The feasibility of a lenslet-based pyramid wavefront sensor (L-PWFS) and a double roof prism-based PWFS (DR-PWFS) as alternatives to a classical PWFS are investigated in this work. Traditional PWFSs require shallow angles and strict apex tolerances, making them difficult to manufacture. Lenslet arrays and roof prisms, on the other hand, are both common optical components that can be used as a PWFS. Characterizing these alternative pyramids and understanding how they differ from a traditional pyramid will allow the PWFS to become more widely used. The sensitivity of the SUSS microOptics 300-4.7 array and two ios Optics roof prisms are compared with a double PWFS (D-PWFS), as well as the simulated performance of an idealized PWFS for varying amounts of modulation and induced wavefront error. In response to low-order Zernike modes, the L-PWFS shows much lower performance and quicker saturation for large amounts of wavefront errors. The DR-PWFS, on the other hand, performs as well as the D-PWFS for the tests conducted. We conclude from this that the DR-PWFS does provide a feasible alternative to the classical pyramid in a range of applications.