SPSS is the statistics gold standard.
It's also $99+/user/month, requires syntax training, and wasn't built for MR banner tables.
IBM SPSS Statistics is the go-to tool for academic researchers and data scientists — with deep coverage of regression, ANOVA, factor analysis, and survival models. If that's your workflow: use SPSS.
If you're a market research analyst who needs banner tables, sig testing, and rim weighting — not SPSS Syntax — Krosstabs does the specific things MR teams need for $69/month, in a browser, with no code to write.
No SPSS Syntax. No install. No data upload. No per-seat fees.
Feature by feature
| Krosstabs | IBM SPSS | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $69–$149/month | $99–$200+/user/month |
| Installation | None (browser) | Desktop install required |
| Data upload | Never | Local application |
| DPA required | No | Depends on IT policy |
| MR banner tables | Yes | Manual configuration required |
| Significance testing | Yes (z/t, 3 corrections) | Yes (many methods) |
| Rim weighting | Yes | Via custom SPSS syntax |
| Open-end coding | Yes (AI, in-browser) | No native feature |
| Segmentation | Yes (k-means, Ward) | Yes (many methods) |
| MR Excel export | Yes | Via custom output |
| Scripting / custom code | No (intentional) | Yes (SPSS Syntax + Python) |
| SPSS .sav import | Coming soon | Native format |
The honest bottom line
SPSS is a statistics platform. Krosstabs is an MR analytics platform. They solve different problems, for different users, with different mental models.
SPSS assumes you know what you want to test, can write the syntax to run it, and have a statistician's vocabulary. MR analysts usually don't — and shouldn't need to. Krosstabs speaks the language of banner tables, significance letters, and rim weighting, not ANOVA and p-value tables.
If your team runs academic research, clinical trials, or needs multivariate models beyond k-means: SPSS is the right tool. If you're running trackers, ad hoc studies, or client reporting for a research agency: Krosstabs was built for your workflow specifically.
What Krosstabs covers
- Banner tables with significance testing (no syntax)
- Rim weighting (raking / iterative proportional fitting)
- AI open-end coding (in-browser, no data upload)
- Respondent segmentation (k-means + Ward hierarchical)
- Key driver analysis (importance-performance)
- TURF analysis (claim portfolio optimisation)
- Excel export in MR format (merged headers, sig letters in-cell)
- SPSS Syntax or Python scripting
- ANOVA, regression, factor analysis
- PowerPoint export (coming soon)
- SPSS .sav import (coming soon)
- Survey authoring or data collection
- Multi-user collaboration or team workspaces
If your workflow depends on SPSS's statistical depth — regression, factor analysis, survival models — Krosstabs is not a replacement. If your workflow is banner tables, weighting, and reporting, it is.
Banner tables in seconds. No SPSS Syntax.
Load a sample dataset and run a weighted banner table with significance testing. No account. No install. Decide after you've seen the output.