KoboToolbox vs SurveyMonkey
We give KoboToolbox and SurveyMonkey the same GPA: 3.2 out of 4.0. KoboToolbox grades higher on value for money. SurveyMonkey grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan, features and ease of use.
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
SurveyMonkey
Online survey and form platform with built-in analysis tools
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAKoboToolboxVery good | 3.2GPASurveyMonkeyVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $21 a month billed annually, $25 monthly, with unlimited projects and data collectors and 1,000 submissions a month. About typical for forms. The next step is steep for a company, though: 5,000 submissions a month costs $88. | CAdvantage is $39 a month billed annually ($468) for one user, and Standard, the only month-to-month plan, is $149. That's above what a typical form tool costs, and crosstabs, advanced logic and white label sit on Premier at $139 a month. Go over your response allowance and it's $0.15 per extra response. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe Community plan is free with 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage, but only for nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions. Companies and individuals pay, and there's no trial on record. | BBasic is free, with unlimited surveys and Build with AI. But it's 10 questions per survey, and you can only view a limited number of responses. How many? SurveyMonkey shows that only after you sign up. |
| Features | AA visual Formbuilder or XLSForm spreadsheets, with skip logic, validation, calculations and translations. Forms capture GPS, photos, audio and video, and work offline. Reports and data tables are built in, and exports feed Excel, Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS and Stata. | AAI drafts a survey from a prompt, skip logic routes people through it, and the analysis is the strong part: statistical significance, multi-survey analysis, crosstabs and AI that groups open answers into themes. Teams share brand assets and set roles. Advanced logic and multilingual surveys wait for Premier. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. There's a visual Formbuilder for building forms, and XLSForm spreadsheets for when the questionnaire gets long and complicated. | B4.57 from about 2,800 App Store ratings, a hair short of an A. Describe what the survey is for and Build with AI hands you a draft to edit. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb forms plus the KoboCollect app on Android, and both work offline. iPhones and iPads fill in forms through the browser, as there's no app for them. The API downloads data and can create and deploy projects. | AWeb, plus free iPhone and Android apps that create, send and analyse surveys. It connects to Slack, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Microsoft Teams and Zapier. Salesforce, Power BI and Tableau are Enterprise only. |
| Best for | field surveys that have to work offline | surveys where the analysis matters as much as the asking |
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 SurveyMonkey. How we grade
Where they differ
- KoboToolbox starts at $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan. SurveyMonkey starts at $39 per month, billed annually ($468), for one user.
- Only SurveyMonkey lists an iOS app.
- KoboToolbox is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- SurveyMonkey also covers templates.
At a glance
| KoboToolbox | SurveyMonkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan | $39 per month, billed annually ($468), for one user |
| 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. | Basic plan: 1 user, unlimited surveys, 10 questions per survey and a limited number of viewable responses per survey. The exact response number is shown only after sign-up. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Kobo | SurveyMonkey |
| Price read from | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) | surveymonkey.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
KoboToolbox
- Nonprofits, UN agencies and researchers collecting field data
- Enumerator teams working offline on Android phones and tablets
- Long questionnaires with complex logic built in XLSForm
SurveyMonkey
- Customer, employee and market research surveys that need statistical analysis
- Teams that share templates, themes and roles across several survey creators
- One-off projects, using the month-to-month Standard plan
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
