Qualtrics vs SurveyMonkey (2026): which should you pick?

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 SurveyMonkey if

• Fits if you run customer, employee or market research and need statistics on the answers
• Works for a one-off project on the month-to-month Standard plan, at $149 for the month

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you only need a simple form, at $39 a month billed annually ($468) for the cheapest yearly plan
• Pricey if you want crosstabs, advanced logic or multilingual surveys, since all wait for Premier at $139 a month
• Tight if you stay free: 10 questions per survey, and the number of viewable responses is only shown after sign-up
• Watch out: paid plans cap responses (1,000 a month on Standard, 15,000 a year on Advantage) and charge $0.15 for each extra
• Skip it if you're a team of two, as Team plans need 3 users, and Salesforce, Power BI, Tableau and SSO need Enterprise at 5 or more

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Qualtrics

No public discounts listed.

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).