Alchemer vs Forsta (2026): which should you pick?

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 Forsta if

• Fits if you run large market research studies with a research team
• Works for companies that need survey panels and dashboards in one place

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a price on the page, because none is published
• Not for you if you need a free plan or trial, as there isn't one
• Watch out: it is far more platform than a simple contact or sign-up form needs
• Watch out: product names change by use case, such as Decipher for surveys and Research HX for panels

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.

Forsta

• No prices are published and there is no free plan or trial; buyers are directed to talk to an expert.
• It is an enterprise platform with many modules, so it is more than a form or survey builder.
• Product names vary by use case, such as Decipher for surveys and Research HX for panels and dashboards.
• Integration pages list enterprise tools such as Adobe Analytics, Dynamics 365 and Cint rather than small-team apps.

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.

Forsta

Decipher survey platform

Surveys can be built by drag and drop or in XML and Python, with nested routing, quotas, loops, 85 or more question types and 80 or more languages.

AI-assisted setup

Word documents can be imported as surveys with AI, and templates, automatic logic checks and AI summaries of open-ended answers are listed.

Panel and sample

A sample marketplace is built in, with panel management for running your own panel.

Dashboards

Survey results can be turned into live dashboards and data visualizations through the Research HX product.

Experience programs

Separate solutions cover customer, brand and employee experience, including reputation management, review requests and local listings.

Expert services

Consulting, data science, onboarding, participant management and technical assistance are offered next to the software.

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.

Forsta

Pricing could not be confirmed. See forsta.com.

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.

Forsta

No public discounts listed.