Epicollect5 vs KoboToolbox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Epicollect5 grades higher than KoboToolbox: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Epicollect5 grades higher on value for money and the free plan. KoboToolbox grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Epicollect5
Free mobile and web data collection from Oxford University
KoboToolbox
Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline
Which one is for you
Pick Epicollect5 if
- Fits if you need a free tool for a research or survey project
- Works for field teams with phones and GPS
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if the work is mission-critical, as the team says it is provided as-is with no guarantees
- Watch out: a fair usage policy applies, and it is not designed for free media storage
- Too light for case management or in-depth reporting
- Skip it if you need support or a service agreement, as it is not a commercial company
Pick KoboToolbox if
- Fits if you're a nonprofit, UN agency or researcher collecting data in the field
- Works for survey teams collecting offline on Android phones and tablets with long, spreadsheet-built questionnaires
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you're a company or individual hoping for free, as the free plan is for nonprofits, schools and government
- Skip it if your team is on iPhones and wants an app, since KoboCollect is Android only
- Pricey if you're a business past 1,000 submissions a month, where the next plan is $88 billed yearly, and there's no trial
- Watch out: going over a submission or storage limit blocks new submissions until the quota resets or you upgrade
- Watch out: these prices come from a July 5, 2026 archive copy, because the live pricing page could not be loaded
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAEpicollect5Very good | 2.6GPAKoboToolboxGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree with as many projects and entries as you want, under a fair usage policy. Nothing in forms tools costs less, and you need no server. | C$21 a month billed yearly for unlimited projects, unlimited data collectors and 1,000 submissions a month, which lands just under this category's $24 middle. For a company the next rung is brutal: 5,000 submissions costs $88, past the dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright, with no cap a normal project would reach. | CDepends entirely who you are. Nonprofits, government agencies, UN bodies and schools get 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB free, caps a busy project would still reach. Everybody else gets nothing free and no trial either. |
| Features | CForm builder, mobile collection, exports, an API and logic. The docs point to KoboToolbox, ODK or Google Forms for mission-critical work. | AIt does the whole survey job and several things nothing else in this category does: XLSForm questionnaires with cascading selects and translations, GPS, photo, audio and barcode questions, offline collection, automatic transcription of audio answers, and exports to Stata, ArcGIS and Power BI. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You design each project in the form builder. | CNo store rating on record, and there's a real learning curve: the serious questionnaires are written as XLSForm spreadsheets, projects have to be deployed, and collectors need accounts. The visual Formbuilder is the gentle route. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus Android and iOS apps with GPS and media capture, an export API and Google Maps and Earth links. No desktop app. | BWeb plus the KoboCollect Android app, both working offline, with an API that downloads data and deploys projects, and exports into Excel, Power BI, Tableau and ArcGIS. No iPhone app: Apple users fill forms in a browser. |
| Best for | free field data collection from a university team | field surveys that have to work offline |
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: Epicollect5 and KoboToolbox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Epicollect5 has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. KoboToolbox starts at $21 a month and scores 3.0.
KoboToolbox scores higher, and starts $21 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 Epicollect5 for less, and none scores higher than KoboToolbox 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
- KoboToolbox is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- KoboToolbox also covers reports.
At a glance
| Epicollect5 | KoboToolbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan |
| Free plan | Free to use without limits, subject to a fair usage policy; as many projects and entries as you want. | Community plan, free for nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions: 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage. Other users pay $99 a month for it. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance | Kobo |
| Price read from | docs.epicollect.net | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Epicollect5
- The team says it is not a commercial company and provides the service as-is, with no guarantees.
- For mission-critical projects the docs suggest alternatives such as KoboToolbox, ODK or Google Forms.
- A fair usage policy applies, and Epicollect5 is not designed as free media storage.
KoboToolbox
- The free Community plan is limited to nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions; others pay.
- Going over a plan's submission or storage limit blocks new submissions until the quota resets or the plan is upgraded.
- KoboCollect is an Android app; iPhones and iPads collect data through web forms in a browser.
- Prices here come from a July 5, 2026 archive copy of the pricing page, because the live page could not be loaded.
Key features
Epicollect5
- Form builder
- Create projects and multi-form questionnaires in the web app, then download them to a device.
- Mobile collection
- The app runs on Android 10+ and iOS 15.6+, collecting GPS locations and media.
- Central views
- Entries can be viewed on a map, in tables and in charts on the project site.
- Export and API
- Data exports as CSV and JSON, and a developer API is documented.
- Logic
- Jumps, branches, groups and double-entry verification are documented in the form builder.
KoboToolbox
- Formbuilder and XLSForm
- Build forms in a visual Formbuilder or as XLSForm spreadsheets, with skip logic, validation, calculations, cascading selects and translations.
- Offline data collection
- Web forms and the KoboCollect Android app both store submissions on the device without a connection and upload them once it returns.
- GPS and multimedia questions
- Forms can capture GPS locations, photos, audio and video, and the KoboCollect app adds device features such as barcode scanning.
- Audio transcription and translation
- Audio responses can be transcribed and translated automatically within a monthly quota: 10 minutes on Community and 120 on Professional.
- Reports, data tables and exports
- Custom reports, table views and bulk editing are built in, and data exports work with Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS and Stata.
- API
- The API downloads data as JSON, CSV or XLSX, submits or edits records, creates and deploys projects, and manages users and permissions.
Plans
Epicollect5
Free$0
100% free service with unlimited projects and entries, provided as-is under a fair usage policy.
KoboToolbox
Community (nonprofit)$0
For nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions: unlimited projects, 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage.
Starter$21
per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
For companies and personal use only: unlimited projects and data collectors, 1,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage.
Community (other)$88
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
The Community plan as sold to companies and individuals outside the nonprofit category: 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage.
Professional$129
per month, billed annually ($159 monthly); nonprofit rate
25,000 submissions a month and unlimited file storage. Organizations outside the nonprofit category pay $166 billed annually or $199 monthly.
Teams$249
per month, billed annually ($289 monthly); nonprofit rate
50,000 submissions a month, unlimited storage and 1 team with member roles. Other organizations pay $309 billed annually or $359 monthly.
Enterprise SolutionsCustom
Unlimited submissions and 10 teams, with single sign-on included and hosting in a choice of 28 countries or on your own infrastructure.
Ways to pay less
Epicollect5
No public discounts listed.
KoboToolbox
- Nonprofit
Free Community plan and lower rates for nonprofits
Nonprofits, government agencies and UN organizations get the Community plan free and pay less for Professional and Teams than other organizations do.
- Education
Nonprofit pricing for educational institutions
The pricing page counts educational institutions in its nonprofit category, which includes the free Community plan and the lower paid rates.
- Annual discount
Lower monthly rate with annual billing
Billed annually, Starter is $21 instead of $25 per month, and the nonprofit rates are $129 instead of $159 for Professional and $249 instead of $289 for Teams.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Epicollect5 or KoboToolbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Epicollect5 is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $21 a month for KoboToolbox. Epicollect5 is free, and KoboToolbox starts at $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan.
Which has a free plan, Epicollect5 or KoboToolbox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Epicollect5 and KoboToolbox have a free plan.
Which platforms do Epicollect5 and KoboToolbox run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Epicollect5 lists an iOS app. Both list a web app and an Android 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.