Top 10 Best Online Survey Tools in 2024 (Free & Paid)
There are hundreds of online survey tools on the internet. And while having such a vast choice can be a good thing, it can also make picking one survey platform from a pool of many tremendously difficult.
To save you some time and effort, we've done all of the research for you. After closely reviewing dozens of survey tools, we've narrowed down our selection to a final ten, reviewed below.
And if you end up struggling with making a decision, in the end, we've provided you with five easy steps you should follow to find the right survey tool for you. But before we closely review any of the online survey tools we've selected, let's first take a closer look at how the public has rated each one of them.
The 10 best online survey tools in 2024 - as rated by the public
When choosing a survey tool, social proof is key. Below, we've gathered the online rating of all ten survey platforms across the three leading software review sites: Capterra, G2, and Software Advice.
Based on the public's opinion, the two leading online survey platforms are SmartSurvey and Google Forms. The rest, with the exception of Snap Surveys, have a relatively average score, while Snap Surveys' online rating is below average.
SmartSurvey - best overall choice
SmartSurvey is the UK's leading online survey builder. Founded in 2010, SmartSurvey has been at the forefront of helping survey makers create, distribute, and analyse surveys, web forms, and questionnaires.
The multi-award-winning online survey tool has been trusted by over 500,000 users, some of which include the NHS, HSE, Royal London, Cabinet Office, and BAE Systems, to name a few. And it's easy to see why.
SmartSurvey is scalable, affordable, flexible, and very easy to use. To give you a better idea of what you can expect from SmartSurvey, let's take a look at eight of the platform's top features.
Top 8 features of SmartSurvey
To use SmartSurvey, users can either go for the free survey maker (free forever - no credit card required) or pick one of the three premium plans available. They include Professional, Business, and Enterprise.
The Professional and Business plans cost £35 and £60 per month respectively (£25 and £50 if you pay annually), while the cost of the Enterprise plan will be bespoke to your needs. SmartSurvey also has a Student and a Not-for-profit plan, which can save eligible users up to 50% off the price of their plan.
Pros
- All user data is stored in the United Kingdom
- Unlimited surveys, questions, and responses
- No usage-based pricing
- Advanced question types & branching
- Access to a library of ready-to-use survey templates
- No steep learning curvev
- WCAG 2.0 compliant
- Pay annually and save up to 28.5%
- White label branding
- Supports offline surveys
- A free forever plan is available (no credit card required)
- Free 14-day trial is available on the Professional and Business plan
Cons
- Most worthwhile features are reserved for paying customers
- SmartSurvey's user interface is only available in the English language
Qualtrics - best for complex research projects
Qualtrics is one of the more complex online survey builders on this list. As a result, it's predominantly used by large businesses and organisations who require a survey tool with enterprise-grade capabilities. To give you an idea of what you can expect from Qualtrics, here's a list of the platform's flagship features:
- Real-time reporting
- Predictive analytics
- AI-driven insights
- Advanced skip logic and branching
- Advanced question types
- Multiple users can collaborate on the same survey
- Multi-channel distribution
- Ability to export results in multiple file formats
With all that in mind, one major downside to Qualtrics is the steep learning curve involved in using the platform. If you've never used a survey builder before, you'll most likely have to spend some time figuring out the platform and its features so you can make the most of it.
Another downside to Qualtrics is associated with the cost. Although the exact cost of the tool is not public information, it is widely known that Qualtrics is amongst the most expensive online survey tools on the market. So, if you're ready to face the learning curve and pay a substantial amount of money to conduct your surveys, Qualtrics can be a good survey platform for you.
What's worth mentioning is that Qualtrics has a free plan. And although most of the features that the platform is known for are locked behind a paywall, the free plan will still give you a decent idea if Qualtrics will be worth your time and money. With the free plan, users can create up to three surveys at any one time, add up to 30 questions, and get up to 500 responses per survey.
