UX audit: Three reviews: what each checks, and what none of them is
People who look for a UX audit want different things: a check of the main tasks, a look at why people leave, an accessibility pass, a view of how the screens fit together. I run three reviews, and this page says what each one checks and what it does not. A UX review, when the question is where people get stuck in the main tasks. A Consistency Review, when it is how the product holds together. A Product Diagnosis, when it is what the product should do. Each ends in work your team can start on the next day.
To start, email andriy.dsgn@gmail.com with a link to the product and a line about what worries you.
Which audit you need
| The question | Review | Price | Time | You get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where do people get stuck? A task that loses users, a confusing flow, support tickets that ask how | UX review | Quoted per product | Depends on the tasks | The main tasks walked end to end, issues ranked by severity with screenshots, recommendations, and what to test with users |
| Does the product hold together? Too many button styles, two ways to do one thing, screens built by different people or agents | Consistency Review | From $700 | 3-5 working days | An inventory of what ships and a ranked task list |
| Are we building the right thing? Flat adoption, a crowded roadmap, a big build about to start | Product Diagnosis | From $900 | One week | A written plan: what to keep, cut, change and do next |
If you are not sure, the free Product Check takes three minutes and points at one of them.
What the UX review checks
- The tasks that matter most, walked end to end in the live product.
- Where people stall, what confuses them and what breaks, each with a screenshot.
- Issues ranked by what they cost the people using the product, not by how many there are.
- Recommendations, and what to test with real users to confirm them.
It is quoted once I know the product and the task, because every product and every problem is different. The method on a public product: A product diagnosis of n8n, which walks its first run.
What the Consistency Review checks
- Every component variant the product actually ships, grouped by component, with screenshots.
- Every value outside the token set, and every style used only once or twice.
- Which differences are mistakes and which are intended.
- Whether the problem is the screens or the system behind them.
The method, on a test app an agent built in one evening: 21 button variants across 25 screens, three of them defects. A canvas for reviewing AI-built UI.
What the Product Diagnosis checks
- The user journey as it actually runs, not as the roadmap describes it.
- The bets the roadmap rests on, and the evidence behind each.
- The parts of the product that absorb effort without paying it back.
- Interface problems, where they explain one of the above.
The format, applied from the outside to a product anyone can open: A product diagnosis of n8n.
What none of them is
- Not a usability test: none of them watches your users. Testing shows what people do; a review says where to look and what to test.
- Not an accessibility audit against WCAG.
- Not a checklist score. Usability heuristics, testing, analytics and a Diagnosis answer different questions, and none of them replaces the others.
If you need one of those, say so in your first message, and I will tell you whether it is something I do.
A free first pass
Before paying anyone, you can run my UX audit agent for Claude Code yourself. It walks one task in your live product, in your own browser, and writes a report with marked screenshots. It finds what a careful first pass finds. The paid audits add judgment: which findings matter, why, and in what order to fix them.
After the audit
- Redesign of the flows that need it, each priced after the audit.
- Work on the design system, from $8,000.
- Fractional product design, when the work needs an owner for months.
- Or nothing: if the audit shows the work is not worth doing, that is the finding.
Questions teams ask
How much does a UX audit cost?
A UX review is quoted once I know the product and the task. A Consistency Review starts at $700, a Product Diagnosis at $900; both are agreed before work starts, and either fee is credited in full toward the work that follows, if it starts within 30 days.
How is this different from usability testing?
Usability testing watches people use the product. An audit reads the product itself, its decisions and its evidence. They answer different questions; an audit often tells you what to test.
What do you need from us?
A link to the product, and for a Diagnosis, the roadmap and whatever research and usage data you have. Missing data is itself part of the finding.
Can you audit an app built with Lovable, Cursor or Claude Code?
Yes. That is where the Consistency Review is most often needed: see AI-built app cleanup.
What exactly do I get at the end?
From the UX review, the issues ranked by severity, with screenshots, recommendations and what to test with users. From the Consistency Review, an inventory of what ships and a ranked task list. From the Diagnosis, a written plan: what to keep, cut, change and do next.
How long does it take?
A Consistency Review takes 3-5 working days and a Product Diagnosis one week. A UX review depends on the tasks in it; the quote gives the date.
Do you audit mobile apps as well as web products?
Yes, both.
Will you implement the changes?
If you want. I redesign the flows, fix the design system and can make the changes in code myself. Your team can also take the task list and do it.
Is an audit worth it for an early-stage startup?
Often most of all: changing direction is cheapest before more is built. The smallest start is a Consistency Review from $700, or the free Product Check.
Do you work with teams in other countries?
Yes. I work remotely, with teams in different countries and time zones.
Other ways I can help
- Product Diagnosis, from $900: one week, a written plan: keep, cut, change, next.
- Design systems, from $700: a Consistency Review, then a system agents follow.
- SaaS UX redesign, quoted per flow: for products that are powerful and confusing.
- Onboarding design, quoted per flow: to the first useful moment, KYC included.
Further reading: An AI UX audit agent for Claude Code. All services, with the situation each one fits: Services.
Want an outside look at your product?
Send a link and a line about what worries you. If it’s not a fit, I’ll say so.