1. 

   I’ve used all of these since they launched, and my main pain point has always been tech glitches. Do they have enough servers? Will my survey slow or crash if I get a lot of traffic? Are there programming glitches that screw up the advanced features? Nobody perfect so far….

   Comment by Anne Holland — April 1, 2010 @ 11:37 am

2. 

   Anne,

   It’s been a long time — I hope all is well with you! I agree, the perfect platform hasn’t hit the market yet. Naturally as the CTO & Founder of SurveyGizmo I hope that SurveyGizmo will emerge as the “perfect” platform in the end — and we are spending a lot of time and money trying to do so!

   Just with people I think “perfect” isn’t generally possible. But quality and stability are another kettle of fish. They are achievable, perhaps hard to scale and maintain, but totally achievable.

   Great article, Michaela. Thanks so much for the praise. I hope we continue to earn it!

   Cheers,

   Christian
   CTO & Co-Founder, SurveyGizmo

   Comment by Christian Vanek — April 1, 2010 @ 3:34 pm

3. 

   Anne,
   I have only experienced issues like that with VantangePoint, but not with any of these 3 tools. I think the concept of perfection is relative to what you value the most in a tool based on the types of research projects you manage. For some users, one of these tools might just be “perfect.”

   Comment by Michaela Mora — April 1, 2010 @ 4:10 pm

4. 

   Christian, Thanks for the feedback!

   Comment by Michaela Mora — April 1, 2010 @ 4:12 pm

5. 

   Great review! I’ve used each of the three as well and continue to gravitate to SurveyGizmo. One important feature for me is that SurveyGizmo allows me to use an independent panel company for panels.

   The ability to do so brings a bit of a learning curve but it’s worth the effort.

   Finally there’s a completely new version that’s just about to launch. It looks to smooth most of the minor annoyances that customers have have brought to their attention.

   Andy Perkins
   The Satisfaction Questionnaire Blog

   Comment by Andy Perkins — April 11, 2010 @ 7:03 am

6. 

   Why didn’t you compare Qualtrics? They are the best I’ve ever used. You should check them out. I have used all three.

   Comment by Tim — May 11, 2010 @ 9:31 pm

7. 

   Tim,
   I have used Qualtrics and admit it is a good tool, but it is in another price category and I don’t think it is as known as these other three I reviewed in the post. Qualtric’s free trial version doesn’t seem to allow you to use it for free in the long run since it is limited to 2 surveys. I would not be comparing apples to apples in this particular review of free online survey tools. I still think that SurveyGizmo offers a very good value for the number of features it offers even in its paid versions.
   Michaela

   Comment by Michaela Mora — May 11, 2010 @ 10:57 pm

8. 

   Hello,

   IMHO the only FREE survey tool is actually Opina (http://clinker.klicap.es/projects/opina), because it’s Open Source!. So Opina offers all his functionality for free, since you can download and perform a custom standalone installation.

   Antonio.

   Comment by Antonio Manuel Muñiz — May 18, 2010 @ 3:23 am

9. 

   Hola Antonio,

   Opina might be free, but I think it is missing some key features that a user may be looking for based on this comparison http://blog.klicap.es/archives/200 which it seems you did based on my own review above.

   Comment by Michaela Mora — May 18, 2010 @ 2:07 pm

10. 

    Hello Michaela,

    You’re right, our comparative is based you own review, indeed we had included a link to your review in our blog post.

    We thought that would be interesting to include in this comparison Opina, although it missed some features (that in my opinion are no keys).

    Antonio.

    Comment by Antonio Manuel Muñiz — May 19, 2010 @ 11:37 am

11. 

    @Andy Can you tell me which independent panel company you are using together with Surveygizmo?

    Comment by Joris — May 28, 2010 @ 4:24 am

12. 

    Andy,
    There are different panel companies to choose from. For each project, there a different criteria to consider (i.e. cost, incidence, sample source, etc.) so there is not one company I use.

    Comment by Michaela Mora — June 7, 2010 @ 8:13 am

13. 

