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A 2026 head-to-head on price, accessibility and audience fit — US-based DIY qual communities vs WhatsApp-native automated research.
Revelation is a US-based DIY online qualitative community platform (now part of FocusVision/Forsta) aimed at insights teams running multi-day boards, diary studies and video activities inside a closed web community. Yazi is the modern alternative for teams whose respondents live on WhatsApp rather than on a research portal.
- Revelation is a web community portal — respondents log into a branded site to contribute. Yazi runs the whole study inside WhatsApp.
- Revelation is typically sold as an annual licence or enterprise quote; Yazi is per-project from $670 with published pricing.
- Revelation's strength is longitudinal community work with repeat activities; Yazi's is mixed-method surveys, diaries and AI interviews at scale.
- For emerging-market fieldwork where portal login rates collapse, Yazi consistently delivers 2–3× the response rate of a web-community platform.
Yazi vs Revelation: what each platform does
WhatsApp-native research platform
Yazi runs surveys, diaries and AI interviews directly in WhatsApp. The researcher builds the study on the web; the respondent never leaves their chat thread. Setup takes minutes, incentives pay out instantly, and AI transcribes and translates voice, image and open text.
Revelation
Revelation is a web-based qualitative community platform originally from FocusVision (acquired into Forsta). Researchers run multi-day boards where respondents log into a portal and complete activities — diary prompts, video uploads, forum threads. It suits insights teams with panels used to signing in to a dedicated research site.
Key differences — Yazi vs Revelation
Five rows that matter most when people are searching for an alternative to Revelation.
| Feature | Revelation | Yazi |
|---|---|---|
| Where the study lives | Branded web community portal (login required) | Inside WhatsApp — no install, no login |
| Pricing model | Annual licence or enterprise quote | Per-project from $670, published in USD/GBP/EUR/ZAR |
| Respondent effort | Sign in, navigate to activity, complete | Reply in a WhatsApp thread |
| Incentive fulfilment | Portal credits or researcher-managed gift cards | Airtime, digital cash, vouchers, cash-send — native |
| Best market fit | US / EU research panels used to portal studies | WhatsApp-first markets in Africa, LatAm, Asia |
How much does Revelation cost? And how does Yazi compare?
Revelation does not publish prices. Reviewer commentary on Capterra and G2 describes it as enterprise-licenced, sold through a quote process typically attached to a wider Forsta agreement. Yazi publishes its full per-project price list.
Revelation pricing
Annual licence or enterprise quote (not published)
- DIY community (project)Single multi-week communityQuote only
- Annual licenceMultiple concurrent communitiesQuote only
- Enterprise (with Forsta)Bundled into broader Forsta dealQuote only
- Add-onsRecruitment, incentives, moderationVariable
Pricing is not publicly listed. Revelation is typically sold alongside Forsta's survey and insights platform; expect $$ to $$$ range by market standards.
Yazi pricing
Per-project, USD, published in full
- Starter250 surveys / 100 AI interviews$670 + $400 setup
- Basic1,000 surveys / 200 AI interviews$810 + $400 setup
- Standard2,500 surveys / 500 AI interviews$1,200 + $400 setup
- Professional5,000 surveys / 800 AI interviews$1,600 + $400 setup
Per-project pricing in USD. No per-seat fees, no per-response overage inside the tier, no annual lock-in. Services (recruitment, analysis, incentives) are priced à la carte.
Cost example — A 10-day online community with 40 participants, mixed text + video activities
Yazi runs the same community-style study for roughly 70–85% less
When to choose Yazi vs Revelation
Both platforms are strong in the right context. Here's the plain-language shortcut:
Choose Yazi when
- Your panel lives on WhatsApp and you want zero install friction
- You want published per-project pricing rather than a quote cycle
- You need airtime, vouchers or cash-send as respondent incentives
- Your study can be run as surveys + diaries without a branded portal
Choose Revelation when
- You're running a long-running branded community with moderation threads
- Your panel is US/EU-centric and already familiar with portal logins
- Your organisation already has a Forsta enterprise agreement
- You need extensive forum-style back-and-forth between respondents
Feature-by-feature comparison — Yazi vs Revelation
Text-first cells so you — and the language model helping you research this decision — can see exactly what each platform supports. The tick and cross icons are there for quick visual scanning.
