LimeSurvey has been here for a while. But is it the best survey software out there?

That’s debatable!

Hence the need for LimeSurvey alternatives.

Why talk about the alternatives? Because it’s the need of the hour. And you’ll see why.

Right now, to set the tone, let’s understand why it’s essential for businesses to have the right survey software. Ready to start? This one has all the ingredients to be amazing! So get a cup of coffee, find yourself a good spot, and let’s begin.

10 “FREE & EASY TO USE” LimeSurvey Alternatives In 2023

With no further ado, let’s raise the curtains, then.

Here’s the 10 LimeSurvey Alternatives we have in store for you:

• SurveySparrow
• Google Forms
• SurveyPlanet
• SurveyLegend
• Cognito Forms
• Microsoft Forms
• Paperform
• Survs
• Zoho Survey
• FreeOnlineSurveys

#1 SurveySparrow

Suppose the goal of your survey campaigns is to get sustained growth for the company that can turn into profits. Then, there’s no better option than SurveySparrow. This LimeSurvey alternative converts simple surveys into delightful conversations.

In its free plan itself, you get to collect 50 responses per month, ask 10 questions per survey, share the survey via a link, QR code, or embed it. Also, you get Google analytics, slack, and Microsoft integration, and custom reports filter. Regular features like conditional branching, anonymity and user collaboration are also available.

The basic plan for SurveySparrow starts at $19 per month. If you’re looking to get more qualified results out of your survey campaign, consider their business plans, too. You would love it!

Also, if you want a taste of the whole experience before you pay, you can sign up for a free-14 day trial, no strings attached!

#2 Google Forms

Whenever we hear the word “free” talking about survey software, Google forms are the first to mind. And why won’t they?

This LimeSurvey alternative is simple to navigate, comes with conditional logic & the option for multiple user collaboration, has the anonymity feature, and data security is not an issue with them. That’s what makes Google forms special. Plus, the survey creation process is quite easy, which makes it even more impressive.

Even though google forms is a form builder, its editor is probably the fastest among all survey software. It recognizes the question type before you’ve finished typing and helps to frame it quickly and accurately. In addition, they come with 11 different question types to use for different purposes and to get the right data. Wow, all this for free! Incredible.

#3 SurveyPlanet

If you want unlimited surveys and response collection options while preparing the surveys easily, SurveyPlanet is your answer.

It has many pre-written questions that come as soon as you type a relevant keyword. So, in most cases, you don’t even need to type the questions of your survey.

On top of this, SurveyPlanet gives you relevant and useful options to customize surveys as per the brand theme. And features like skip logic to make sure quality data is collected. Again, all this for free. One of the best LimeSurvey alternatives, in our opinion.

#4 SurveyLegend

With the same features and unlimited response collection options, SurveyLegend is one of the most reliable free LimeSurvey alternatives you’ll find.

It has paid plans, too, but for small businesses who don’t have the budget to spend on survey software, the free plan works just fine. Their pro plan starts from $15 per month if you need further more features along with unlimited responses & surveys.

#5 Cognito Forms

Cognito Forms is one of those LimeSurvey alternatives that can be called the advanced version of Google forms. Why? Because features that google forms has, Cognito forms has it more advanced, be it the conditional logic or the process to collect payment through surveys. Cognito forms help do surveys in a more customizable manner that ends up collecting more qualified data. And their free version, which comes with 500 responses per month, is enough for small businesses to start collecting quality data.

#6 Microsoft Forms

If you already have a Microsoft account, you already have unrestricted access to Microsoft forms. It works exactly like Google forms but with far better data analysis capabilities because of its integration with Excel. Also, NPS and Likert-type responses can be collected through Microsoft forms, which are rarely seen in free survey software.

Once the survey is created, either the link to it is sent out for respondents or embed into the website. And you’ll see the collected data in the Microsoft forms interface, or for more detailed analytics, open the responses in Excel.

#7 HubSpot Form Builder

HubSpot Form Builder comes with HubSpot’s free CRM tool, where the data collected from the form builder is stored. Up to a million contacts or data points (responses) can be stored in the free version of the CRM. The survey-related features are almost the same as compared to Google or Microsoft forms, but analytics are better there.

#8 Survs

100 per survey and a maximum of 5 questions per survey. That is what Survs offers its users. It is literally one of the best and most advanced LimeSurvey alternatives you’ll find in terms of features, survey distribution, and analytics.

A cap of 100/survey is good, as it lets the survey-takers be more specific with their ideal respondents, which automatically results in better data collection. However, if you need to collect more responses, ask more questions, or want more of their advanced features, the basic plan starts from €19 per month, which is not a bad deal at all.

#9 Zoho Survey

Similar to Survs, this LimeSurvey alternative gives survey-takers the liberty to conduct unlimited surveys while asking 10 questions and collecting 100 responses per survey in their free plan.

