CommCare vs Survey Solutions (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Survey Solutions grades higher than CommCare: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
CommCare grades higher on ease of use and platforms. Survey Solutions grades higher on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
CommCare
No-code apps for frontline case management and data collection
Survey Solutions
Free survey software from the World Bank for CAPI and CAWI
Which one is for you
Pick CommCare if
- Fits if you run a health or social programme with field workers and follow-up visits
- Works for a pilot of up to 5 mobile workers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as it is for testing with 5 mobile workers
- Pricey if you grow: $2 a month for each extra mobile user, active or not
- Watch out: web applications and Power BI feeds need Advanced at $1,000 a month
- Watch out: buying online covers up to 3 project spaces; more needs a sales call
Pick Survey Solutions if
- Fits if you run a statistics office or research team with its own IT support
- Works for large household surveys with interviewers on tablets
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a hosted service, as you install your own server
- Skip it if you have no IT help, because setup and upkeep are yours
- Watch out: hosting costs depend on your own server, so the free software is not the whole bill
- Watch out: the site does not say which operating systems the tablet app supports
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACommCareFair | 2.2GPASurvey SolutionsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStandard is $100 a month on yearly billing plus $2 for each extra mobile user. Web apps and Power BI and Tableau feeds sit on Advanced at $1,000. | CThe software costs nothing, but you must run your own server, so hosting and staff time are on you. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe Free Edition is for testing: 1 project space and 5 mobile workers. | BThe software is free with no response caps, but there is no hosted version. |
| Features | CNo-code apps, offline case management, reports, messaging and security. Web applications, BI feeds and de-identification need Advanced, and texts cost $0.01 to $0.10 each. | BQuestionnaire designer, offline tablet, web and phone interviews, data validation, GIS capture and APIs. The listing shows no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Building a case-management app is real design work. | DNo store rating on record. You install and manage a server before anyone can interview. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus Android and iOS apps, with Zapier, Power BI, Tableau and Excel links. No desktop app. | CWeb server plus an interviewer tablet app whose operating systems the site does not name. APIs are listed, integrations are not. |
| Best for | no-code mobile apps for frontline programmes | free survey software you host on your own server |
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: CommCare and Survey Solutions. How we grade
Price against what you get
CommCare starts at $100 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Survey Solutions has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
CommCare scores higher, and starts $100 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 38 score higher than CommCare for less, and none scores higher than Survey Solutions 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
- CommCare is open source, according to its own site.
- Survey Solutions is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- CommCare also covers case management.
At a glance
| CommCare | Survey Solutions | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $100 per month, billed annually ($120 billed monthly) | Free |
| Free plan | Free Edition for testing: 1 project space and 5 mobile workers. | The software is free; you run your own server, on your premises or in the cloud. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Dimagi, Inc. | The World Bank Group |
| Price read from | commcare.dimagi.com | mysurvey.solutions |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
CommCare
- Billing counts mobile users, active or inactive, at $2 per extra user a month; web users are unlimited.
- Text messages carry per-message fees, roughly $0.01 to $0.10 through Dimagi's gateway depending on country.
- Web applications, Power BI and Tableau feeds and data de-identification need the Advanced plan.
- Buying online covers up to 3 project spaces; 4 or more need a sales conversation.
Survey Solutions
- You install and manage the server yourself; the team helps with setup but this is not a hosted subscription.
- The site points to cost planning tools in its documentation, since hosting costs depend on your own server setup.
- The site does not state which operating systems the interviewer tablet app supports.
Key features
CommCare
- No-code app builder
- Program staff build and deploy mobile apps without engineers, with multi-language support and multimedia.
- Offline case management
- Track clients over time and collect data with no signal; everything syncs when connectivity returns.
- Reports and exports
- A web report builder, scheduled exports and Excel dashboards; Power BI and Tableau OData feeds on Advanced.
- Messaging
- One-way messaging and live text chat; two-way text messaging is an add-on or Advanced feature.
- Security
- The vendor says it is SOC 2 certified, GDPR compliant and signs HIPAA BAAs on Advanced.
Survey Solutions
- Questionnaire Designer
- Build multi-language questionnaires with nested rosters, linked and cascading questions, and a compiler that flags problems.
- Mixed interview modes
- Collect offline on tablets (CAPI), online through a web interface (CAWI) and by phone (CATI).
- Data validation
- Validation and interview flow use C# expressions, with macros, calculated variables and lookup tables.
- GIS capture
- Capture locations, distances and areas, with geofencing and offline guidance to interview points using satellite images.
- APIs and monitoring
- REST APIs support quality controls and dashboards, and paradata lets you monitor survey progress.
Plans
CommCare
Free Edition$0
For testing purposes: 1 project space, 5 mobile workers, unlimited form submissions.
Standard$100
per month, billed annually ($120 billed monthly)
50 mobile users included, offline case management; shown as was $250, with no end date given.
Pro$500
per month, billed annually ($600 billed monthly)
250 users included, case sharing, child cases, a web report builder, APIs and priority support.
Advanced$1,000
per month, billed annually ($1,200 billed monthly)
500 users included, Power BI and Tableau integration, web applications, de-identification and two-way SMS.
Enterprise$4,000
per month and up, billed annually
Custom user volume, single sign-on, account management, customized terms and roadmap input.
Survey Solutions
Survey Solutions$0
Free software: questionnaire designer, headquarters server, supervisor and interviewer tools; you host it.
Ways to pay less
CommCare
- Annual discount
About 17% off with annual billing
Paying annually costs about 17% less than paying monthly, for example $500 versus $600 a month on Pro.
- Other savings
Subsidized pricing for health ministries
Ministries running national community health programs qualify for subsidized pricing through Dimagi's eCHIS offering.
Survey Solutions
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, CommCare or Survey Solutions?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Survey Solutions is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $100 a month for CommCare. CommCare starts at $100 per month, billed annually ($120 billed monthly), and Survey Solutions is free.
Which has a free plan, CommCare or Survey Solutions?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both CommCare and Survey Solutions have a free plan.
Which platforms do CommCare and Survey Solutions run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only CommCare lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.