    Allen,

    Although it is unclear on the site, you can have a free basic account in SurveyGizmo beyond the free trial. Your comment made me curious so I checked with them and got it confirmed. Remember I’m comparing here only the free versions. In my experience the free version of Zoomerang is more limited than SurveyGizmo’s, but if new feaures have been added to the free version, let me know.
    Thanks for your comment,
    Michaela

    Comment by Michaela Mora — October 14, 2010 @ 3:35 pm

14. 

    Allen,

    Here I’m comparing the features you get across all three tools in their free versions. For me it is also about powerful features, so based on that I found you get more of those for free in SurveyGizmo than in the other two tools. Are you using the free or the paid version of Zoomerang?

    Michaela

    Comment by Michaela Mora — October 15, 2010 @ 12:22 pm

15. 

    May I suggest that you check out my own survey tool project at
    http://obsurvey.com
    It’s still in beta, and it’s completely free without any limitations and without any ads.
    I would love some feedback

    Comment by Allan Ebdrup — October 16, 2010 @ 4:11 am

16. 

    I have always found http://kissinsights.com to be really easy to use compared to the other survey tools out there.

    Comment by Sean — November 3, 2010 @ 3:44 pm

17. 

    If you decide to update this in the future, it’d be great to include Polldaddy in these comparisons. Thanks!

    Comment by alternatekev — November 23, 2010 @ 7:52 pm

18. 

    There is one more tool which offer similar functionality like above sites. Although it not that much feature rich, but it works well for basic needs and advance reports.
    It’s http://www.useroverview.com. It’s very cheap compare to big player in market.

    Comment by shawn — December 21, 2010 @ 11:02 am

19. 

    Seriously guys,

    The open source survey tool (completely free) with the most features in its class is Limesurvey: http://www.limesurvey.org
    It is also available more than 55 languages.

    Comment by c_schmitz — January 7, 2011 @ 12:48 pm

20. 

    Another Survey Tool

    I highly recommend Rational Survey. It lets you reuse questions in multiple surveys and has an amazing interface that makes survey creation a breeze. I’m also using the social media (Facebook and Twitter) integration methods to survey my clients and friends. Take a look:

    http://www.rationalsurvey.com

    Comment by Natan — January 19, 2011 @ 12:43 pm

21. 

    I guess the best one tool that i`ve ever seen is KeySurvey,
    take a look guys -
    keysurvey.com

    Comment by Mariah — February 7, 2011 @ 10:15 am

22. 

    What are the 3 features of effective online survey.

    Could any one help ?

    Comment by Chris — March 23, 2011 @ 7:10 pm

23. 

    Chris,

    Are you referring to effectiveness of an online survey too or a survey ability to capture valid and reliable data? If the latter, I suggest you check this post: http://relevantinsights.com/validity-and-reliability.
    If it is the former, it depends on what you want to do and how complex your survey is. For many of our projects, it is important that an online survey tool offers:
    - Advanced skip logic and piping
    - Quota controls by specific questions or combination thereof
    - Many different types of questions (select, multiple, rating, ranking, etc.)

    Comment by Michaela Mora — March 25, 2011 @ 11:16 am

24. 

    Gartner released a statistic at its keynote address the other week – 70% of companies soliciting customer feedback fail to respond to customers. Shocking! But we think it’s because surveys have grown into customer satisfaction from customer research – and they aren’t geared towards helping companies respond in real time.

    We’d recommend checking out http://www.customerthermometer.com for a quick and customer-friendly way to solicit feedback.

    Comment by Customer Thermometer — May 12, 2011 @ 11:32 am

25. 

    Michaela,

    Thanks for your article, it’s a handy overview. Can you tell me if these features are still up-to-date today? You wrote it on the 30th of March, 2010 and I already read some comments about it being not complete correct.

    Now I thought you updated it (because of some lines of feedback you wrote), but I’m not sure.

    Comment by Bram McFelling — June 22, 2011 @ 10:12 am

26. 

    Bram,

    Thank for your comment. I just updated the article. Check it out again.