Pros
- It's a great choice for complex research projects
- Suitable for users looking at creating customisable surveys
- Users can export results in multiple file formats
- Advanced analytical and reporting features
Cons
- It's the most expensive online survey tool on this list
- Most users will have to go through a steep learning curve
Google Forms - best free survey tool
Google Forms is a free and simple online survey builder. The ease of use combined with the lack of cost associated with using the platform make it a popular choice amongst users looking at creating, analysing, and distributing simple surveys. And although the US-based survey platform is free to use, it still has quite an impressive set of features, some of which include:
- A library of 17 different survey templates
- 11 different question types
- Response validation
- Seamless integration with Google Sheets
- Ability to view responses in real time
- Auto-generated summary of responses
- Effortless sharing and team collaboration
Since the platform is free to use, the platform's main base of users are students, individuals, and small companies and organisations. And it's easy to see why. Using the free plan, survey makers can create unlimited surveys, add as many questions as they want, and get unlimited responses.
Pros
- No steep learning curvev
- It's free forever
- Unlimited surveys, questions, and responses
- Decent analytical and reporting features
- Effortless team collaboration & sharing
Cons
- Limited customer support
- Limited design & customisation features
- No white label branding
- No advanced question types & skip logic
Jotform - best for creating custom forms
Founded in 2006, Jotform is another popular US-based online survey platform. To date, Jotform claims that over 20 million users have gone through the platform, which makes sense considering how flexible and robust the platform is. To give you an idea of what you can expect, here's a list Jotform's most prominent features:
- Seamless integration with Stripe, PayPal, and other payment processors
- Survey makers get unlimited access to the drag & drop form builder
- Users can take advantage of the over 1,400 survey templates
- Flexible survey design and customisation
What we like about Jotform is that regardless of which plan you choose, you'll have access to all of the features the platform offers. With that said, as some features have a cap, the limit itself will be determined by the plan you choose. For instance, if you choose the Starter plan, you'll have a limit of 100 responses per month. If you choose the Bronze plan, the response limit goes up to 1,000, and so on.
Currently, users can pick from five different plans, including Starter, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Enterprise. The cost of each one is $0, $39, $49, and $129 per month. The cost of the Enterprise plan will be bespoke to your needs. If you decide to pay annually, you'll save around 15% from the price of your plan.
Pros
- The features you get access to aren't determined by the plan you choose
- Most users won't have to go through a steep learning curve
- Users can choose to pay monthly or annually (and save some money)
Cons
- All premium plans except the Enterprise plan have capped responses
- Some of the more advanced features can be quite tricky to use for some users
Alchemer - best for automations
Unlike most survey platforms, the core focus of Alchemer is to help survey makers create more personalised and engaging surveys. To do that, the Interactive Elements feature was introduced. What this feature does is it allows users to embed a variety of dynamic content to their surveys.
It can be anything from images and videos to JavaScript code. And while this feature is definitely one of Alchemer's USPs (unique selling points), some other notable features this US-based survey platform offers include:
- A range of basic and advanced question types
- Advanced skip logic and branching
- Offline surveys
- Custom themes and branding
- Various survey distribution channel
- Mobile responsiveness
To use Alchemer, users have to pick from four different premium plans, which include Collaborator, Professional, Full Access, and Enterprise. If you were to pay month for month, each of the plans will cost you £45, £130, and £215 per user respectively.
The cost of the Enterprise plan will be bespoke to your needs. However, if you are set on Alchemer and would be happy to pay for the platform annually, you can save up to 52% from your plan's total price.
Pros
- White label branding
- When billed annually, users can save up to 52%
- Mobile friendly
- Supports multilingual surveys
- Robust analytical and reporting features
- Super flexible in terms of design and customisation
Cons
- Can be quite expensive when paying monthly
- The mobile app can be quite limiting to some users
- Users often have to go through a steep learning curve
Microsoft Forms - best for quizzes, polls, and basic surveys
Part of the Microsoft 365 suite, Microsoft Forms is an easy to use and largely free online survey builder with the option to go premium. Due to its simple nature, it's predominantly used by students, individuals, and small companies and organisations. Some of the platform's flagship features include:
- Basic branching and skip logic
- Response validation
- Ability to collect anonymous responses
- Collect and analyse results in real time
- Multiple distribution channels
- Seamless integration with other tools in the Microsoft 365 suite
Currently, anyone with a Microsoft account can take advantage of Microsoft Forms. However, there are some limitations. Using the free plan, users can create a maximum of 400 surveys, add up to 200 questions per survey, and get up to 200 responses. This can be quite limiting, but fortunately, there is a solution.
