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

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

Pick SurveyMonkey if

• Fits if you run customer, employee or market research and need statistics on the answers
• Works for a one-off project on the month-to-month Standard plan, at $149 for the month

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you only need a simple form, at $39 a month billed annually ($468) for the cheapest yearly plan
• Pricey if you want crosstabs, advanced logic or multilingual surveys, since all wait for Premier at $139 a month
• Tight if you stay free: 10 questions per survey, and the number of viewable responses is only shown after sign-up
• Watch out: paid plans cap responses (1,000 a month on Standard, 15,000 a year on Advantage) and charge $0.15 for each extra
• Skip it if you're a team of two, as Team plans need 3 users, and Salesforce, Power BI, Tableau and SSO need Enterprise at 5 or more

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.

SurveyMonkey

• The free Basic plan allows 10 questions per survey and shows only a limited number of responses per survey.
• Standard Monthly is the only plan billed month to month; the Advantage, Premier and Team plans are billed annually.
• Team plans need at least 3 users. SSO and the Salesforce, Marketo, Power BI and Tableau integrations are Enterprise-only, and Enterprise needs 5 or more users and a demo.
• Paid plans cap responses (1,000 a month on Standard, 15,000 a year on Advantage) and charge $0.15 per extra response.

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.

SurveyMonkey

Build with AI

Type a prompt that describes the goals of a survey and SurveyMonkey generates a draft to edit and customize. It is listed on the free Basic plan.

Logic and survey controls

Skip logic starts on Standard Monthly. Advanced logic, block randomization and multilingual surveys are reserved for the Premier tiers.

Analyze with AI and Thematic Analysis

Ask a question to get AI-generated charts and insight summaries, and have open-ended answers grouped into themes. Both start on the Advantage tier.

Statistical analysis

Statistical significance and multi-survey analysis come with the Advantage tier, and crosstabs with Premier.

Team seats and shared assets

Team plans share brand assets and set user roles and permissions. Full Access seats create and send surveys; Analyst seats view, comment on and analyze shared ones.

Mobile apps

Free iOS and Android apps create, send and analyze surveys, with push notifications. The separate SurveyMonkey Anywhere app adds kiosk mode, plus an Offline Mode on Enterprise plans.

Forsta

Pricing could not be confirmed. See forsta.com.

SurveyMonkey

• Basic$0

  1 user, unlimited surveys, 10 questions per survey and a limited number of responses per survey, with Build with AI.

• Standard Monthly$149

  per month, billed monthly

  Unlimited questions and 1,000 responses per month, with skip logic, custom design, email invitations and data exports.

• Advantage Annual$39

  per month, billed annually ($468)

  15,000 responses per year, plus payments, statistical significance, multi-survey analysis, Analyze with AI and Thematic Analysis.

• Premier Annual$139

  per month, billed annually ($1,668)

  40,000 responses per year, plus white label branding, advanced logic, multilingual surveys, crosstabs and phone support.

• Team Advantage$30

  per user / month, billed annually, 3-user minimum

  50,000 responses per year, shared brand assets, user roles and account permissions, and the Advantage analysis tools.

• Team Premier$92

  per user / month, billed annually, 3-user minimum

  100,000 responses per year, plus white label branding, advanced logic, multilingual surveys, crosstabs and phone support.

Forsta

No public discounts listed.

SurveyMonkey

• Education

  Reduced pricing for students and educators

  Students and educators on a free plan in the US and UK can upgrade at reduced prices from a link on the pricing page. Discounts are granted at SurveyMonkey's discretion for one-year periods.

• Nonprofit

  Discounts for eligible nonprofits

  Nonprofits on a free plan can submit a discount application. Discounts are discretionary, run for one year and cannot be added to an existing paid account.

• By country

  Lower price shown to buyers in India

  On October 9, 2026 the pricing page read from India showed Advantage Annual at ₹1,999 a month (₹23,988 billed annually); read from the United States the same day it showed $39 a month ($468).