    Comment by Michaela Mora — June 29, 2011 @ 1:13 am

27. 

    http://obsurvey.com is out of beta, we’ve added a lot of features. But more importantly, the solution is so very easy to use.

    Comment by Allan Ebdrup — June 29, 2011 @ 8:55 am

28. 

    Hi,

    I work at Qualtrics and our trial account includes everything on the list and more. You can use up to 350 responses on two active surveys at one time. You said it is not as well known, however, Qualtrics gets about 3X the amount of page hits as Zoomerang and Surveygizmo. You really need to include Qualtrics in your chart. Of course, then it wouldn’t be a comparison!

    Also, we have a new 360 assessment platform that was just launched a couple months ago. You should check it out too.

    Comment by Jordan Plater — June 29, 2011 @ 11:16 am

29. 

    Jordan,
    Thanks for your comment. I mentioned in the post, Qualtric being a great tool. My understanding is that once you use your 350 responses the free trial is up and you need to pay for the license, correct? If this is the case, someone who can only afford a free tool on an ongoing basis can only use Qualtrics for a couple of projects, which doesn’t make it comparable to the tools above. By the way, having page many hits doesn’t necessarily mean people are actually using and paying for the tool, although I hear more and more people mentioning Qualtrics. Again, I have used it and can attest it is a powerful tool.

    Comment by Michaela Mora — June 29, 2011 @ 3:46 pm

30. 

    I recently started using Google Docs for free online surveys. The price is right and you don’t hit the ceiling with limits like you do a lot of the other tools that you mention here (and that I’ve used.)

    You can use Google Docs to create a free online survey and embed it into your site. If you’re interested, I created a video that shows how to set up an online survey w/Google Docs here: http://www.flyteblog.com/flyte/2011/06/how-to-create-your-own-free-online-surveys.html

    Comment by Rich Brooks — June 29, 2011 @ 7:35 pm

31. 

    Thanks for sharing this option Rich!

    Comment by Michaela Mora — June 29, 2011 @ 11:45 pm

32. 

    Thanks for for informing us on the wonderful features of Surveygizmo. There is one feature not mentioned:

    Extremely ‘painful’ when it comes to cancelling an account. They just don’t want to let go!! In addition one is literally bombarded by emails from SurveyGizmo and it takes a long time to stop them by sending repeated emails to the concerned.

    Apologies for using some hard words but I had a bad time opting out.

    Comment by Samir — July 13, 2011 @ 6:58 am

33. 

    Hi Samir,

    I’m really sorry that you had a difficult time downgrading. Do you mind emailing me and telling me about your experience? Was your subscription not canceled correctly? My email address is christian @ sgizmo.com

    In terms of email — which emails are you talking about in particular? I can talk to our marketing department and make sure they are applying the un-sub list to every email campaign we send out.

    Please shoot me an email so I can look into why your experience was not up to our normal standard.

    Again, I’m sorry your experience was not as smooth as it should have been.

    Sincerely,

    Christian Vanek
    CEO & Co-Founder
    SurveyGizmo

    Comment by Christian Vanek — July 19, 2011 @ 10:06 pm

34. 

    I have tried used Zoomerang and Survey Monkey for projects within my company. Both fall short in two categories: adequate metrics from surveys received and the abiltiy to assign administrator roles so that several users (e.g., account users from different deparments) may go online and construct and maintain separate surveys. Is that possible with any survey tool? Do any tools offer a multiple user license?

    Comment by Ernest Pile — July 27, 2011 @ 1:44 pm

35. 

    Ernest,

    SurveyGizmo offers up to 10 users in its enterprise solution. Check it out: http://www.surveygizmo.com/survey-features/

    Comment by Michaela Mora — July 28, 2011 @ 1:25 pm

36. 

    Hi guys

    Me and my team are entrepreneurs from Sweden and we are developing a cool survey tool that is for now on picture-based. So if you have time and want to test SurveyLegend a.k.a THE LEGEND pleas do on http://www.surveylegend.com/

    IT’S FREE

    Comment by Jasko — August 15, 2011 @ 5:57 am

37. 

