LimeSurvey vs SurveyLab (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick LimeSurvey: it is third in our ranking of form and survey tools, and it grades higher too, 2.4 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
LimeSurvey grades higher on the free plan and features. SurveyLab grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
LimeSurvey
Open-source survey tool, hosted in the cloud or self-hosted
SurveyLab
Online survey software with a mobile app and a free tier
Which one is for you
Pick LimeSurvey if
- Fits if you're an academic or market researcher who exports to SPSS, R or Stata
- Works for organizations that must keep survey data on their own servers, or run one survey in several languages
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want answers sent on to your other apps, as only Google Analytics and Google Translate are listed, plus the API
- Not for you if you need single sign-on, since SSO, LDAP and SAML are listed under Corporate with no public price
- Tight if you're on the free cloud plan: its limits aren't published, and passing them locks you out for the rest of the month
- Watch out: checkout is always in euros, so the dollar price shown differs by country, and Basic is 1 admin and 1,000 responses a month
- Pricey if you want a white-label domain or custom branding, which start at Expert, billed yearly at about $432
Pick SurveyLab if
- Fits if you want one survey sent by email, SMS and QR code
- Works for teams that collect answers offline on a phone
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, because collection stops at 50 responses
- Pricey if you grow: 1,000, 2,500 or 10,000 completed responses a month at $40, $82 and $207
- Watch out: API, integrations, AI analytics and 360 surveys need Enterprise
- Watch out: the pricing page shows PLN, EUR, USD and GBP, so check the currency before you buy
How we grade them
| 2.4GPALimeSurveyFair | 2.2GPASurveyLabFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is about $39 a month billed monthly for 1 admin and 1,000 responses, which is right at the top of this category's middle band. Expert works out at $36 a month paid yearly. Checkout is always in euros, and the price shown varies by country. | CStarter is $40 a month on yearly billing for 1,000 responses, right at the edge of the dearer quarter of forms tools. Advanced is $82 and Professional $207. |
| Free plan and trial | BTwo free routes and one is unlimited: the cloud free plan locks no features, though the pricing page won't state its caps and going over locks you out until the month ends, and the Community Edition is free to run on your own server. | CAfter a 14-day trial the account drops to Free, which keeps Starter features but stops collecting at 50 responses. That's a cap you'll reach in one decent mailing. |
| Features | BThe whole survey job, nothing in the listing missing: matrices, rankings, sliders, uploads and equations, with skip logic, branching, piping, quotas and randomization, one survey in several languages, bulk invitations, and exports to SPSS, R, Stata and Excel. | CLogic, NPS, CSAT, CES, exports and an offline app are covered. The listing puts API, integrations, AI analytics, white label and 360 surveys on Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and this is a tool you learn: quotas, piping and branching to set up, participant lists to manage, and the free edition installs on a server you run yourself. | CNo store rating on record. You build each survey yourself, set up the logic and pick the channel. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and barely connected. The listing names two integrations, Google Analytics and Google Translate, neither of which sends your answers anywhere. The public API is the only way out. | BWeb plus iPhone and Android apps, and a list of connectors including Zendesk, Slack and Salesforce. No desktop app, and the API is Enterprise only. |
| Best for | research surveys you can host yourself | surveys sent by link, email, SMS or QR code |
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: LimeSurvey and SurveyLab. How we grade
Price against what you get
LimeSurvey starts at $39 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SurveyLab starts at $40 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and LimeSurvey starts $1 a month lower. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 29 score higher than LimeSurvey for less, and 30 score higher than SurveyLab 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
- LimeSurvey is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- LimeSurvey also covers templates.
- SurveyLab also covers dashboards.
At a glance
| LimeSurvey | SurveyLab | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34) | $40 per month for 1,000 responses, billed annually ($49 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free cloud plan with no locked features but limits on responses, upload storage and administrators; the pricing page does not state the limits. The self-hosted Community Edition is free. | Free plan after the 14-day trial: all Starter features, but collection stops at 50 responses. |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial on every new account; it then drops to the Free plan |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | LimeSurvey GmbH | SurveyLab |
| Price read from | web.archive.org (not the vendor's own page) | surveylab.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LimeSurvey
- Checkout is always in euros; non-euro prices on the pricing page are shown for orientation only and differ by country.
- Basic covers 1 admin user and 1,000 responses a month; Expert and Business have yearly allowances of 10,000 and 50,000 responses.
- White-label domains and custom branding start at Expert, and SSO, LDAP and SAML are listed under Corporate.
- On the free cloud plan, access is locked until the end of the month once the response limit is exceeded.
SurveyLab
- Plans are capped by responses per month (1,000, 2,500 or 10,000), and a response is one completed survey.