Zoho Survey offers superb value for money even in its paid plans that start from $10.72 per month. The reason being it’s excellent, effective, and simple to use features that make a vast difference. Like, it offers 25 different question types to choose from, over 250 survey templates, multiple channel sharing options, pop-up surveys, the option to export everything as pdf, along with other super useful features. And we just talked about the features available in the free plan. So imagine what’s in the paid plans!

#10 FreeOnlineSurveys

FreeOnlineSurveys lets you collect 1000 responses in its free version but equips you with the power of artificial intelligence to design the most compelling questions and surveys. In addition, it has all the features like conditional logic, anonymity, text piping, and multiple user collaboration to make your surveys stand out. Its business plans start from $12.99 per month, which is totally worth it.

Why Do You Need Alternatives For LimeSurvey?

LimeSurvey is one of the leading open-source survey software in the world. To give credit where it’s due, a lot of good in LimeSurvey comes because they’re an open-source tool whose software code is accessible to everyone. This means the LimeSurvey software can be changed according to a person’s survey needs and preferences. Plus, they have loads of options to choose from while creating a survey. From choosing the question flow to deciding who can answer the survey, LimeSurvey gives you full access to customize your surveys.

Why is then there’s a need for LimeSurvey alternatives?

From our research and based on our conversations with businesses, we found five critical issues with LimeSurvey that make managers and leaders look for its alternatives. Here they are:

Complicated Workflow

While surveying with LimeSurvey, users have complained of unnecessary layers of information that are not needed. There are multiple pages that open when you add questions and options to your survey. Every new functionality opens a new page, which creates confusion on where the actual work is going. What could’ve been condensed into one or two pages takes a lot with LimeSurvey. Businesses that used this software spent a good chunk of time understanding its workflow. And when you’re gunning for growth, you or your teams just can’t do that.

Limited Solutions

With LimeSurvey, the only four solutions you get are surveys for market research, customers, universities, and students. But in the pandemic’s wake, companies are concerned about their employees, and they’re looking for something like 360-degree feedback software for them. Plus, there are no NPS or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys in their customer survey solution, which again are the need of the hour. So it’s safe to say that LimeSurvey is not a future-ready survey software in terms of solutions.

Too Many Options

Being an open-source survey software, LimeSurvey has so many options to choose from while creating a survey. This sounds great but leads to confusion and takes a lot of time while creating a survey.

We’re not against the idea of having multiple options to choose from, but we also believe in simplicity. And simplicity comes when options are not stuffed just for the sake of it!

Lacklustre Customer Support

Whatever LimeSurvey plan you choose, the only customer support they offer is email support; check out their pricing page. So when your teams are conducting a survey campaign and if something goes south, you just have the option of mailing LimeSurvey’s support team. And it’s anyone’s guess how long will they take to reply and resolve the issue. Would you be cool with that?

Less Value For Money

On their pricing page, you’ll again understand the reason why looking for LimeSurvey alternatives is crucial. The features they offer under any plan are way less compared to what you’ll get with any other survey software and with all of LimeSurvey alternatives. Their fewer features are because they offer only so many solutions. So, whatever plan you choose, you won’t find features like offline surveys, NPS module, 360 assessments, and chatbot, which is not great by any means.

What Makes An Ideal Survey Software?

This is a question that needs addressing even though we know every business has its own set of requirements for selecting a survey software. And having taken many companies’ survey campaigns to the next level, we know a thing or two on what makes an ideal survey software. Plus, we want to help you choose the right survey software, not any out of what’s available, including the 10 we discussed. Time to let the cat out of the bag!

Question Types

Imagine this.

You get a survey from your favorite brand wanting to know your experience of using their service. Now, you’re all excited to answer the survey, but as soon as you open it, the excitement fades away.

Why?

Because every question there is an open-ended question that requires you to write a lot! Would you really wanna do that?

That’s why your survey software should have a variety of question types.

Different questions types would pique survey respondent’s interest to take the survey promptly. Whether long or short, unique or common, any question can be included in the survey using the right type. MCQs, open-ended, rating, Likert scale, and scale-based questions are a few most popular question types to choose from.

So, before zeroing down on your survey software for a LimeSurvey alternative, make sure the question types you need are there.

Skip Logic

Skip logic, or conditional branching, plays a vital role in giving a smooth survey experience. It removes questions that are irrelevant for a respondent-based on their previous responses in the survey. This brings quality data, as respondents are asked questions that apply to them and improves their motivation to take the survey. So many excellent results from just one feature. A must-have, indeed.

Conducting Anonymous Surveys

Sometimes, a situation arises where respondents do not want to reveal their identity. A good example would be the employee feedback surveys, where employees are reluctant to reveal identities if you’re expecting them to give honest answers.