    Jätte kul Jasko!

    Comment by Michaela Mora — August 19, 2011 @ 6:38 pm

38. 

    Michaela,

    Another great post – very detailed and helpful side-by-side comparison..and ensuring you are comparing apples to apples shows your committment to valid research.

    As such, have you done a similar comparision for survey tools requiring a fee? I realize that many offer various levels, so maybe a comparison of the ultimate/top-level option? I would love to see such a comparison, if it’s feasible.

    Comment by Sandy Yost — August 21, 2011 @ 4:17 pm

39. 

    Sandy,

    Thanks for your comment. I have that in my to-do list, but an apple-to-apple comparison becomes harder since most tools have tiered pricing models with the most expensive options offering all available features. I need to find comparable options.

    Comment by Michaela Mora — August 21, 2011 @ 9:53 pm

40. 

    Do you know if any of those can be set to report a score back to the respondant, so they get something out of filling out the survey too? It seems most tools either having good ability to give feedback to respondants *or* good ability to record & analyze results, but not both.

    Comment by Ettina — August 25, 2011 @ 6:41 pm

41. 

    Ettina,
    If you do Polls in SurveyGizmo, you can display the results with the respondents, like the example at the end of the article. Most tools that offer Polls have this capability.

    Comment by Michaela Mora — August 26, 2011 @ 1:44 am

42. 

    Looking at SurveyGizmo’s options, all of them require a paid subscription of some sort, but offer a 14 day free trial. Did they increase to all paid subscriptions recently, as your post lists an entirely free option?

    Comment by Amanda — September 12, 2011 @ 1:48 pm

43. 

    Amanda,
    If you click on the Plans & Pricing tab and scroll down below the boxes showing the priced plans and you will see a link to create a free account where it says ” Give us a ring and we’ll help you pick a plan, or get a free account, student account or non-profit account.”

    Comment by Michaela Mora — September 12, 2011 @ 1:58 pm

44. 

    I use Createsurvey from http://www.createsurvey.com Used to be surveymonley but they get more expensive every year and cut off free version options.

    Comment by hedge — September 20, 2011 @ 2:05 pm

45. 

    if you need a mobile survey platform that work on mobile phones, check out http://www.mobosurvey.com. Easy and intuitive way to create surveys and distribute to all internet capable devices. Facebook and twitter integration!

    Comment by Tony — September 21, 2011 @ 10:12 pm

46. 

    Hi Michaela,

    Thanks for the interesting article.

    I wanted to let you know about Eval & GO, a new online survey tool. I think that your readers will be pretty excited by the range of questions and branding options that are available.

    The Eval & GO suite includes survey creation, advanced reporting and analysis and contact management.

    The fully integrated revolutionary data analysis engine allows custom analysis using drag and drop technology with no previous data analysis skills required. Advanced cross-tabulation and scoring are both possible.

    You can then generate a 1-click automatic report or create your own custom report, using the data you want. Reports are ready for export to Word, PDF, Excel or for publishing online. In addition, our contact manager allows you to create and manage your own contact database easily and efficiently.

    Your readers are invited to create a free account by visiting http://www.evalandgo.com

    Best regards,
    Tonia Steciuk

    Comment by Tonia Steciuk — October 27, 2011 @ 11:17 am

47. 

    Hi Tonia,
    You have a pretty long list of good features. Price-wise a little on the up side if one wants to get some basic features.

    Comment by Michaela Mora — October 28, 2011 @ 2:46 pm

48. 

    Hi Michaela,

    Thanks for your feedback! We’ve aimed to raise the bar in the online survey industry by providing a fully inclusive online survey solution that includes features not seen elsewhere such as custom reporting, advanced analysis and contact management as well as survey creation and publication.

    We really hope that you’ll consider us when you update your free online survey tool comparison in the future!

    Comment by Tonia Steciuk — November 1, 2011 @ 5:27 am

49. 

