Since the emergence of customer feedback, online survey software and questionnaire tools have evolved into something entirely different. Having started as a solution more in the realm of traditional survey tools with long lists of questions and anonymous respondents, online survey software have managed to stay ‘in fashion’ among online marketers. This ongoing popularity is, of course, also attributed to the fact that online survey software is a simple and easy way to get in touch with a targeted audience and gather user feedback. Especially because some tools are now also capable of gathering in-depth and in-the-moment insights into processes like the online journey.
Post updated: October 2023
With this in mind, the natural question is: What kind of online survey software or questionnaire tool is best for you? As with a lot of life’s harder questions, the answer is: It depends on what your purpose is. There are several reasons businesses might send out online surveys, including:
- Gathering product feedback
- Conducting market research
- Obtaining feedback on customer service
- Measuring customer and employee satisfaction
So, let’s dig into this question, shall we?
Which online survey software or questionnaire tool is right for you?
Survey tools are, as the name suggests, tools you can use to build surveys and collect answers or responses. However, picking a suitable online survey software or questionnaire tool for your business can be quite tricky – especially considering how many of these survey tools there are to choose from.
Additionally, there are also a few distinctions between the features you receive with the paid software versus free online survey tools.
Are there free survey tools?
Yes, there are a lot of free versions of survey tools to choose from. However, the quality of these solutions is often lacking. They might be perfect if you are a student doing a thesis, but if you are making a customer satisfaction survey, for example, it’s wiser to choose a software that offers more advanced features. Typically, paid versions of online survey software offer added capabilities such as:
- Survey logic – paid tools often provide the option to add a follow up question. This is based on the answer you’ve provided to the previous question. This is also referred to as question routing.
- Export data – There are several tools that won’t allow you to export your survey data – unless you start using the paid version.
- Custom logo – Looking to get rid of the survey tool’s logo and make it your own? With most paid versions this is possible.
- More question types – Although free survey tools offer plenty of question types, including multiple choice, ratings, drop-downs and radio buttons, paid versions tend to offer even more.
To help make your choice easier, we have compiled a list of the best survey software and questionnaire tools available. Have a look, weigh the pros and cons and see what works best for your feedback needs.
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1. Mopinion
Are you looking for a software that combines surveying capabilities with more in-depth customer feedback analytics and data exploration? Then it is worth your while to consider Mopinion’s solution. Mopinion is an all-in-one user feedback software that not only makes use of online surveys, it also takes feedback one step further and offers in-depth analysis opportunities for its users. With real-time data visualisation in customisable dashboards and charts, users are able to quickly and efficiently digest large sums of feedback data on all their digital channels including website, mobile apps and email. Our ‘one-stop shop’ offers:
Standout features
- Build customisable forms with easy drag-and-drop functionality
- Feedback forms (passive and active) for all your digital channels
- Visual feedback
- More advanced surveys that include question routing
- In-depth analysis, including text analytics, sentiment analysis, smart labeling, etc.
- Automated, advanced data visualisation with in-chart filtering and customisable dashboards
- Seamless data exploration
- Advanced action management
- Self-hosted surveys: No need for Javascript to set up your surveys
- Native SDK (Android and iOS): Fully native feedback on your app. No redirection is needed
- AI-powered, automated categorisation for open questions to help you read your qualitative data
- Integrates seamlessly with applications such as Slack, Google Analytics, Jira, Hubspot, Salesforce, etc.
Learn more about creating surveys with Mopinion here.
2. Feedier
Source: Feedier
Feedier is an accessible survey platform that lets teams get instant clarity on their users’ experiences and future needs. Create playful surveys that can be automated and sent out at key touchpoints. Feedier’s dashboard lets you group individual feedback into live journeys. Validate key decisions using easy-to-share visual reports that connect with your existing workflows. Integrate your surveys into your website or app by generating embedded code or share it with email/SMS campaign to your audience.
Standout features
- Easy form-creation tool
- Brandable and customisable
- Adaptive text analytics
Website: www.feedier.com
3. HubSpot
Source: HubSpot
HubSpot’s survey tools make it easy to capture qualitative and quantitative feedback so you can understand your customers better. With HubSpot, you can create and deliver surveys via email and on your website. The tool will also help you choose the right format for your survey and track them so that you can improve your customer experience over time.
Use a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey to measure customer loyalty over time, send Customer Effort Score (CES) surveys to understand how easy it is for customers to get the support they need, or distribute customer satisfaction (CSAT) surveys to understand how satisfied customers are after different points in the customer journey. You can also keep track of all your customer feedback in one dashboard, which allows your team to monitor changes in customer satisfaction over time. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that Hubspot is a more limited option when it comes to segmentation of survey questions as well as branding and customisation.