- The Free plan stops collecting at 50 responses.
- API and integrations, AI analytics, white label and 360 surveys are listed only under Enterprise.
- The pricing page shows PLN, EUR, USD and GBP; the dollar figures are recorded here.
Key features
LimeSurvey
- Question types and survey logic
- Question types include matrices, rankings, sliders, file uploads and equations, combined with skip logic, branching, piping, quotas and randomization.
- Multilingual surveys
- Run one survey in several languages. The administration and survey interfaces are available in more than 80 languages, with Google Translate support for quick translation.
- Invitations and participants
- Send invitation and reminder emails in bulk from editable templates, handle bounces automatically, prevent multiple participation and let participants save and continue later.
- Statistics and exports
- Quick statistics give a graphical evaluation of results, and data exports to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel and PDF.
- Self-hosted Community Edition
- The open-source Community Edition is free to download and install on your own server, so response data stays on infrastructure you control.
- Hosting regions and compliance
- LimeSurvey Cloud stores data in the location chosen at setup, including Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada and Australia, and offers a GDPR data processing agreement.
SurveyLab
- Multichannel collection
- Surveys can be sent by link, email, SMS and QR code, and are scaled to phones, tablets and desktops automatically.
- Survey logic
- Branching and piping are included, with advanced logic, quotas and question or page rotation on higher plans.
- Satisfaction metrics
- NPS, CSAT and CES question formats are on every paid plan, and 360 feedback surveys are on Enterprise.
- Reports and exports
- Report filters on every plan, crosstab reports and dashboards on Professional, and CSV, Excel and SPSS export on the plans that list them.
- Offline mobile app
- An Android and iOS app lets people take surveys offline and syncs the answers when a connection returns. Offline responses are listed from Professional up.
- Multi-language surveys
- Surveys can be translated, and the respondent's browser language selects the version shown, including right-to-left languages.
Plans
LimeSurvey
Community Edition$0
Open-source edition to download and run on your own server, with response data kept on your own infrastructure.
Free$0
LimeSurvey Cloud with no locked features, limited in the number of responses, upload storage and administrators.
Basic$39
per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34)
1 admin user, 1,000 responses a month and 250 MB of upload storage, with unlimited surveys and questions.
Expert$36
per month, billed annually ($432; charged in EUR, about €374)
3 admin users, 10,000 responses a year and 1 GB of upload storage, plus a white-label domain and custom branding.
Business$69
per month, billed annually ($820; charged in EUR, €711)
5 to 10 admin users, 50,000 responses a year and 3 GB of upload storage, plus 1 alias domain and priority email support.
CorporateCustom
Tailored users and responses, SSO, LDAP and SAML, a dedicated server and VIP support.
SurveyLab
Free$0
Starter features, limited to 50 responses.
Starter$40
per month for 1,000 responses, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
1,000 responses a month, multichannel surveys, survey logic, CSV and Excel export, NPS, CSAT and CES, report filters and themes. $490 billed yearly.
Advanced$82
per month for 2,500 responses, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
Adds data trends, SPSS export, piping, metrics, answer rotation and multilanguage surveys. $990 billed yearly.
Professional$207
per month for 10,000 responses, billed annually ($249 billed monthly)
Adds advanced logic, offline responses with the mobile app, quotas, crosstab reports, dashboards and 3 users. $2,490 billed yearly.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited responses, 5 or more users, API and integrations, AI analytics, white label, on-premise option and an SLA. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
LimeSurvey
- Education
50% off for students, 30% for teachers
Students get 50% off and teachers 30% off after emailing a valid student or faculty ID. Both must agree to use LimeSurvey only for classroom-related work.
- Nonprofit
30% off for charitable organizations
Charitable organizations get a 30% discount after sending proof of charity status or charity work. Discounts cannot be applied retroactively.
- By country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
The pricing page sets a local price by country. On 9 October 2026 it showed Basic to a reader in India at ₹779 a month (about €7), against $39 (about €34) in a US copy of the page archived in June 2026.
SurveyLab
- Annual discount
20% off with a 12-month subscription
The pricing page shows 12 months for the price of 10 (2 free) and its FAQ says a 12-month subscription gets 20% off.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LimeSurvey or SurveyLab?
As of Nov 13, 2026, LimeSurvey is cheaper to start with: $39 a month, against $40 a month for SurveyLab. LimeSurvey starts at $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34), and SurveyLab starts at $40 per month for 1,000 responses, billed annually ($49 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, LimeSurvey or SurveyLab?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both LimeSurvey and SurveyLab have a free plan.
Which platforms do LimeSurvey and SurveyLab run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SurveyLab 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.