    I wanted to add http://www.mobosurvey.com to this list of survey tools. http://www.MoboSurvey.com helps you quickly create online surveys that are accessible from any internet capable devices. Your users can access the same survey from their smart phones, tablets, laptops, or desktops at anytime.

    Comment by Linh — November 23, 2011 @ 2:35 am

50. 

    I use Createsurvey from http://www.createsurvey.com For a start, unlike others, they give FIVE surveys per free account, not one. And further the list gets better. Paid accounts are also cheaper.

    Comment by hedge — December 6, 2011 @ 5:54 pm

51. 

    Hi Michaela,

    Give SurveyBuilder a try – http://www.surveybuilder.com

    It’s completely free with no limits. There are no subscription fees. The interesting thing is the ability to purchase qualified traffic – for which they charge.

    The UI is pretty slick.

    Comment by Andrew — December 12, 2011 @ 8:20 pm

52. 

    I have repeatedly received information from various sources that http://www.inqwise.com is a breakthrough between other online questionnaire tools. Someone trying/using this service ?

    Comment by Anna Leshinsky — March 16, 2012 @ 10:43 am

53. 

    Hi

    Im looking for a survey program (free or affordable) that I can use to embed the survey directly in the email, rather than sending a link.

    Can you recommend which program to use?

    Thanks

    Comment by Lorraine — April 16, 2012 @ 8:05 am

54. 

    Lorraine,
    You can use SurveyGizmo for that. As an example see the little poll embedded in this post. Other tools allow you to that as well.

    Michaela

    Comment by Michaela Mora — April 16, 2012 @ 2:49 pm

55. 

    If you are in the UK, it would be best to stick to a UK company due to data protection act not applicable on US survey sites. I use http://www.smart-survey.co.uk, they provide good support and also a free edition.

    Comment by John — April 20, 2012 @ 9:52 am

56. 

    I prefer http://www.smart-survey.co.uk to any other software.

    They’re software is easy to use, professional, effective and well priced. Oh yeah, and UK based.

    Comment by Tom G — April 23, 2012 @ 5:53 am

57. 

    I recently signed up on http://www.sogosurvey.com and I feel their product is good. Simple & easy to use with a variety of options.

    Comment by Amy Anderson Lee — June 13, 2012 @ 12:43 am

58. 

    Very nice article. However, one of the problems I have seen is that some of the very advance survey tools do not know how to sell their product and are slowly dying. I recently came across the tool that Amy just mentioned SoGoSurvey.com
    Have been using it for about 2 months now. Have done 1 large project with them. The enterprise account, their highest cost %59 a month, but I firmly believe that it is a rock solid product. I think they have the best and most number of features. I like their usability and UI. But some people find %59 also expensive…i did not…so I am good.

    Comment by Ron E — June 13, 2012 @ 4:57 am

59. 

    We are using SurveyExpression http://www.surveyexpression.com. The free account is more than enough for our basic needs, as it allows to to collect responses and also download our data for free.

    Comment by Patrick — June 29, 2012 @ 2:28 am

60. 

    This article “MAY” have been extremely useful in 2010, but as of now (2012) things seemed to have changed. For example, SurveyGismo’s free trial now is limited to only 25, NOT 250, responses, and then you need to upgrade. Also, the pricing for SurveyGizmo seems to start at $75/year without any monthly options.

    This article would greatly benefit from an updated review of what is available.

    Comment by Ron W — August 6, 2012 @ 2:25 pm

61. 

    Ron,
    You still can get 250 responses per month with a free SG account. Check this: http://www.surveygizmo.com/free-account/ You may have taken the 14-day free trial which requires to upgrade. That’s a free trial of the tool with all its functionality available. The free account doesn’t require upgrade, you just get a scaled-down version of the tool. That may be enough for some projects. The paid version is actually $75/month. For a comparison of SG’s paid version check this post: http://relevantinsights.com/review-of-three-powerful-online-survey-tools

    Comment by Michaela Mora — August 27, 2012 @ 11:29 pm

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