7 Best Online Survey Tools in 2024 Based on 30k+ Reviews

Figure 1. Popularity of online survey tools on Google in the last five years.

It is not surprising that businesses rely on customer feedback to improve their products, services, and the level of customer satisfaction. Online surveys are a popular way to collect customer feedback because they are easy to create, distribute, and analyze. However, survey tools are not one-size-fits-all solutions for every business’s specific needs. Thus, we provide an evaluation of the best online survey tools in the market to help businesses in their survey tool selection process.

If you aim to conduct market research and are looking for a survey software, check out our benchmark on the top market research software on the market.

Comparison of the 7 leading online survey tools

* Based on the total number of reviews and average ratings on software review platforms G2, Capterra & Trustradius.

For a more detailed comparison, check out our vendor’s deep dive on the top survey tools such as Qualtrics, Pollfish, SurveyMonkey, or Zoho Survey.

For those interested, here is our data-driven list of survey tools.

Vendor selection criteria

Considering the multitude of vendors offering online survey tools, we have optimized our benchmarking process by employing clear and specific criteria to ensure an impartial evaluation. Our emphasis has been on metrics that are publicly available and easily verifiable through either the vendors’ official websites or reputable third-party platforms such as G2, Capterra, and Trustradius. Thus, we centered our attention on vendors with:

• at least 65+ reviews on G2, Capterra, and Trustradius
• At least 4.4/5 average ratings on software review platforms
• more than 30 employees, as stated on LinkedIn

Disclaimer:

The data is collected from vendor websites and software review platforms, including ratings and reviews. It’s important to note that vendors vary in the range of services they offer; some provide a wide array of services like market research, while others exclusively specialize in survey tools. Due to this diversity, there may be variations in both company size and the number of reviews available.

If you believe we’ve overlooked any vendors or features, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We welcome your input, and we’ll consider incorporating your suggestions into our article.

>Detailed evaluation of each vendor

resonio by Clickworker

Resonio, brand by Clickworker, is a sophisticated survey software that taps into a global network of over 6 million individuals with 15 years of experience in micro-tasking. As an ISO-certified and GDPR-compliant tool, it extends Clickworker’s range of services with a focus on efficient and effective survey capabilities. This platform is adept at aiding businesses in seamlessly gathering critical insights, thereby enhancing the data collection process.

Pros

Users appreciate the software for delivering excellent results, noting it enhances efficiency, accuracy, and time management, with its capability to automate tasks with a crowd-based workforce (See figure below).

Source: Capterra¹

Survey respondents: Users state that the crowd in the platform are reliable and fast in delivering results.²

Efficiency: The platform is praised for its efficiency in organizing and cleaning up large quantities of images, including sorting through nested folders and removing irrelevant content, with minimal input required from the user.³

Data analysis and visualization: The tool also offers advanced analysis and visualizations, contributing to its value in the market research sector (see figure below).

Source:Capterra⁴

Cons

Pricing: The platform pricing can be high, especially for small businesses.⁵

Learning curve: Some users have noted that users entirely new to AI and machine learning technologies may experience an initial learning curve.⁶

Delighted by Qualtrics

Delighted by Qualtrics is a survey tool that facilitates the creation and management of customizable surveys. It enables real-time feedback collection from customers via email, web, or SMS. The tool allows users to start surveys from scratch, gather customer insights, and generate reports, all within a single platform.

Pros

User interface: Users appreciate the platform’s user interface for its ease of use and simplicity, enabling them to efficiently gather and report essential information to their company, teams, and executives.⁷

Survey delivery: Users have indicated satisfaction with the platform’s performance, particularly for monthly Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys sent to clients, noting its speed in delivering results and the appealing presentation of feedback.⁸

Cons

Third-party integrations: Users have pointed out that integrations could be improved.⁹

Reporting: It is noted that the lack of comprehensive reports and in-depth insights necessitates additional manual work to extract the required data.¹⁰

Downtime: Users have reported intermittent downtime, which poses challenges, particularly when respondents attempt to access surveys during these periods. Although the issues are typically resolved swiftly, the downtime is still a significant concern.¹¹

Customer support: Users have expressed that the support services are not fully satisfactory, often requiring multiple inquiries to receive assistance.¹²

Pollfish

Pollfish is a survey tool designed for market research, emphasizing a mobile-first approach. It grants access to a global pool of over 250 million respondents, facilitating real-time feedback collection and actionable customer insights for businesses.