Standout features
- Helps you format your surveys based on purpose (NPS, CES, CSAT)
- Library of pre-designed templates
- Feedback analytics for quantitative and qualitative data
Website: www.hubspot.com
4. SurveyMonkey
Source: SurveyMonkey
One of the more well-known online survey software and questionnaire tools, SurveyMonkey is used by business all over the world. It provides its users with 15 different types of survey questions (including multiple choice, open comments and Likert scales). This tool is good for one-off surveys, however, this makes it less suitable in terms of measuring overall satisfaction or for re-surveying customers again after a certain period of time.
Standout features
- Free (limited) basic plan
- Easy-to-build surveys
- Offers a library of pre-made templates
5. Paperform
Source: Paperform
Paperform is a flexible SaaS platform designed to help small businesses and teams simplify work and get more done. The tool allows users to make sales, take bookings and payments, communicate with customers, and put manual processes on autopilot. Paperform’s editor is built from the ground up and doesn’t require any technical expertise. With lots of customisations, advanced workflows, integrations, and pre-built templates, it is a good all-in-one tool for small businesses.
Standout features
- Integrates with other programs (like Slack)
- Easy-to-use survey builder
- Lots of customisation options
Website: www.paperform.co
6. Qualtrics
Source: Qualtrics
Qualtrics is an online survey software and questionnaire tool that somewhat pushes the boundaries of traditional surveys. It offers nearly 100+ question types, several readily made survey templates as well as features such as display logic, email triggers and logic branching. Included in its real-time web reports, users can choose from over 30 different graph types and export results to CSV or SPSS.
Standout features
- A variety of question types
- Good customisation options
- User-friendly
7. Alchemer
Source: Alchemer
Alchemer (formerly SurveyGizmo) is similar to SurveyMonkey in terms of inviting respondents and customisation possibilities. What sets this online survey software apart, however, is that it is more attractive in terms of the look and feel of the survey than SurveyMonkey. It also offers nearly 100 different question types that can all be customised to the user’s liking. Additionally, users can configure their own surveys quickly and easily.
Standout features
- Nearly 100 different question types
- Professional look and feel for the end user
- Flexible and customisable reporting
Website: www.alchemer.com
8. GetFeedback
Source: GetFeedback
With GetFeedback, users can easily build branded surveys with the help of drag-and-drop functionality and a number of different personalisation features. It is also flexible in that it adapts to almost every platform that is used to distribute surveys. GetFeedback’s survey tool can also be connected to SalesForce, which means that the results of your surveys are visible in your SalesForce dashboard as well.
Something worth noting, however, is that momentive.ai (GetFeedback’s parent company) has recently been acquired by a private equity firm and is now delisted from the stock market. The new owners appear to have shifted their focus away from prioritising the GetFeedback offering.
While the products likely won’t be discontinued, this does imply a potential slowdown in product updates and innovation. Additionally, customers may experience a reduction in the usual level of support and service they have come to expect.
Standout features
- Easily integrated with SalesForce
- Question templates based on your survey needs
- High level of customisation
9. QuestionPro
Source: QuestionPro
QuestionPro is a web-based survey application intended for small and medium-sized companies. This survey software enables companies to easily create online polls and surveys. They offer multiple survey templates and over 30 different question types. In terms of deployment, surveys can be sent out to respondents via email or to target visitors via integrated popups.
Standout features
- Over 30 different question types
- Multilingual surveys
- Real-time and custom dashboards
Website: www.questionpro.com
10. Google Forms
Source: Google Forms
Google Forms is a free online survey software and questionnaire tool that allows its users to quickly and easily put together surveys via a drag-and-drop interface. In terms of design, these surveys can be entirely customised. The tool provides you with real-time response info and charts. This data can also be connected with other Google products.
While Google Forms is easy to use, it is also a basic tool. Perfect for university projects and school registration forms, but lacking in some analytics features. This means that if you are looking to do major market research or start a customer satisfaction survey, it might not be the tool for you.
Standout features
- Completely free to use
- Very user-friendly
- Customisable
Website: www.google.com
11. Qualaroo by ProProfs
Source: Qualaroo
Qualaroo – which was recently acquired by ProProfs – is an online survey software with which users can create easy and accessible surveys, which usually appear at the bottom of your screen in a widget. You can easily conduct polls amongst your visitors and ask short and simple questions. It also includes a question library that can be used to form the basis for your survey questions.
Standout features
- Built-in sentiment and text analyticse
- Multi-language functionality
- Extensive template library
12. Typeform
Source: Typeform
Typeform is an online survey software with a very user-friendly interface that allows users to put surveys together themselves. As a respondent, the process of filling in a survey goes quite smoothly. The free version of Typeform includes free features such as unlimited questions and answers, data export options, custom-designed themes as well as readily-made templates and basic reporting features.
