Alternatives
Realeyes measures attention on real faces — the gold standard for observed disengagement. The alternatives all trade some of that ground truth for speed, price, or a different lens. Here's how to pick.
Panel measurement has panel physics: recruitment windows, per-study fieldwork costs, enterprise contracts. That's fine for validating a hero asset; it breaks when you want attention data on every AI-generated cut or need a verdict the same afternoon the editor exports. The question is which corner of the observed-human triangle you can afford to give up.
PreTestAds skips recruitment entirely. AdCortex™ was trained on fMRI recordings of brains responding to video — it predicts the engagement response instead of collecting it, returning a percentile against 76 top TikTok performers, Hook Strength, drop-off timing, and the full curve in minutes. From $49/month, first analysis free, no minimum spend — the per-test price that makes screening everything viable. Head-to-head: PreTestAds vs Realeyes.
Junbi, from eye square's research practice, predicts attention and brand recognition against YouTube ad norms specifically. If Realeyes was your YouTube pre-roll instrument, Junbi is the format-native alternative with real research pedigree behind its benchmarks. Comparison: PreTestAds vs Junbi.
Neurons' Predict estimates attention on images and video from years of eye-tracking and neuroscience research, with heatmaps and enterprise workflow features. Like PreTestAds it predicts rather than observes; its strength is spatial diagnostics and brand norms rather than feed-benchmarked engagement curves. Comparison: PreTestAds vs Neurons.
Some Realeyes buyers were actually buying the emotion readout, not the attention one. If so, System1 is the specialist: panel-measured emotional response tied to long-term brand growth, with one of the deepest norms databases in the business. Comparison: PreTestAds vs System1.
Use observation where its weight matters — final validation, stakeholder sign-off — and prediction where its economics matter: every iteration before that. A model that flags a weak first three seconds for $2 saves the panel budget for cuts that already pass the gate. If you only pick one, pick the layer that matches where your ads actually fail: for feed creative, that's almost always attention, almost always early.
No recruitment, no fieldwork window — first analysis free.
Test Your Ad FreeIf you want attention data without panel costs and timelines, PreTestAds predicts second-by-second engagement from an fMRI-trained model in minutes, from about $2 per test. If you still need human-observed data, Junbi (for YouTube) and Neurons are the closest research-grade options.
Measured attention is ground truth for the panelists observed; predicted attention trades that certainty for speed, price, and unlimited repeatability. For screening every variant during creative iteration, prediction wins on economics. For final validation with stakeholders, observation carries more weight.
Every test recruits real people who opt in, watch, and are processed through computer vision — recurring per-study fieldwork cost. A model has no marginal fieldwork, which is why model-based tests cost dollars instead of thousands.