Pros

Survey implementation and templates: The ease of implementation and the availability of predefined templates make it a user-friendly option for conducting surveys and collecting necessary data.¹³

Third-party integration: Users note that integrating Pollfish into various applications is straightforward, with the platform being easy to implement and use across different devices, including mobile and desktops.¹⁴

Cons

Bot accounts: It is noted that after completing survey campaigns on Pollfish, the results sometimes include spam data, such as repetitive or bot-generated answers, which is a concern despite the platform’s otherwise satisfactory performance.¹⁵

Data visualization: Users mention that enhancements could be made in data visualization for a more accessible interpretation of survey results.¹⁶

Lack of desktop focus: Users have expressed concern about Pollfish in distributing surveys exclusively on mobile devices, which might lead to respondents quickly speeding through the questions without due consideration.¹⁷

QuestionPro

QuestionPro, operational since 2002 and based in Austin, Texas, specializes in providing online survey software. The company is dedicated to offering solutions for survey creation, distribution, and analysis, targeting areas like customer and employee satisfaction.

Pros

User-friendly design: Users value the platform’s user-friendly design, which allows even those without technical expertise to easily create customized surveys and application forms for data collection, noting its intuitiveness for survey creators.¹⁸

Customer support: Users have reported a positive experience with the platform’s customer support, finding it to be helpful and effective.¹⁹

Survey customization: Users appreciate the ability to customize the survey as they desire.²⁰

Cons

Filtering responses: Users have noted limitations in the platform’s filtering options and the inability to edit or delete individual responses as areas needing improvement.²¹

Data visualization: Users observe that QuestionPro’s data visualization capabilities are limited and requires additional applications to visualize the data collected.²²

Learning curve: It is mentioned that learning to use the product requires some time, especially when operating under tight deadlines.²³

SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is a platform that provides functionalities for creating, distributing, and analyzing surveys. It features a range of survey templates and customization options to accommodate diverse business requirements. The platform aims to facilitate efficient feedback collection and insight gathering from a wide audience. Its capabilities are utilized in conducting market research, assessing customer satisfaction, and informing decisions with the feedback gathered.

Pros

User interface: SurveyMonkey is appreciated for its simple and user-friendly interface, noting that it allows for easy creation and customization of surveys, even for those with limited technical skills.²⁴

Survey customization: Users highlight SurveyMonkey’s advanced features like logic, branching, and piping, which enhance survey customization, making them more relevant and engaging for respondents.²⁵

Reporting and analytics: Users are impressed by SurveyMonkey’s outstanding analytic capabilities, emphasizing that the platform’s data and chart generation greatly facilitate the report creation process.²⁶

Cons

Offline surveys: Users have noted that SurveyMonkey’s focus on online operation results in limited options for conducting surveys offline.²⁷

Pricing: Users express a desire for SurveyMonkey to offer more flexible pricing packages that cater to both small and larger businesses.²⁸

Login devices: There is a limitation in the number of devices that can be logged in at the same time, restricted to two concurrent logins.²⁹

SurveySparrow

SurveySparrow is a survey tool that emphasizes a conversational approach, transforming standard surveys into interactive dialogues. It offers features such as audience management, analytics, customization options, and multi-channel dissemination, including offline capabilities. The platform is designed for simplicity and user-friendliness, enabling businesses to engage their audience effectively and gather meaningful responses.

Pros

Onboarding process: Users find the onboarding process for SurveySparrow to be highly efficient, requiring minimal time and effort to create accounts, contributing to client retention (see figure below).

Source: G2³⁰

Third-party integration: Users appreciate the versatility of the tool in terms of integration with various other tools, streamlining their workflow and enhancing compatibility with their preferred software.³¹

Cons

Reporting features: Users highlight a need for improvement in the reporting and analysis of survey data. They point out that exported reports lack the display of answers to custom text responses and are only accessible online.³²

Technical expertise: It is noted that certain options may require a higher level of technical expertise to effectively utilize the survey tool.³³

Survey customization: Users suggest that advanced customization options could be enhanced by allowing customers to incorporate their branding, including the uploading of images and videos, to create a more personalized survey experience.³⁴

Zoho Survey

Zoho Survey, initially launched in 2013 as a basic survey creation tool, has significantly evolved into a robust feedback management platform. By November 2023, it has expanded its reach to over 25,000 users in more than 50 countries, with a substantial user base of over 4,000 enterprise clients.

