PollUnit vs StrawPoll (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, StrawPoll grades higher than PollUnit: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
StrawPoll grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PollUnit
Online polls, surveys and contests with a free tier
StrawPoll
Free online poll maker with a meeting scheduler
Which one is for you
Pick PollUnit if
- Fits if your polls are for groups under 40 people
- Works for date polls and photo contests among friends or a club
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you run bigger polls: 40 participants a poll on the free plan
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $11 against $5 billed yearly
- Watch out: paid plans are sold as expiring one-time purchases or renewing subscriptions
- Skip it if you need a form builder, as this is a polling tool
Pick StrawPoll if
- Fits if you want a poll people vote on from a link, cheaply
- Works for class, club or office votes that don't need an account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if voters mustn't see ads, because free polls show them
- Tight if you stay free: 10 ad-free votes, 50 email invites and 1,000 embed views a month
- Watch out: StrawPoll branding is only removed on Pro and Business
- Watch out: a banner says a new StrawPoll is coming soon, so the product may change
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPollUnitFair | 2.6GPAStrawPollGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPremium is $5 a month billed yearly, in the forms category's cheapest quarter. Billed monthly it's $11. | A$4 a month billed yearly, under 60% of the forms category's cheapest quarter ($7.42). Pro is $14 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree for unlimited polls, with 40 participants and 20 files per poll and 1 GB of storage. A small group can live on it. | BUnlimited polls and votes free, with ads, and 1,000 embed views a month. One person can live on it, though only 10 votes a month are ad-free. |
| Features | CSeveral poll types, access controls, embedding, exports and an API. A smaller job than a form builder, and it has no logic-heavy workflows. | CPolls with close dates, permissions, email invites, embeds and a poll API. It does polls fully, but polls only, a smaller job than a form builder. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build each poll yourself, though the creation steps are guided. | CNo store rating on record. You still build each poll yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only on the listing. It has an API and AI assistant connections, but no integration list. | CWeb only on the listing, with an API and webhooks but no integrations named. |
| Best for | group votes and date polls | quick polls with a share link |
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: PollUnit and StrawPoll. How we grade
Price against what you get
PollUnit starts at $5 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. StrawPoll starts at $4 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and StrawPoll starts $1 a month lower. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 9 score higher than PollUnit for less, and 3 score higher than StrawPoll 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
At a glance
| PollUnit | StrawPoll | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly) | $4 per month, billed annually ($48 a year) |
| Free plan | 40 participants and 20 files per poll, 1 GB storage and an unlimited number of polls. | Free: unlimited polls and votes with ads, 10 ad-free votes a month, 50 email invites and 1,000 embed views a month. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | PollUnit UG (haftungsbeschränkt) | StrawPoll |
| Price read from | pollunit.com | strawpoll.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
PollUnit
- The free plan caps a poll at 40 participants; larger groups need a paid plan.
- Each paid plan can be bought as a one-time purchase that expires, or as a subscription that renews.
- Prices above are the annual rate per month; the monthly rate is two to three times higher.
- It is a polling tool, not a full form builder with logic-heavy workflows.
StrawPoll
- Free polls show ads to participants, and only 10 votes a month are ad-free.
- Paid plans are also sold as one-time purchases for a chosen number of months at $8 (Basic), $28 (Pro) or $52 (Business) per month.
- StrawPoll branding is removed only on Pro and Business.
- A banner on the pricing page says a new StrawPoll is coming soon.
Key features
PollUnit
- Several poll types
- The same tool covers votes, date finding, surveys, task distribution, photo, video and music contests and a free-form table.
- Participant limits by plan
- A single poll holds 40 participants on Free, 200 on Premium, 2,000 on Business and 20,000 on Enterprise.
- Access controls
- Paid plans can restrict access and block repeat votes; Enterprise adds an AI-based fraud check and device and browser analysis.
- Embedding and branding
- Polls can be embedded on a website, and higher plans add own logos, custom themes and a custom poll URL.
- Exports and payments
- Excel and CSV export is a paid feature. Polls can accept payments, with a transaction fee of 4.9% on Premium and 2.9% on higher plans.
- API and AI assistants
- A public API is documented, and an MCP connection lets assistants such as ChatGPT or Claude create and manage polls.
StrawPoll
- Unlimited polls and votes
- The free plan has no cap on polls or participants; participants see ads, and 1,000 participants is the limit for unlimited votes per user.
- Poll controls
- Close dates, custom limits per option, email notifications, a permissions system and webhooks are on the free plan.
- Email invites and embeds
- Monthly quotas for email invitations and embedded poll views rise from 50 and 1,000 on Free to 50,000 and 100,000 on Business.
- Branding options
- Pro removes StrawPoll branding and adds custom themes; Business adds a custom header logo and custom CSS.
- Meeting scheduler and Poll API
- The site links a meeting scheduler for finding a time and a Poll API for creating polls from code.
Plans
PollUnit
Free$0
40 participants and 20 files per poll, 1 GB storage, unlimited polls.
Premium$5
per month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly)
200 participants and 100 files per poll, 10 GB storage and ad-free polls.
Business$15
per month, billed annually ($36 billed monthly)
2,000 participants and 500 files per poll, 30 GB storage, plus the Business feature set.
Enterprise$46
per month, billed annually ($105 billed monthly)
20,000 participants and 1,000 files per poll, 100 GB storage, plus the Enterprise feature set.
StrawPoll
Free$0
Unlimited polls and votes with ads, 10 ad-free votes a month, close dates, permissions and webhooks.
Basic$4
per month, billed annually ($48 a year)
No ads for you, 500 ad-free votes and 500 email invites a month, custom poll links. Page shows $96 crossed out.
Pro$14
per month, billed annually ($168 a year)
5,000 ad-free votes a month, 3 shared seats, no StrawPoll branding, themes, CAPTCHA. Page shows $336 crossed out.
Business$26
per month, billed annually ($312 a year)
50,000 ad-free votes a month, 10 seats, custom logo and CSS. Page shows $624 crossed out.
Ways to pay less
PollUnit
- Annual discount
Save up to 75% with annual payment
PollUnit's pricing page shows lower per-month prices for annual payment than for monthly payment, and its FAQ says the annual plan saves up to 75%.
StrawPoll
- Other savings
One-time purchase instead of a subscription
The pricing page offers one-time payments for a chosen number of months: $8, $28 or $52 a month for Basic, Pro or Business.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, PollUnit or StrawPoll?
As of Nov 13, 2026, StrawPoll is cheaper to start with: $4 a month, against $5 a month for PollUnit. PollUnit starts at $5 per month, billed annually ($11 billed monthly), and StrawPoll starts at $4 per month, billed annually ($48 a year).
Which has a free plan, PollUnit or StrawPoll?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both PollUnit and StrawPoll have a free plan.
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.