Business success requires a finger on the pulse of the market. Customers are fickle, and the internet is a fearsome jungle of competitors. If your product misses a single checkbox on the customer’s wish list, if your service diverges even slightly from the ideal, a competitor will swoop in, scooping up your customers and carrying them far away where you’ll never see them again.
Today, thanks to technological developments, it is easier than ever to track consumers’ needs or conduct employee engagement surveys to find out how your workers are doing. Inexpensive, easy-to-use online survey tools make it easy to create even complex surveys for thousands of customers or employees - in minutes, all without leaving your desk.
Survey software providers support direct communication and provide candid feedback from a wide range of consumers. Survey data will tell you what changes you need to make to keep pace with market demands and help you collect customer feedback or increase employee engagement.
Plus, your audience will be grateful to feel heard and to see that you value their input. It can be just about as easy as it sounds. But before you start emailing questionnaires, check out our list of the best survey applications. We can help you pick the survey platform that’s the best fit for your business.
1. SurveyMonkey
GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- Offline mode
- Team management
- Industry benchmarks
2. Pollfish
GOOD
GOOD
EXCELLENT
- Advanced targeting
- Real-time dashboard
- Filter results by specific criteria
3. Typeform
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- Up to 4GB storage
- Email notification
- Calculator for quizzes
4. Alchemer
GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- Advanced logic and piping
- Custom made reports
- Disqualification rules
5. Qualtrics Research Core
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- Chatbot surveys
- Survey templates made for different industries
- Up to 20 parameters to target your audience
6. Zoho Survey
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- Advanced branding
- Zoho CRM integration
- White labelling
7. SurveyLegend
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- Free trial
- Automatic saving
- Gif uploading
8. Pointerpro
GOOD
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- Integration with up to 1,200 apps via Zapier
- Slot machine and scratch card games to motivate audience
- Advanced question logic
9. SoGoSurvey
EXCELLENT
GOOD
GOOD
- Piping
- Save your questions for future surveys
- Test-survey option
10. KwikSurveys
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
- Report segmentation
- Redirect users to your website after the survey
- Piping
11. SurveyPlanet
EXCELLENT
GOOD
GOOD
- Anonymous surveys
- Multiple choice for exporting your data
- Advanced survey themes
Related Product Categories
How We Evaluate Tools and Platforms
Online surveys empower product managers and marketers to measure customer satisfaction, assess market perceptions, and build wish lists based on the needs of prospective buyers. And survey management software is so easy to use.
Most products don’t require you to download or install anything - you can do the whole job online. A good survey solution makes it easy to design surveys, distribute questionnaires, gather responses, and analyze results. Honestly, the hardest part is deciding which product to use.
The best survey tools will depend on your needs and budget, so we’ve compiled a list of the most popular and helpful survey platforms for your consideration. There is a good mix of options, too: free online survey software, data reporting tools with affordable prices, and even those with advanced features that place them out of the reach of some small businesses.
Most of these solutions scale up to help you organize sizable research projects and collect data on a much larger scale, while others are more appropriate for smaller, faster projects. Some will make your questionnaire more interesting and attractive with themes and graphical options.
Some are geared to specific demographic groups or help you reach audiences and gather feedback through multiple channels. But no matter which you choose, all of the software on our list will help you create online surveys and distribute them.
There are dozens, maybe hundreds of survey options on the internet. We narrowed it down by applying a distinct rubric, a methodology that helps us sort the prize packages from the wannabes.
We evaluate and document key factors like price, ease of use, flexibility, and distribution options. We examined how well survey applications help you understand and analyze collected data. Because the internet has made the world smaller, we also awarded extra attention to survey software that supports multiple languages.
Pricing and Packages
Price always matters, especially in small businesses. It’s essential to take a hard look at the features offered in a survey package’s base plan and evaluate the capabilities of advanced plans or add-ons. It’s possible to spend a lot if you’re not careful.
It’s easy to run a cost-benefit analysis that shows how survey software pays for itself. It’s less certain that advanced capabilities and versions are worth the price in every case.
We carefully evaluated all the tools for creating questionnaires and gathering user feedback based on their prices.
Almost all survey software providers have a free option. It is usually limited to a small number of surveys or questions, but a free online survey creator might still be a good short-term solution for you. And it’s a great way to evaluate the package and see if you find it easy to use.
In the long run, you will almost certainly opt for a paid version of the software you favor. The survey providers we evaluated set their pricing packages based on the number of surveys you want to conduct, the number of questions and responses per survey, and the set of basic and advanced features included in the package.
We make those details clear in the expanded reviews of each package we evaluated. Whichever platform you decide to pick, take a careful look at the features offered at each step on the pricing ladder.