Users that want to bump up their response limit can do so by upgrading their Microsoft Personal account. It costs £5.99 per month or £59.99 per year. That way, rather than getting your responses capped at 200, they will be capped at 1,000. If you want more responses, you'll have to look at either the Microsoft Apps for Business or the Microsoft 365 Education plan.
Pros
- There is no steep learning curve
- Safe & secure
- Anyone can use the tool for free
- Integrates extremely well with the Microsoft 365 suite
Cons
- Not suitable for complex research projects
- Limited customer support
- Limited question types & skip logic
- Limited surveys, questions, and responses
- Limited survey design & customisation
Typeform - best for interactive surveys
Using Typeform, survey makers can create interactive surveys, forms, and questionnaires that will truly engage respondents. The interactive surveys is Typeform's biggest selling point, and one of the reasons why over 1 million typeforms are completed every day.
And while this feature alone is enough to attract survey makers, it's far from the platform's only decent feature. Some other notable features you should know about include:
- Drop-off analysis
- Live chat support
- Conversion tracking
- Unlimited surveys & questions
- 500+ Zapier integrations
- Flexible survey customisation and design
- A variety of ready-to-use survey templates
- Advanced question types and skip logic
With that said, most of the features we listed above are hidden behind a paywall. Currently, Typeform offers users the ability to choose from five different plans, including their free forever plan, Basic, Plus, Business, and Enterprise. The cost of each plan is £0, £25, £49, and £79 per month. The cost of the Enterprise plan will depend on your specific needs.
One major downside to Typeform is not only that there is a response cap on every plan, but that the response limit is also quite low. For instance, the Basic plan, which costs £25 per month will only allow you to get up to 100 responses each month.
Pros
- Easily integrates with CRMs and a range of reporting tools
- It's perfect for creating engaging and personalised surveys
- The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate
- A free forever plan is available to all
Cons
- All premium plans have a response limit
- No white label branding
- Limited integration options
- Doesn't support offline surveys
- No user segmentation or reminder emails
QuestionPro - best for live polls
QuestionPro is a popular US-based online survey and data collection platform. It provides survey makers with a comprehensive suite of tools for creating, distributing, and analysing surveys and questionnaires.
Founded in 2005, for almost two decades, QuestionPro has been used by a variety of survey makers to collect feedback, conduct market research, and gain an insight into customer satisfaction. Some of QuestionPro's most prominent features include:
- A library of 350+ ready-to-use survey templates
- 360-degree feedback
- Live audience polls
- Users can create multilingual surveys
- Survey makers can distribute their surveys through various channels
- Users can take advantage of 29 different question types
- Advanced skip logic and branching
While all those features are great, taking advantage of them will come at a cost. Currently, QuestionPro allows users to pick from four different plans. They include Essentials ($0), Advanced ($99), Team Edition ($83 per user per month for a minimum of 5 users), and Research Edition (bespoke to your needs and for a minimum of 10 users).
One of the major downsides to QuestionPro is that every premium plan has a response cap. And once you go over it for the month, each next respondent will cost you extra. And as you can imagine, if you plan on conducting a large-scale survey, using QuestionPro for the job can end up costing you quite a bit more than you might have initially planned.
Pros
- Supports offline surveys
- 24/7 live chat & over-the-phone support
- A free forever plan is available to all
- Ability to track survey responses in real time
Cons
- All QuestionPro plans have a response cap
- All plans are billed annually
- The UI can appear quite outdated compared to other online survey tools
- The platform follows a usage-based pricing model
Snap Surveys - best for measuring user experience
Snap Surveys is the most well established online survey platform on this list. Founded in the distant 1981, the UK-based online survey tool has been helping organisations measure every kind of user experience, ranging from customer satisfaction to remote working. In regards to features, some of the most notable ones include:
- Advanced conditional logic and question types
- The platform supports multilingual surveys
- A library of pre-made survey templates
- Great reporting capabilities
- Ability to collect data without access to the internet
As far as the cost of using Snap Surveys is concerned, it will depend on which of the four premium plans you choose. They include: Researcher (£82 per month for one user), Team (£63 per month for a minimum of 3 users), Corporate (£35 per month for a minimum of 15 users), and Enterprise (bespoke to your needs).
