Should you build your own Aurelius?
Organize interview notes, code excerpts, and synthesize themes into findings
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Aurelius, organize interview notes, code excerpts, and synthesize themes into findings. The hard boundary is research-specific tagging, collaboration, reporting, and import workflows, plus participant network, synthesis workflow, and collaboration.
ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.
Build a personal replacement for Aurelius in an empty repository.
Use Next.js 15, TypeScript, PostgreSQL, Drizzle ORM, and Resend; do not offer alternative stacks.
The core loop is: organize interview notes, code excerpts, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent view of synthesized research findings.
Make the first run work locally with one documented command.
Store all user data locally by default and make export straightforward.
Put secrets in .env, ship .env.example, and never commit credentials.
Create public and private feedback intake with consent text and optional contact details.
Support posts, votes, comments, tags, statuses, owners, and duplicate merging.
Add a research note type with evidence links, quotes, themes, and confidence.
Build search and filters across feedback, customers, segments, themes, and status.
Provide email notifications, moderation, export, deletion, and an audit log.
Publish a read-only roadmap or findings page using only explicitly public items.
Include clear empty, loading, success, and recoverable error states.
Add input validation, safe filenames, and graceful handling of unavailable APIs.
Write focused tests for the core transformation and one end-to-end happy path.
Create a README with setup, architecture, permissions, data location, and backup steps.
Do not add accounts, billing, telemetry, analytics, or a hosted control plane.
Deliberately leave out a paid research-participant marketplace.
Deliberately leave out unlimited video storage and automated transcription.
Deliberately leave out enterprise repositories, SSO, and governance.
Finish by running the tests and listing the exact commands used.The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
What would building your own look like?
Organize interview notes, code excerpts, merge duplicates, connect evidence to themes, and publish a transparent view of synthesized research findings.
What you will need
- PostgreSQL
- public HTTPS deployment
- Resend API key
- optional video-call links
People still pay for Aurelius because people pay either for access to participants or for a research repository that keeps evidence usable across an organization. The recurring cost buys recruitment, consent, scheduling, media storage, transcription, tagging consistency, notifications, search, and retention, not just the visible interface.
xresearch-specific tagging, collaboration, reporting, and import workflows
xlarge participant panel
xrecording and transcription infrastructure
xadvanced research repository
xenterprise governance
Prefer something ready-made?
QualCoderSerious interview coding, memos and theme reports on your desktop, with serious desktop-software vibes.Open source↗
CATMACollaborative text coding in a browser, built by academics and uninterested in your sales funnel.Open source↗
TaguetteCode interview excerpts and export themes without recreating an enterprise research repository.Open source↗View all 3 alternatives to Aurelius →· Licença, instalação e limitações em cada alternativa.
How much does Aurelius cost?
- Monthly billing
- $49/mo$49/mo
- Per year
- $588/yr$588/yr
- On a Brazilian card, with 3.5% IOF
- R$256/moR$3,073/yr
Saved to My list. You will see a notice on this site when the price changes.
You complete the purchase on Aurelius’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| professional | - | $49/workspace≈ $49 | Unlimited users, projects, notes, insights, documents and storage. |
| premium | - | $199/workspace≈ $199 | Unlimited users, projects, notes, insights, documents and storage plus advanced capabilities. |
| enterprise | custom | - | Custom security, service and procurement terms. |
Free tierno free tier
Billing termsAnnual prices are public; a monthly toggle exists, but exact month-to-month rates were not exposed in the checked page output. A 30-day trial is offered.
verified 2026-08-12 · source ↗
Is it cheaper to build or buy Aurelius?
Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.
Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.
Starting hours estimated from the analysis (multi-day). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).
Can I rebuild Aurelius?
Kinda. The core of Aurelius is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: research-specific tagging, collaboration, reporting, and import workflows, large participant panel. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Aurelius cost?
Aurelius costs about $49/mo (Pro, checked 10/20/2026), which is $588 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Aurelius?
Honestly: research-specific tagging, collaboration, reporting, and import workflows; large participant panel; recording and transcription infrastructure; advanced research repository; enterprise governance. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Aurelius?
Yes: QualCoder (Serious interview coding, memos and theme reports on your desktop, with serious desktop-software vibes.) CATMA (Collaborative text coding in a browser, built by academics and uninterested in your sales funnel.) Taguette (Code interview excerpts and export themes without recreating an enterprise research repository.) All 3 curated free alternatives are at https://viberadar.si/aurelius/alternatives. The prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.