The major qualitative data analysis software packages all have very similar basic functions. To see which one is more comfortable for you, I suggest that you look at the training videos for each of the two packages. One recent recent development is that MAXQDA has an option for using ChatGPT to assist in the data analysis process, while NVivo does not have this option.

Im Doing QA for the first time. Im using Nvivo and it's kind of ass if you need to manage a lot of codes. I can see it being good for smaller datasets though. Its like mildly more useful than just doing coding by hand imo. I'm stuck using it for now but im disappointed that ut doesn't have some features I'd expect to be essential (like a simple hover to see the code!). Be sure to set up the back ups. Also it crashes with some queries.

Both are good qualitative data analysis (QDA) software. However, each excels at certain aspects. For example, ATLAS.ti shines at online collaboration and theory building. On the other hand, MAXQDA stands out in quantitative content analysis and mixed methods research. You could check out the following libguide for a detailed comparison of various QDA packages, including ATLAS.ti and MAXQDA. George Mason University Libraries. (2022, April 22). Qualitative research & tools. InfoGuides at George Mason University. https://infoguides.gmu.edu/qual/software/choose Good luck,

I just wanted to clarify a point that's usually overlooked - none of the qualitative software discussed here (nVivo, Atlas.ti, Maxda, dedoose. nudist) actually "analyze" the data for you in the way that quantitative software does. They are more tools for systematically organizing, coding, annotating, visualizing, etc. In essence, you are still doing the analysis yourself, just using the software for assistance in managing and exploring the data. This chart provides a good (though slightly outdated) comparison of what each of the QDA programs are better suited for, depending on what kind of data you're analyzing, what you want to do with it, how much time you have to learn the software, etc: http://website.education.wisc.edu/qdatools/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Software-Comparison.pdf.  In my experience nVivo is most widely used; though it's relatively pricey - there are some open-source packages too. (For quantitative analysis of qualitative data, regressions etc, if you're even interested in doing those - and a lot of people explicitly are not -  you would  probably be best off learning R).