Experimentation Tools Comparison
Choosing the right approach to gamify your A/B testing program. Compare dedicated tools, general-purpose platforms, and DIY solutions.
Evaluation Criteria
When comparing experimentation engagement tools, focus on these key factors. The right choice depends on your team size, technical resources, and how deeply you want to integrate gamification.
Engagement Impact
How effectively does it increase team participation in experiments?
Time to Value
How quickly can you get started and see results?
Maintenance Burden
How much ongoing work is required to keep it running?
Integration Depth
How well does it connect with your existing tools?
Gamification Quality
How engaging are the game mechanics?
Analytics & Insights
What data do you get about team engagement?
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ExperimentBets Dedicated Tool | Spreadsheet Tracking DIY | Notion Databases General Purpose | Airtable General Purpose | Internal Tools DIY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slack Integration | Basic | Basic | Build it | ||
| Experiment Betting | Manual | Custom setup | Custom setup | Build it | |
| Leaderboards | Manual | Manual formulas | Formula views | Build it | |
| Virtual Currency | Manual | Custom setup | Custom fields | Build it | |
| Automatic Sync | Via Zapier | Build it | |||
| Season Management | Manual | Manual | Manual | Build it | |
| Team Analytics | Basic | Limited | Limited | Build it | |
| Mobile-Friendly | Limited | Build it | |||
| Setup Time | 5 minutes | Hours | 1-2 days | 1-2 days | Weeks to months |
| Maintenance | None | High | Medium | Medium | Ongoing |
| Pricing | Free tier available, paid from $99/mo | Free | Free tier available, Team from $10/user/mo | Free tier available, Team from $20/user/mo | Engineering time + infrastructure |
Detailed Breakdown
Purpose-built gamification for A/B testing with Slack integration
Best For
- Product teams wanting to boost experiment engagement
- Companies using Slack for collaboration
- Teams with existing A/B testing platforms
Limitations
- Requires Slack workspace
- Focused on engagement, not experiment execution
Manual tracking in Google Sheets or Excel
Best For
- Very small teams just getting started
- Teams with no budget
- Quick proof of concept
Limitations
- Requires constant manual updates
- No automation or integrations
- Prone to errors and abandonment
- Poor user experience
Experiment tracking using Notion's database features
Best For
- Teams already using Notion heavily
- Teams needing documentation alongside tracking
- Flexible custom workflows
Limitations
- No native experiment platform integration
- Manual scoring and calculations
- Limited gamification mechanics
- Another tab to check
Relational database with automation capabilities
Best For
- Teams already using Airtable for project management
- Data-oriented teams comfortable with relational databases
- Organizations needing custom automations
Limitations
- No native experiment platform integration
- Complex setup for gamification mechanics
- Requires Zapier or Make for real automation
- Can get expensive with larger teams
Custom-built solution by your engineering team
Best For
- Teams with unique requirements
- Companies needing full data control
- Organizations with dedicated internal tools teams
Limitations
- Significant engineering investment
- Ongoing maintenance burden
- Opportunity cost of engineering time
- Feature development falls on your team
How to Choose the Right Approach
Choose a Dedicated Tool (ExperimentBets) If...
- You want to be up and running in minutes, not days or weeks
- Your team uses Slack for daily communication
- You already have an A/B testing platform (Amplitude, Statsig, etc.)
- You want proven gamification mechanics without reinventing the wheel
Choose Spreadsheets If...
- You have zero budget and a very small team (under 5 people)
- You want to quickly test if experiment betting resonates with your team
- You have someone willing to manually update the sheet regularly
Choose Notion If...
- Your team already lives in Notion and loves it
- You need rich documentation alongside experiment tracking
- You have time to build and maintain custom database views
Choose Building Internally If...
- You have unique requirements that no existing tool addresses
- You need complete control over your data and infrastructure
- You have a dedicated internal tools team with capacity
- The investment makes sense for your scale (usually 500+ employees)
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes experimentation gamification different from just tracking experiments?
Experiment tracking is passive: you record what happened. Experimentation gamification is active: you create participation, competition, and learning. The goal is to transform observers into engaged participants who build product intuition through prediction and feedback loops.
Can I start with spreadsheets and migrate later?
Yes. Many teams start with a simple spreadsheet to validate that experiment betting resonates with their team. Once you see engagement, migrating to a dedicated tool like ExperimentBets takes about 5 minutes and brings automation, integrations, and better UX.
How much time does it take to maintain a DIY solution?
For spreadsheets, expect 30-60 minutes per week to update experiments, calculate scores, and maintain the leaderboard. For internal tools, ongoing engineering time varies, but plan for at least 1-2 days per month for maintenance, bug fixes, and feature requests.
What integrations should I look for?
The most valuable integrations are with your experimentation platform (Amplitude, Statsig, LaunchDarkly) for automatic experiment syncing, and with Slack for where your team collaborates. Secondary integrations might include analytics tools and SSO providers.