Alchemer vs Pollfish (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 Pollfish if

• Fits if you need answers from strangers rather than your own list
• Works for researchers who can set a budget per response

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you need many answers, because each response costs from $0.95
• Watch out: full-service projects start at $5,000 per market and enterprise at $10,000 a year
• Skip it if you only want to collect your own form entries, as it is built around its panel
• Tight if you want free responses, as the page gives no allowance or trial

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.

Pollfish

• The platform is free but responses are charged per response, from $0.95 each, so cost grows with sample size.
• Full-service projects start at $5,000 per market and enterprise packages at $10,000 a year.
• It is a research product built around its own panel, not a general form or data-collection tool.
• The page gives no free response allowance or trial; the free part is the builder and joining.

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.

Pollfish

AI survey builder

Describe a research goal and the builder drafts a survey with questions and logic, which can then be edited by hand.

Drag-and-drop builder

A visual editor handles skip logic, branching, answer shuffling, exclusive options and image or video questions, with live preview.

Survey templates

Templates cover brand awareness, concept testing, pricing studies such as Van Westendorp, conjoint and MaxDiff.

Own audience

Responses come from Pollfish's own first-party panel, which the company says is drawn from Prodege's consumer programs.

Full-service research

Teams that want a managed study can buy a project with a dedicated research expert and finished reports.

Team tools

Single sign-on, shared access, folders and one-click survey duplication are listed for team use.

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.

Pollfish

• DIY Platform$0

  Free to join and no seats. Responses from the panel cost from $0.95 each.

• Full Service$5,000

  per project and up

  Simple general-population studies start at $5,000 per market, with a dedicated research expert and presentation-ready reports.

• Enterprise$10,000

  per year and up

  Annual commitments from $10,000 with volume discounts, a dedicated account manager and both DIY and full-service options.

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.

Pollfish

No public discounts listed.