Ease of Use
One of the things we had in mind when assessing survey providers was the overall user-friendliness of their apps. If the survey platform is too complicated to set up, there is a good chance that you won’t use it to maximum advantage.
Creating surveys to measure customer loyalty or customer experience should be a nearly effortless process, whether they are automated or manual surveys that a team will conduct in the field.
We focused on cloud-based survey platforms that work on a software-as-a-service model. One advantage of cloud-based software is that you can access your survey anytime from any device. Moreover, your data will be safe and secure.
Many of the platforms are geared toward users of mobile devices, so we also determined which are the best survey apps on the market. They let you design, launch, analyze, and customize surveys from your screen no matter where you are.
We awarded extra points to platforms that offer comprehensive how-to guides or video tutorials that show you how to create surveys quickly. This software is inherently easy to use, but a little help is always welcome.
Types of Survey Questions
The quality of data you get from survey customers and potential leads is influenced by preparation and presentation, aka how you deliver surveys to your audience.
The market has come a long way from early yes/no and multiple-choice questionnaires. Modern software publishers provide extensive libraries of question types, ranging from getting employee feedback on company policies through pulse surveys to assessing your net promoter score (NPS) by asking customers how likely they are to recommend your product on a scale from one to ten.
Top-rated survey software can also help you improve your clients’ customer journey and get business insights by creating customer effort score surveys and feedback forms. These will tell you how easy it is for your clients to get an issue resolved, a question answered, or a request fulfilled.
Before using these questionnaire tools, you should be familiar with different types of questions and how to use each to gain actionable insights for your digital marketing teams.
Generally, there are two question models. Close-ended questions let respondents choose from several options. Open-ended questions provide space for respondents to answer in their own words. You can use just one type or combine them, depending on the purposes of your survey.
Software providers have created nearly 100 specialized subcategories: multiple-choice, dropdown, image choice - the list goes on and on. Some questions allow for multiple responses, while others let users respond with ratings. Sometimes you’ll need multiple surveys to properly identify trends and make the most of every customer interaction.
The applications we reviewed help you build your questionnaire by selecting and customizing questions from the library. Drag-and-drop survey builders let you choose whichever type of question you want - quickly and easily.
The best survey websites offer numerous survey banks that can give you a starting point in creating highly detailed, specialized, and sophisticated surveys. They also let you build questionnaires with skip logic or branching questions.
With skip logic, the answer to one question may prevent the user from seeing the following several questions. With branching questions, respondents see different questions depending on their responses to earlier ones.
Distribution Options
The software providers we evaluated offer various options for sharing your surveys, quizzes, and forms. Depending on your audience, your survey could be sent through email or posted on social media channels. If your company has a website, you can embed the survey on a web page so visitors can answer.
Survey platforms can help ensure your questions reach the people you are targeting.
For example, the best enterprise survey software providers from our list have a customer or user segmentation feature that lets you send surveys to specific respondents based on what you know about them: where they live, what their job titles are, whether they are married or not, and so on.
Most providers we reviewed support integration with other business and collaboration platforms. This lets you share your survey and its results with colleagues or a broader audience. Some of the platforms can integrate with popular customer relationship management systems, for instance, or let you automatically collect feedback on specific events.
Some of the providers even let you embed surveys in mobile apps.
Reporting and analytics features
The next metric you should consider when choosing a survey tool is how good it is at presenting its findings. Feedback software should make it easy to see the survey results, and the ability to analyze reports online is one of the key advantages of this method compared to conducting offline surveys.
All survey packages can show you the raw results and the summary of responses, but the best ones can get really detailed, with advanced parameters such as “How many of the respondents answering A or B to question five also gave a rating of 75 or higher in question 21?”
The more advanced surveying tools and platforms provide a wealth of options that help you analyze responses thoroughly, including statistical data, graphic representations, and text reports.
Some survey providers offer real-time reporting so you can see responses as soon as respondents finish answering. This feature lets you measure customer satisfaction and see how users react to your product or service in real-time. Most packages can be set up to send alerts and notifications automatically via Slack or another messaging platform so team members can see feedback immediately and react to it promptly.
