KoboToolbox vs Survey Solutions (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, KoboToolbox grades higher than Survey Solutions: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
KoboToolbox grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. Survey Solutions grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
KoboToolbox
Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline
Survey Solutions
Free survey software from the World Bank for CAPI and CAWI
Which one is for you
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
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
| 2.6GPAKoboToolboxGood | 2.2GPASurvey SolutionsFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CThe software costs nothing, but you must run your own server, so hosting and staff time are on you. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | BThe software is free with no response caps, but there is no hosted version. |
| Features | 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. | 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, 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. | DNo store rating on record. You install and manage a server before anyone can interview. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | CWeb server plus an interviewer tablet app whose operating systems the site does not name. APIs are listed, integrations are not. |
| Best for | field surveys that have to work offline | 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: KoboToolbox and Survey Solutions. How we grade
Price against what you get
KoboToolbox starts at $21 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Survey Solutions has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
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 KoboToolbox 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
- KoboToolbox is open source, according to its own site.
- KoboToolbox also covers reports.
At a glance
| KoboToolbox | Survey Solutions | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan | Free |
| Free plan | 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. | The software is free; you run your own server, on your premises or in the cloud. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Kobo | The World Bank Group |
| Price read from | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) | mysurvey.solutions |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
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
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.
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
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.
Survey Solutions
Survey Solutions$0
Free software: questionnaire designer, headquarters server, supervisor and interviewer tools; you host it.
Ways to pay less
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.
Survey Solutions
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, KoboToolbox or Survey Solutions?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Survey Solutions is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $21 a month for KoboToolbox. KoboToolbox starts at $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan, and Survey Solutions is free.
Which has a free plan, KoboToolbox or Survey Solutions?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both KoboToolbox and Survey Solutions have a free plan.
Which platforms do KoboToolbox and Survey Solutions run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only KoboToolbox lists an Android app. 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.