Alchemer vs Checkbox Survey (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Alchemer grades higher than Checkbox Survey: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Alchemer grades higher on features and platforms. Checkbox Survey grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Alchemer
Survey platform with advanced logic and market research questions
Checkbox Survey
Survey software for the cloud or your own servers
Which one is for you
Pick Alchemer if
- Fits if you're a researcher who needs conjoint, card sort or heatmap questions
- Works for teams of one to three building long surveys full of branching, with answers going to Salesforce or HubSpot
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you just want a contact form, since paid plans start at $315 per user a year
- Pricey if you need advanced logic or file uploads, as those start at $1,075 per user a year
- Not for you if there are more than 3 of you, because that means a custom-priced Platform plan
- Tight if you're staying free, with 3 surveys at a time, 100 responses on each and basic question types
- Watch out: the API and single sign-on are Platform only, and kiosk mode and SPSS export need Full Access
Pick Checkbox Survey if
- Fits if your IT team insists on surveys running on your own servers
- Works for small teams sending surveys by email, SMS or WhatsApp
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need a free plan, because it has only a 14-day trial
- Watch out: the REST API, webhooks and custom subdomain start on Business at $1,800 a year, and SSO is Enterprise only
- Tight if you collect a lot, as plans cap responses at 120,000, 300,000 and 1,000,000 a year
- Pricey if you add users, since extra seats cost extra and Business bills yearly only
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAlchemerFair | 2.0GPACheckbox SurveyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DThe entry licence is $315 per user a year, but advanced logic, file uploads and email campaigns start on Professional at $1,075, about $90 a month against this category's middle of $24. The API isn't on any published plan at all. | CSolo is $20 a month billed yearly, right at the middle of the category. Team is $83.33 a month for 5 users, about $17 each. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe free account caps you at 3 surveys at a time, 100 responses each, basic question types and standard reports. You'll hit that on a first real project. The 7-day trial of a paid plan needs no card up front. | C14-day free trial and no free plan. The listing does not say whether a card is needed. |
| Features | A43 question types, logic, piping, sending by link, email, SMS or QR, and reports out as PDF, PowerPoint, Excel or Word. What the rest of this category hasn't got: conjoint, card sort and heatmap questions, SPSS export and an offline kiosk mode. | CSurvey builder, three invitation channels, dashboards and an on-premises option cover the job. The API, webhooks and custom subdomain are held back for Business. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and this is a platform you learn rather than pick up: 43 question types, advanced logic, piping and merge codes. The AI Survey Builder drafting from a description is the one shortcut in. | CNo store rating on record. A survey builder in the browser, with reports to set up yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb with integrations for Salesforce, HubSpot, Slack, Google Sheets, Tableau, Jira and Zapier. No phone or desktop apps, and the API is reserved for custom-priced Platform plans. | CWeb only, with an on-premises version for IT teams. The listing names no ready-made integrations. |
| Best for | long surveys with heavy logic and research questions | surveys in the cloud or on your own servers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Alchemer and Checkbox Survey. How we grade
Price against what you get
Alchemer starts at $26.25 a month when paid by the year for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Checkbox Survey starts at $20 a month and scores 2.0.
Alchemer scores higher, and starts $6.25 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, none scores higher than Alchemer for less, and 23 score higher than Checkbox Survey for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Checkbox Survey is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Alchemer also covers workflow automation.
- Checkbox Survey also covers forms.
At a glance
| Alchemer | Checkbox Survey | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $315 per user / year, or $55 per user / month billed monthly | $20 per month for 1 user, billed annually ($30 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free account: up to 3 surveys at a time and 100 responses per survey, with a limited set of question types and standard reports only. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of a paid plan, no credit card required up front | 14-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Alchemer LLC | Checkbox Technology |
| Price read from | alchemer.com | checkbox.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Alchemer
- Professional and Full Access allow at most 3 users; larger teams need a custom-priced Platform plan.
- The pricing page limits API access, single sign-on and security assessments to Platform plans.
- The Free account stops at 3 surveys and 100 responses per survey, with a short list of question types.
- Offline or kiosk mode, SPSS export and the market research question types all require Full Access.
Checkbox Survey
- Plans are limited by responses per year (120,000, 300,000 and 1,000,000) and by user count.
- Business is sold on yearly billing only; additional users are available for a fee.