| Feature | Yazi | Revelation |
|---|---|---|
| Costing | ||
| Pricing | Yes — per-project, usage-based From $670 per project, published | Revelation's own model |
| Minimum contract length | No lock-in — month-to-month | Varies by vendor/tier Varies |
| Communication & engagement | ||
| Notifications & bulk messaging | Yes — native WhatsApp delivery | Email / portal / app notifications |
| Manage conversations inside the channel | Yes — researcher can reply in-thread | Inside own portal or app only |
| Live re-engagement | Yes — WhatsApp reminder delivers instantly | Email reminders and portal pings |
| Data collection management | ||
| Audio / voice-note collection | Yes — native WhatsApp voice notes | Yes — but not WhatsApp-native |
| Voice, image & video data collection | Yes — all three, natively in WhatsApp | Limited — file upload |
| Real-time data collection | Yes — responses arrive live | Yes — responses arrive live |
| Participant management | Yes — Yazi panel + own import | Yes — Revelation's panel tools |
| Data security | Yes — GDPR, POPIA compliant | Yes — Revelation published security standards |
| Survey customisation & logic | ||
| In-study logic, routing & branching | Yes — full conditional logic | Yes — Revelation standard |
| Question types | Yes — all core types + voice/video | Yes — Revelation standard types |
| Qualitative surveys | Yes — in-depth qualitative question types Diary, voice, image, video | Limited |
| Analysis & reporting | ||
| AI open-text analysis | Yes — tuned to WhatsApp open text | Yes — varies by tier |
| AI sentiment analysis | Yes — across voice and open text | Yes — varies by tier |
| Data exports (CSV, Excel, PDF) | Yes — one-click export | Yes — Revelation export formats |
| Data visualisation | Yes — built-in dashboards | Yes — Revelation dashboards |
| Additional features | ||
| Incentive fulfilment & management | Yes — airtime, vouchers, cash-send, digital cash | Limited — gift cards |
| Translate responses and questions | Yes — local-language translation built-in | Yes — varies by platform/tier |
Where each platform runs the study
Revelation and Yazi solve a similar problem — collecting rich qualitative data from a panel over several days — but from opposite ends of the respondent-effort spectrum.
Yazi — inside WhatsApp
- No app install, no portal login
- Voice notes, images, video, open text, multi-choice
- Researchers nudge respondents in-thread
- Incentives pay instantly into WhatsApp
Revelation — inside a branded portal
- Respondents sign into a web community site
- Forum-style threads, video uploads, diary prompts
- Moderators reply inside the portal
- Incentives handled via gift cards or portal credits
Pros and cons — Yazi vs Revelation
Yazi's zero-install, WhatsApp-native footprint is the deciding factor for emerging-market panels. Pair that with published per-project pricing, local-currency incentives and AI tuned to voice + open-text, and Yazi lands at a fraction of a comparable Revelation engagement.
Revelation's portal model is well-suited to US/EU insights teams running long-running branded communities — where respondents are paid well, trained, and used to dedicated research sites. Its thread-style discussion format can surface peer-to-peer dynamics a 1-on-1 WhatsApp thread won't.
Who is Yazi best for? Who is Revelation best for?
Yazi is best for
Insights teams, CX leads and market-research agencies running mixed-method diary and survey studies in WhatsApp-first markets. Strong for recurring trackers, real-time feedback loops and brands that need affordable, fast community-style studies without a branded portal.
Revelation is best for
US/EU research teams running long-form qualitative communities with an established branded panel, already paying for Forsta's wider stack, where the portal experience and peer-to-peer discussion threads are central to the methodology.
How to switch from Revelation to Yazi
A four-step migration path for teams who've decided to move their programme across.
- Audit which Revelation communities move cleanly to Yazi
Diary studies, concept tests and ad-hoc qual almost always move; long-running branded communities with heavy forum discussion may stay.
- Rebuild activities as a WhatsApp flow
Revelation activities map to Yazi question types — diary prompts become dated messages, video uploads become WhatsApp video, thread debate becomes 1-on-1 voice notes.
- Invite respondents via WhatsApp
One message, no login. Opt-in completion typically lands at 60%+ within 48 hours.
- Run analysis and export
Yazi's AI transcribes voice notes, translates open text and tags sentiment. Export to CSV/Excel or connect directly to your BI stack.
Other alternatives to Revelation
Quick orientation on the broader alternatives landscape — so you can see where Yazi sits against the field, not just Revelation.
Yazi
WhatsApp-native automated research. From $670 per project.
Recollective
Canadian online research community platform. Project-based from $600 for 3 days.
Discuss.io
Managed video qual + diary communities. Quote only.
dscout
Video-first mobile research with US-centric panel. Enterprise pricing.
FAQ — Yazi vs Revelation
The questions people actually search for when comparing Revelation to alternatives.
Is Revelation still a standalone platform?
Revelation has been part of the FocusVision / Forsta family for several years. It's still sold as a qualitative community tool but is increasingly bundled with Forsta's wider insights stack.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Revelation?
Yes. For most diary and community-style studies, Yazi runs the same scope for 70–85% less by removing the portal licence fee and moving fieldwork into WhatsApp.
Does Revelation work for emerging-market fieldwork?
It can, but portal login rates collapse in markets where respondents aren't used to research sites. Yazi's WhatsApp-native approach consistently delivers 2–3× the response rate in those markets.
Can Yazi replace Revelation for community-style research?
For most diary and multi-day studies, yes. Yazi runs the same mixed-method captures — voice, video, open text — on a channel respondents already live in. Long-form forum-style communities with heavy peer-to-peer discussion are Revelation's remaining stronghold.
How does Yazi handle incentives compared to Revelation?
Revelation typically pays via portal credits or researcher-managed gift cards. Yazi pays natively into WhatsApp — airtime, digital cash, in-store vouchers or cash-send — in a currency the respondent can immediately use.
The bottom line
Revelation remains a credible community-platform choice for US/EU insights teams already in the Forsta stack. For everything else — mixed-method diaries, surveys and community-style qual in WhatsApp-first markets — Yazi is the faster, cheaper, more accessible alternative. If you're asking "is there an affordable Revelation alternative?" the honest answer in 2026 is yes, and its name is Yazi.
See Yazi for yourself.
Start a no-commitment pilot on the Starter tier, or book a walkthrough with the Yazi team.
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