The Best of the Best: Survey Providers for All Your Needs
- SurveyMonkey
- Pollfish
- Typeform
Alchemer
- Qualtrics
- Zoho Survey
- SurveyLegend
- Pointerpro
- SoGoSurvey
- KwikSurvey

Survey Software Reviews
SurveyMonkey Review
GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Detailed reports
- ⦿ Visually attractive surveys
- ⦿ Integration with multiple marketing tools
Pollfish Review
GOOD
GOOD
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Customizable pricing plans
- ⦿ Integration with over 9000 apps
- ⦿ Intuitive dashboard
Typeform Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Free plan included
- ⦿ Easy-to-navigate
- ⦿ Integration with various collaboration tools
Alchemer Review
GOOD
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Advanced customization options
- ⦿ Free plan included
- ⦿ Unlimited number of questions
Qualtrics Research Core Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
- ⦿ Excellent analytic reports
- ⦿ Integrated into a CRM
- ⦿ Multitude of great features
Zoho Survey Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- ⦿ Free plan included
- ⦿ Drag-and-drop system
- ⦿ Custom survey themes
SurveyLegend Review
EXCELLENT
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- ⦿ Drag-and-drop system
- ⦿ Great free plan
- ⦿ Plenty of customization options
Pointerpro Review
GOOD
EXCELLENT
GOOD
- ⦿ Highly interactive surveys
- ⦿ Great variety of templates
- ⦿ Automatized surveys
SoGoSurvey Review
EXCELLENT
GOOD
GOOD
- ⦿ Paid plans offer excellent features
- ⦿ Fast survey distribution
- ⦿ Detailed analytics reports
KwikSurveys Review
EXCELLENT
FAIR
GOOD
- ⦿ Great free plan
- ⦿ Easy survey creation
- ⦿ Superb surveys report tool
SurveyPlanet Review
EXCELLENT
GOOD
GOOD
- ⦿ All plans are affordable
- ⦿ Surveys in 20+ languages
- ⦿ Anonymous survey tools
Choosing a great survey builder is not an easy job, especially if you are looking for one that offers top-quality features and service for a reasonable price. Many free online survey creators offer outstanding services, but only for a limited number of surveys, questions, or responses.
This might be a great one-time solution, but for continuous use, you should consider some of the paying versions. Depending on the size of your survey and its purposes, you should carefully choose the provider that will help you to perform the best results with the least effort.
There are lots of great survey providers and tools that can help you conduct surveys for academic research. The main purpose of this software is to collect answers and feedback from people and to gather valuable data in one place.
This type of survey is beneficial since the researcher saves time and resources by sending the questionnaire to a broad audience easily and quickly.
Many free survey tools can help you design, distribute, and analyze your survey results. When choosing one, keep several things in mind. First, you should decide what type of survey you want to conduct. For example, numerous tools can help you create and send a quiz to attendees after an event, but they don’t have a flexible way to measure customer satisfaction.
Second, you should know how large your survey is going to be. Free survey tools are usually not the best solution for large-scale surveys. Instead, you can create a simple survey with a limited number of people.
Third, the survey tool you pick should help you finish your research properly. See if the platform has reliable options for organizing and analyzing the data you collect.
Yes. You can create an online survey with Google Forms, a free online survey creator that can help you to design a survey, collect information, and analyze data quickly. This is a great way to launch your survey and invite as many people as you want to participate.
Google Forms will let you see all the questions and answers clearly in one spreadsheet. You can invite respondents easily by sending them an email. However, Google survey creator might not be a good solution for those who want to create a more sophisticated questionnaire. This tool lacks some basic survey features like skip logic and branching questions.
Yes. To create a survey on Facebook, you should have a Facebook page where you can build and launch the survey. You can ask questions, choose templates, and customize the look of your survey. You can also specify the language.
Once you set up your questions, the platform will allow you to publish the survey on your Facebook page and share it with your followers. If you don’t know how to create a survey on Facebook, many videos and guides on the Internet can help you understand the whole process.
Qualtrics is a platform that enables users to create and distribute surveys, quizzes, and polls. But it is also much more. It is a complete customer relationship management platform. The survey module is just one small part of it.
Before you start your research, you must build a questionnaire or write questions that can help you get valuable information.
There are two main types of questionnaires - open-ended and close-ended. Depending on your research, you might choose a variety of specialized subtypes, including multiple-choice questions, scale questions, drop-down questions, and others.
Whether you want to know what is behind your sales numbers or to provide outstanding service to your clients, numerous free and paid online survey makers can help you create, distribute, and analyze collected data from your survey.
There are several simple steps to follow when creating a survey. Before choosing a software provider, you should decide what type of survey you want to organize, how many people you want to participate in it, and whether you want to target a specific audience.
Then you can start creating a questionnaire. Most survey platforms come with a bunch of pre-written questions, templates, and themes, so you don't need to create anything from scratch.
When the questionnaire is done, it will be distributed via email, social media, or a website. Modern survey software integrates with numerous apps and marketing tools, which can help you get more participants. After your survey has been completed, the platform will give you the results.