
Who are Quirkos's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are NVivo (Lumivero), MAXQDA, Atlas.ti and Dedoose. Emerging players are Taguette, Otter.ai, Trint and Rev. Qualtrics is listed as a broad incumbent. IBM SPSS is listed as an others.
Does Quirkos have an API?
No public API is recorded for Quirkos.
What industry is Quirkos in?
Quirkos's product category is Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAMAL, Data Exploration & Ad-Hoc Query Tools. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.