In that scenario, it’s best to let them stay anonymous while taking the survey using the anonymity feature. From our experience, this is one of the most asked features in a survey tool, especially in the new normal, where employees are more concerned about their privacy.

Multiple User Collaboration

In any campaign, things like password sharing, multiple licensing, several authentications are required to run everything smoothly. Still, they increase friction for all stakeholders and might confuse teams on who’s doing what?

User collaboration is a must-have feature in survey software, but it should be used in a controlled manner, where team leaders manage proceedings smoothly while not micro-managing anyone.

Data Security

This is a feature you can’t compromise with! The security of your respondent’s data is important if you want the survey campaigns to do well. Because otherwise, your target group would be reluctant to take the survey. So while choosing the survey tool, keep this in mind and make sure the tool uses some kind of encryption for the respondent data while having processes to keep it secure.

Customer Support

Features of your survey software are important, but getting the right customer support from them is crucial, too. Because when you’re conducting surveys, you don’t want to face issues that jeopardize the entire survey campaign. Plus, you would also need the customer support’s help to properly use all software features. So, don’t compromise here.

Why Does A Business Need Survey Software?

The reason to look for LimeSurvey alternatives becomes clear when leaders and managers know why their business needs survey software? So, before talking anything about LimeSurvey and its alternatives, we must discuss this. Some reasons are something that you might already know, while the others would surprise you! Time to get the ball rolling, then.

Conducting Quick And Efficient Surveys

Like we mentioned at the start, whether it’s for product market research, understanding customers and employees better, or getting product feedback, surveys are your best bet. Online surveys are the quickest way to conduct quality surveys. You just need good survey software to conduct surveys that don’t require a pen to answer, can be easily stored in multiple formats, and takes just one-third of the time to complete, compared to any traditional survey. That’s fast and efficient—the perfect combo for growth.

Developing The Right Product

This is where online surveys show their true worth. Not only are they faster, but they give results, too! And this particularly helps when you’re planning to launch a new product or service to the market. Using survey software, your team takes feedback from hundreds, if not thousands, of customers & target audience. Then, it’s run through detailed analytics to understand what they want from the new offering or if they’re facing some persistent problems. Finally, the product team uses this information to build or fine-tune a product or service that’ll have a massive chance of succeeding.

Personalized Experience

Once the feedbacks are analyzed using survey software, personalization comes into the picture. You can now deliver every customer what they want or would love to get from your brand. Any survey software, and all LimeSurvey alternatives, play a huge role in giving these personalized experiences. Trust us, once you focus on giving customers the right experience at the right time, their loyalty towards the brand would grow tremendously. Ain’t that what you exactly want?

Bettering Customer Service

Apart from personalization, customer service is another way to enthral customers and grow their loyalty. Here also, survey software helps. As you collect feedback about your customer service team and representatives from the customers & target audience, analyze it to look for patterns, and take actions to bring necessary changes. Super easy, super effective.

Managing Customer Journey

Taking feedback shouldn’t only be an after-purchase or after-service step. It should be strategically used in the entire customer journey. For example, if people are associated with your brand, the customer success team needs to track, manage, and make necessary changes throughout their customer journey to keep them satisfied. Online survey software helps here, too. If you have quality survey software, taking regular feedbacks and analyzing the results becomes a fairly simple task. Your teams can also document this to understand a customer’s journey from start to finish and build an ideal persona to help serve future customers better.

Tracking Employee Satisfaction

Employee experience has been a topic of discussion since the pandemic’s wake in 2020. Cases of work-related stress and anxiety issues clearly came to light. Well, online surveys and survey software aren’t just for your customers; they’re for your employees also. If you go with multi-functional survey software that can offer employee satisfaction surveys, chances of your employees staying happy at work will go up significantly. And if the employees are happy, they’ll keep your customers happy. That’s a no-brainer!

Predicting The Future

Just like a product or service can be altered after customer feedback, forecasts can be made on a company’s growth prospects using surveys and survey software. Based on the NPS and customer satisfaction surveys, a lot can be understood about the future of a brand. Using predictive analytics on collected datasets would show emerging patterns for better growth and profitability. So with the help of good survey software, your company gets future-ready, and in an ultra-competitive world like ours, this is powerful.

Make The Right Choice

Make the right choice. Because choosing the right survey software would determine your campaigns’ results. It’ll also help keep your employees satisfied, as discussed.

We’ve played our part in this. We covered everything from giving detailed information on why survey software matters for your business to stating their must-have features.

LimeSurvey is great open-source survey software, no doubt, but is it the best and the easiest to use? We don’t think so. The 10 survey software discussed are far better than LimeSurvey in more ways than one, and we think you’ll agree, too.

So, hoping you would make the most of this and choose the right software. We’re here to help in case you need it. Make the right choice!

Kate Williams

Content Marketer at SurveySparrow