Standout features
- Customisable surveys
- Data export options
- Conversion tracking
Website: www.typeform.com
13. Survicate
Source: Survicate
Survicate allows users to trigger targeted surveys across various locations of their website. Users can also send out email questionnaires to different customers. In terms of creating these surveys, Survicate offers a library of predefined surveys that users can choose from. This survey tool also includes dashboarding capabilities, NPS analysis, and CSV and XLS exporting options.
Standout features
- Easy-to-build surveys
- Multilingual support
- Integration with Salesforce, Slack, Microsoft Teams etc.
Website: www.survicate.com
14. AskNicely
Source: AskNicely
AskNicely is an online survey software that collects feedback daily using one-off surveys. This software can be integrated with your own CRM so that you can set up regular samplings, or fast surveys, and respond directly from your CRM. This tool, however focuses mainly on NPS.
Standout features
- Real-time responses
- Easily integrated with existing software
- Action automation based on responses
Website: www.asknicely.com
15. Retently
Source: Retently
Retently is a Net Promoter Score® survey software created for businesses of all sizes. This online survey software has a lot of great features such as audience segmentation, custom survey creation, and multi-channel survey collection. With Retently, users can also automate their campaigns by setting up their survey and programming when the program should send the survey to their target audience.
Standout features
- Automation and question routing
- Segmentation option
- Cross-channel feedback
Website: www.retently.com
16. Responster
Source: Responster
Responster is an online survey software and questionnaire tool that is mainly catered to mobile app users as it is responsive to screensize. The basic version of this easy-to-use tool is free, but if you want to create branded surveys with your own logo, background and colours you’ll need to upgrade to the Responster Plus package. Keep in mind that with the free package, your question formats are limited. You can, however, make use of their question logic feature which gives deeper insights into the questions being asked.
Standout features
- Extensive free version
- Question logic feature
Website: www.responster.com
17. Forsta
Source: Forsta
Confirmit, FocusVision and Dapresy has combined forces to create Forsta. This online survey software focuses on market research and human experience. Users can easily customise their surveys, export data and analyse results in tables and charts. You can also integrate all sorts of additional tools, collect data and prepare quick reports. It can also be used for Employee Engagement.
Standout features
- Video responses
- Device detection
- Supports multiple languages
Website: www.forsta.com
18. Shout
Source: Shout
Online survey maker, Shout (formerly KwikSurveys) is an easy-to-use survey tool that offers 30+ templates. The Shout dashboard is particularly easy to navigate and surveys can be created using a simple drag-and-drop editor. Results can be analysed within the software in real-time or exported into multiple file types. This survey tool also offers segmentation and comparison features whereby you can identify trends within your data.
Standout features
- Easy to use
- Customisable
- Easy data exportation
Website: www.shout.com
19. Survey Nuts
Source: Survey Nuts
With Survey Nuts, users are initially presented with three blank questions that can be filled in and customised before adding more, if needed. This can all be done before even creating an account with Survey Nuts. Once you have finished creating your survey you will be asked to add your email address at the bottom. After this, Survey Nuts saves the survey, creates an account and gives you the link to your survey.
Standout features
- Data export to Excel
- Customisable
- Allows you to add scores for quizzes
Website: www.surveynuts.com
20. Survey Planet
Source: Survey Planet
Survey Planet is a questionnaire tool that includes custom themes, pre-written question (which can be combined with your own) and a responsive layout. In addition, users can make use of question branching and multiple languages. While creating a survey, you can simultaneously preview a live copy of your survey on the same page. Survey Planet offers both a free and paid plan.
Standout features
- Automatic dashboards
- Customisable
- User-friendly
Website: www.surveyplanet.com
21. Sogolytics
Source: Sogolytics
Sogolytics (previously SoGoSurvey) is an enterprise-grade survey software that is very easy to use. Users can choose from a wide variety of survey templates or ‘survey banks’ as they refer to them. You can also manipulate the type of questions you want to ask based on Net Promoter Score (NPS), demographics and text. Survey invites can be distributed and tracked via email or social media too.
Standout features
- Export data to Excel and CSV
- AI for question creation and editing
- Data segmentation and visualisation
Website: www.sogolytics.com
Selecting an online survey software/questionnaire tool fit for your business…
There are hundreds of different online survey software and questionnaire tools available on the market today. Each of these tools is uniquely suited for different kinds of businesses. That is why it’s important to be aware of your options.
I hope this article has given you some inspiration in choosing the online survey software or questionnaire tool that is right for your business. If you have any suggestions or know of other online survey software or questionnaire tools, please feel free to send them over via the feedback form below!
Doing research for your Martech stack?
Be sure to check out some of our other marketing technology tool roundups, such as the best customer feedback tools, customer journey mapping tools, usability testing tools and more.
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Want to learn more about Mopinion’s all-in-1 user feedback platform? Don’t be shy and take our software for a spin! Do you prefer it a bit more personal? Just book a demo. One of our feedback pro’s will guide you through the software and answer any questions you may have.
