Qualtrics vs SmartSurvey (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Qualtrics and SmartSurvey share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan, and SmartSurvey starts cheaper, at about $93.79 a month against $420 a month.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Qualtrics grades higher on the free plan. SmartSurvey grades higher on platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Qualtrics
Survey and experience research platform with a free account
SmartSurvey
UK online survey platform with a free plan and CX programs
Which one is for you
Pick Qualtrics if
- Fits if you are a student or researcher running a small survey
- Works for universities and large companies already licensed
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you outgrow Free, as the one published paid price is $5,040 a year
- Tight if you need more than 500 responses, 3 active surveys or 8 question types
- Watch out: custom look and feel, quotas, dashboards and the workflow engine are not in the free account
- Not for you if you want an easy price check, since other products are quoted through sales
Pick SmartSurvey if
- Fits if you want a free plan to try and a UK-based vendor
- Works for teams that need dashboards and shared reports on Growth
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are one person, with Advanced at GBP 70 a month
- Tight if you stay free, as there are 100 responses a month and no e-mail invites
- Skip it if you need several users on Advanced, as multiple users start on Growth, GBP 100 a user
- Watch out: prices are in pounds and exclude VAT
- Watch out: case management and full white labelling are Scale add-ons
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAQualtricsFair | 2.2GPASmartSurveyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStrategic Research is $420 a month billed annually, $5,040 a year, far above the category's $66 dearest-tenth line. | DAdvanced is GBP 70 a month billed annually (about $90) for one user, against a forms middle of $20 and a dearer quarter of $39. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree account: 500 responses, 3 active surveys of up to 30 questions and 8 question types with basic logic. A student or one-off project can live on that. | CBasic is free: 100 responses a month and no e-mail invites. A 14-day trial of Advanced and Growth needs no card. |
| Features | BSurvey builder, templates, distribution, analysis, AI help and connected experience programs cover the whole job. Quotas, dashboards and workflows are not in the free account. | BBuilder, logic, analysis, dashboards, sharing, distribution, API and integrations. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A large platform with a learning curve for its reports and programs. | CNo rating on record. You build surveys yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, and the listing names no integrations or apps. | BWeb only, with three listed integrations and an API. |
| Best for | a free survey account for research and students | UK survey work with a free plan to start |
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: Qualtrics and SmartSurvey. How we grade
Price against what you get
Qualtrics starts at $420 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SmartSurvey starts at about $93.79 a month and scores 2.7.
SmartSurvey scores higher and starts $326.21 a month lower. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, 41 score higher than Qualtrics for less, and 5 score higher than SmartSurvey 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
- Qualtrics also covers reports.
- SmartSurvey also covers templates.
At a glance
| Qualtrics | SmartSurvey | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $420 per month, billed annually ($5,040 a year) | £70 per month, billed annually (£90 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free account: 500 responses, 3 active surveys of up to 30 questions each, 8 question types and basic skip, display and branch logic. | Basic: 1 user, 100 responses per month, no e-mail invites, 130+ templates, AI survey building and export of a results summary to Word. |
| Free trial | 30-day trial of Strategic Research | 14-day free trial of the paid Advanced and Growth plans, no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Qualtrics | SmartSurvey |
| Price read from | qualtrics.com | smartsurvey.co.uk |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Qualtrics
- The free account stops at 500 responses, 3 active surveys and 8 question types.
- The one published paid price is $5,040 a year; other products are quoted through sales.
- Custom look and feel, quotas, dashboards and the workflow engine are not in the free account.
- Many universities hold a full license; the free-account page offers a check by .edu address.
SmartSurvey
- Prices are in pounds sterling and exclude VAT, according to the pricing page.
- Advanced includes a single user; multiple users start on Growth, which is priced per user.
- The free plan has 100 responses a month and no e-mail invitations.
- Case management, reputation management and full white labelling are add-ons on the Scale tier.
Key features
Qualtrics
- Survey builder and templates
- A drag-and-drop builder with 50+ templates. Paid plans offer 23 question types, branching, quotas and 20+ pre-built research solutions.
- Distribution
- Surveys go out by link, email, SMS, website, QR code or mobile app, and paid plans can draw on Qualtrics' integrated panels.
- Analysis and reporting
- Free accounts get reports; paid plans add dashboards, crosstabs, Stats iQ statistical tools, and text, sentiment and topic analysis.
- AI assistance
- A Research Agent guides study design, with AI-assisted analysis and generative summaries of video feedback on paid plans.
- Video and audio feedback
- Paid plans collect video feedback, audio feedback, video diaries, focus groups and interviews inside surveys.
- Connected experience programs
- Surveys sit in the same system as customer and employee experience data, so results can trigger actions across programs.
SmartSurvey
- Survey and form builder
- Create surveys or forms with core question types and 130+ templates; advanced question types and AI building are on the plans listed.
- Logic and personalisation
- Advanced and above include logic and personalisation, a custom thank-you message and custom branding with a logo and theme.
- Analysis
- Paid plans include sentiment analysis, trend charts and word clouds; Scale adds thematic analysis of open-text answers.
- Dashboards and sharing
- Growth adds dashboards, multiple user accounts, permissions and shared templates; Scale lists unlimited dashboards.
- Distribution
- Send by e-mail, popups, web embed, QR codes, tracking links and offline or kiosk mode; SMS invitations are on Scale.
- API and integrations
- Growth includes an API and webhooks, with Salesforce and Power BI connections listed among the integrations.
Plans
Qualtrics
Free$0
500 responses, 3 active surveys with up to 30 questions each, 8 question types, 50+ templates and reports.
Strategic Research$420
per month, billed annually ($5,040 a year)
23 question types, quotas, response weighting, dashboards, Stats iQ and text analysis, and a workflow engine.
Enterprise and XM solutionsCustom
Customer, employee and market research products priced by interactions through a sales request.
SmartSurvey
Basic£0
1 user, 100 responses per month, core question types and 130+ templates.
Advanced£70
per month, billed annually (£840 a year; £90 billed monthly)
1 user, 30,000 responses and 90,000 e-mail invites a year, logic, custom branding, sentiment and text analysis.
Growth£100
per user / month, billed annually (£1,200 a year; £125 billed monthly)
Priced per user, with 90,000 responses a year, dashboards, user permissions, shared templates, API and webhooks.
ScaleCustom
Sold through sales: thematic analysis, auto translate, SMS invitations, hiding the SmartSurvey badge, SSO and HIPAA compliance.
Ways to pay less
Qualtrics
No public discounts listed.
SmartSurvey
- Annual discount
Save with annual billing
The pricing page says annual billing saves up to 22%: 22% on Advanced and 20% on Growth.
- Education
Student plan
The student plan page says its plan starts from £7.50 a month with annual billing, and also lists a free tier.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Qualtrics or SmartSurvey?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SmartSurvey is cheaper to start with: about $93.79 a month, against $420 a month for Qualtrics. Qualtrics starts at $420 per month, billed annually ($5,040 a year), and SmartSurvey starts at £70 per month, billed annually (£90 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Qualtrics or SmartSurvey?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Qualtrics and SmartSurvey 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.