- The REST API, webhooks and custom subdomain start on Business, and SSO is Enterprise only.
- The Team price is the page's own yearly figure of $83.33 a month; the page's script may round it on screen.
Key features
Alchemer
- 43 question types
- Alchemer Survey lists 43 question types. File uploads need Professional, and card sort, heatmap and conjoint questions need Full Access.
- Logic, piping and merge codes
- Survey logic is on every paid license. Multiple conditions, piping and repeating count as advanced logic and start on Professional.
- Link, email, SMS and QR distribution
- Share a survey by link, QR code or SMS. Sending email campaigns to a contact list from inside Alchemer starts on Professional.
- Reports and exports
- Paid licenses share reports by URL, download them as PDF, PowerPoint, Excel or Word and export raw data to Excel. SPSS export is Full Access only.
- Integration catalog
- A catalog of integrations pushes survey data to, or pulls records from, Salesforce, HubSpot, Google Sheets, Tableau and other systems.
- AI survey tools
- An AI Survey Builder drafts a survey from a plain-language description, and AI Smart Question generates follow-up questions for respondents.
Checkbox Survey
- Survey builder
- All question types, advanced survey logic and custom branding are on every cloud plan, including the smallest.
- Email, SMS and WhatsApp invitations
- Email invitations come with each plan; SMS and WhatsApp invitations are an add-on from the Business plan.
- Reports and dashboards
- A standard report with charts is generated for each survey, and dashboards can combine charts from several surveys with filters. Exports go to CSV or SAV.
- Flexible hosting
- Cloud surveys can be hosted in the US, Canada, Australia or the EU, or the whole product can be installed on-premises.
- API and webhooks
- The public REST API and webhooks, which connect surveys to CRM and marketing systems, start on the Business plan.
- Business plan controls
- Business adds custom data retention policies and a custom subdomain, and Enterprise adds SAML SSO, a custom domain and full audit logs.
Plans
Alchemer
Free$0
Up to 3 surveys at a time and 100 responses per survey, with basic question types such as radio buttons, checkboxes, text boxes and ratings.
Collaborator$315
per user / year ($55 per user / month billed monthly)
Unlimited surveys and questions, 75,000 responses a year per account, survey logic, report downloads and email support.
Professional$1,075
per user / year ($165 per user / month billed monthly)
Up to 3 users and 100,000 responses a year, plus advanced logic, email campaigns, file uploads and phone support on annual plans.
Full Access$1,895
per user / year ($275 per user / month billed monthly)
Up to 3 users and 125,000 responses a year, plus market research question types, SPSS export, open-text analysis and offline or kiosk mode.
Platform PlansCustom
For more than 3 users: API access, single sign-on, 24/7 support, a customer success manager and feedback collection across other channels.
Checkbox Survey
Solo$20
per month, 1 user, billed annually ($30 billed monthly)
120,000 responses a year for individuals and freelancers. All question types, advanced logic, email invitations and custom branding.
Team$83.33
per month, 5 users, billed annually ($100 billed monthly)
300,000 responses a year for up to 5 users, with the same features as Solo.
Business$1,800
per year, 5 users, billed annually
1,000,000 responses a year, 24-hour priority support, public REST API, webhooks and a custom subdomain. Extra users cost more.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited responses, SAML SSO, custom domain, audit logs, a dedicated account manager and custom SLA, BAA or DPA agreements.
On-PremisesCustom
Everything in Enterprise, deployed on your own servers, with Active Directory or LDAP sign-in and implementation support.
Ways to pay less
Alchemer
- Annual discount
Save 43% to 52% with annual billing
The pricing page marks annual billing as saving 52% on Collaborator ($315 a year against $55 a month), 46% on Professional and 43% on Full Access.
- Nonprofit
25% off annual plans for non-profits
Registered non-profit organizations get 25% off annual accounts after entering an EIN or international equivalent at checkout. Monthly accounts are excluded.
Checkbox Survey
- Annual discount
Save up to 33% with annual billing
The pricing page has an annual toggle labelled as saving up to 33% against monthly billing on Solo and Team.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Alchemer or Checkbox Survey?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Alchemer starts at $315 per user / year, or $55 per user / month billed monthly, and Checkbox Survey starts at $20 per month for 1 user, billed annually ($30 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Alchemer or Checkbox Survey?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Alchemer has a free plan. Checkbox Survey does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.