Pros

Survey customization: The capability of creating custom surveys or feedback forms with various response types, including radio buttons, multiple options, and text fields, is appreciated as they allow for a deeper understanding of questions and responses.³⁵

Integration with Zoho products: Users find that Zoho Survey functions effectively within the Zoho environment, smoothly connecting and transferring data to other Zoho products.³⁶

Cons

Integration capabilities: Users suggest that direct integration with various CRM and Email Marketing tools, without the need for third-party tools, would be a valuable enhancement for the application.³⁷

Pricing plans: Users believe that providing more flexible pricing plans or additional options tailored to users with specific needs could enhance accessibility and cater to a broader range of users.³⁸

Survey modification: Users highlight a limitation in Zoho Survey where it is unable to modify pre-created surveys, making it restrictive when trying to adapt or upgrade surveys to meet new requirements.³⁹

Essential features for online survey tools

Multilingual surveys

In the context of the international market, the inclusion of multilingual capabilities within a survey tool holds significant value. It allows for the deployment of surveys in the preferred languages of diverse market segments, facilitating the collection of valuable insights from customers who may not be proficient in English.

Media file addition (i.e., audio, image, video)

Incorporating images, videos, and other media into surveys is crucial for enhancing engagement and offering a richer context for questions. This approach leads to improved-quality responses, as it makes the survey experience more engaging and informative for participants, ultimately resulting in more valuable insights.

Survey respondents

The availability of tools that provide crowdsourced survey respondents is crucial for businesses, particularly those with limited customer bases or those aiming to capture diverse perspectives. These tools enable access to a broader and more diverse population, facilitating engagement with potential customers and various demographic groups that might not be directly accessible. This approach effectively gauges the sentiments and preferences of a wider audience, enhancing the ability to reach and understand the target market.

Check out our comprehensive guide on survey participant recruitment tools for more details.

Data quality control

Effective data quality control within online survey tools is fundamental to maintain the integrity and credibility of your data. These quality control mechanisms, including AI-driven bots, serve a vital purpose in identifying and preventing the submission of fraudulent or fake responses. By ensuring that your analysis is rooted in authentic customer feedback, this approach becomes indispensable for making trustworthy business decisions and deriving actionable insights.

For more on fake review detection, check out our article.

Predictive analytics

Basic analysis may not suffice in survey research, and the adoption of AI-powered predictive analytics, as seen in advanced survey platforms, proves superior. It allows for anticipating customer needs and making informed decisions about the business’s future by predicting trends and behaviors based on survey responses, offering a more comprehensive and forward-thinking approach than traditional analysis.

Customer support

Access to prompt customer support is crucial when selecting a survey tool as it ensures continuous assistance in formulating, deploying, and interpreting survey data. This support minimizes potential delays and provides essential technical help to address challenges, ensuring a smooth surveying experience.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for online surveys

1- Why invest in an online survey tool?

Investing in an online survey tool provides a multitude of benefits for businesses, allowing them to effectively gather, analyze, and utilize customer feedback to drive informed decision-making and enhance overall business performance. These insights might be beneficial for marketing teams as a way of market research.

2- What are the capabilities of free online survey tools?

Most free survey tools come with a range of capabilities such as basic survey creation, different question types, basic templates, basic reporting features, or the possibility of distributing the survey to a diverse audience via a link.

3- When free survey tools are not enough?

While free online survey tools can serve as a suitable starting point for businesses, they often come with limitations that make them less ideal for long-term use and especially for those aiming to create unlimited surveys. These limitations include:

• restricted features
• limited customization options
• poor data analysis capabilities
• less reliability
• limited customer support.

4- How to choose the right survey questions?

When selecting survey questions, begin by defining your survey’s objectives. Ensure clarity, impartiality, and singular focus in your questions. Don’t hesitate to mix question types, prioritize crucial ones, and pilot tests for clarity. Maintain survey brevity and gather input from peers in your field for effectiveness.

5- How to make sure that surveys are answered by the right target?

To ensure that your surveys are answered by the right people with specific expertise, you can leverage survey tools that provide access to survey participants from their existing user base, often referred to as “crowdsourcing” or “panel providers.”. This user base consists of pre-screened respondents with diverse expertise. Survey participant recruitment tools can help businesses reach the right audience for specific survey needs.

If interested, here is our data-driven list of survey participant recruitment services.

For those interested, here is also our data driven list of market research tools.

If you need help in the vendor selection process, don’t hesitate to contact us:

External Links

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