One major downside to Snap Surveys is that the platform's premium plans are all billed annually. So, to use the platform, you'll be expected to pay a minimum of £975 for the Researcher plan, £2275 for the Team plan, and £6295 for the Corporate plan.
What's more is that none of the plans offer unlimited responses. So, if you reach your response limit for the month, you'll have to pay extra.
Pros
- All users can try the Researcher plan for 30 days
- Advanced question types & skip logic
- A library of survey templates
- Multilingual surveys
- Offline surveys
Cons
- It's a Windows-based application
- Lack of flexible payment options
- Every plan has a response cap
- Can get quite expensive for large-scale surveys
Zoho Survey - best for user-friendly survey creation
Zoho Surveys is a popular online survey and data collection tool that's owned by the California-based Zoho Corporation. Founded in 2002, for over two decades, Zoho Survey has been helping users create surveys in minutes, reach their audience on every device, and view the results in real-time. Some of the platform's most notable features include:
- Access to over 25 question types
- A library of 250+ ready-to-use templates
- Advanced skip logic and piping
- SSL protection
- Customisable reports
- Mobile-friendly
- Ability to have data collected on your behalf
While Zoho Survey does offer users some decent features, they come at a cost. Currently, users can pick from three different premium plans, including Plus, Pro, and Enterprise. The cost of each one is £35, £49, and £109 per month.
Users also have the option to subscribe annually and save 30% from the cost of their plan. There is also a free plan available, and although it's quite limited, it will give you a decent idea of what you can expect from the platform.
Pros
- There's a library of over 250 survey templates
- Supports offline surveys
- Available in 26 different languages
- Unlimited surveys, questions, and responses
- You can try the premium plans before you pay
Cons
- New users may have to go through a learning curve
- Limited customisation options for free users
- Users report that it's not suitable for complex research projects
How to choose: 5 easy steps to find the best survey tool for you
Settling on one particular survey tool over a dozen others can be tricky. To help make your decision-making process easier, follow the five steps we've outlined below.
Determine your goals
Before you look at any online survey tools, decide exactly what it is that you want to achieve with your survey. This will help you determine the features and functionalities you need the survey platform to have, in order to build the survey that will help you achieve your goals.
Write down the features you need
Once you know what your goals are, start writing down the list of features and functionalities you need the survey platform to have. For instance, if your target audience are disabled elderly people, you need to look for a WCAG compliant survey platform, such as SmartSurvey.
Decide on a budget
While there are some great free online survey builders, most platforms that are worthwhile come at a cost. So, unless you're looking at creating a super basic survey, it's worth deciding on a budget before you go out looking for a suitable survey tool. That way, any tools that are outside of your budget can be quickly disqualified.
Opt for tools that let you try before you pay
Unless you're willing to risk wasting a part of your budget, only choose to go for platforms that let you try their premium plans without paying. One great example is SmartSurvey, which allows users to try its Professional and Business plans for 14 days, completely risk free.
Don't forget about data security & protection
And last but not least, since you're dealing with respondent data, it is of utmost importance that it's kept safe and secure. That's why it's best not to go for survey platforms that don't take user data security and protection seriously. One great place to check a survey software's security rating is on the SecurityScorecard website.
Conclusion - which is the best survey tool in 2024?
The best survey platform is the one that meets all of your needs and budget. We are fully aware that this is most likely not the answer you're looking for. So, if we had to point a finger at one particular survey platform, it would be SmartSurvey.
SmartSurvey is not only affordable and suitable for every type of survey maker, but it's intuitive, easy to use, and has one of the most robust set of features out there. We can go on and on about SmartSurvey, but the proof is in the pudding.
Among the 500,000+ users that have used SmartSurvey, the largest and most significant organisations in the UK are part of this list. Think the NHS, BBC, HSBC, Barclays, HSE, and BAE Systems, to name a few.
Whether you're undecided about SmartSurvey or are ready to try it out, you can do so right now, completely for free. There is zero risk involved.
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