Survey Solutions vs SurveyCTO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Survey Solutions and SurveyCTO share a 2.2 GPA, both have a free plan, and Survey Solutions has no paid plan to buy, against $225 a month for SurveyCTO.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Survey Solutions grades higher on value for money and the free plan. SurveyCTO grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Survey Solutions
Free survey software from the World Bank for CAPI and CAWI
SurveyCTO
Offline-capable data collection for field research
Which one is for you
Pick Survey Solutions if
- Fits if you run a statistics office or research team with its own IT support
- Works for large household surveys with interviewers on tablets
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a hosted service, as you install your own server
- Skip it if you have no IT help, because setup and upkeep are yours
- Watch out: hosting costs depend on your own server, so the free software is not the whole bill
- Watch out: the site does not say which operating systems the tablet app supports
Pick SurveyCTO if
- Fits if your team collects data in areas with no signal
- Works for research projects that need data quality checks
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $225 a month on yearly billing before any extras
- Tight if you go over the cap: 5,000 submissions on Basic and 10,000 on Pro, then $100 per 1,000
- Watch out: the free Community plan has no support access
- Watch out: SOC 2 report and server location choice need Pro, and AI credits are sold separately
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASurvey SolutionsFair | 2.2GPASurveyCTOFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CThe software costs nothing, but you must run your own server, so hosting and staff time are on you. | DBasic is $225 a month on yearly billing, above the dearest tenth ($149) of forms tools. Pro is $315 and Advanced $630. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe software is free with no response caps, but there is no hosted version. | CCommunity is free for testing and training: 10 forms, 200 submissions a month and 200 MB, with no support access. A 15-day trial gives all features at the same limits. |
| Features | BQuestionnaire designer, offline tablet, web and phone interviews, data validation, GIS capture and APIs. The listing shows no gap in the core job. | BOffline collection, data quality tools, case management, security and AI tools. The listing's gaps are about caps and plan limits, not missing field-survey features. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. You install and manage a server before anyone can interview. | CNo store rating on record. Forms are built to a spreadsheet-style design, and field teams need setup and training. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb server plus an interviewer tablet app whose operating systems the site does not name. APIs are listed, integrations are not. | BWeb plus iOS and Android apps, with Google Sheets, Stata, R, Power BI and Salesforce links. No desktop app. |
| Best for | free survey software you host on your own server | offline field surveys with data quality checks |
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: Survey Solutions and SurveyCTO. How we grade
Price against what you get
Survey Solutions has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SurveyCTO starts at $225 a month and scores 2.7.
SurveyCTO scores higher, and starts $225 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other form and survey tools on the chart, none scores higher than Survey Solutions for less, and 6 score higher than SurveyCTO 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
- Survey Solutions is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- SurveyCTO is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- SurveyCTO also covers case management.
At a glance
| Survey Solutions | SurveyCTO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $225 per month, billed annually ($250 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | The software is free; you run your own server, on your premises or in the cloud. | Community subscription for testing and training: 10 forms, 200 submissions a month and 200 MB of storage, without support access. |
| Free trial | None listed | 15-day free trial with all features: 10 forms, 200 submissions and 200 MB storage |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | The World Bank Group | Dobility, Inc. |
| Price read from | mysurvey.solutions | surveycto.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Survey Solutions
- You install and manage the server yourself; the team helps with setup but this is not a hosted subscription.
- The site points to cost planning tools in its documentation, since hosting costs depend on your own server setup.
- The site does not state which operating systems the interviewer tablet app supports.
SurveyCTO
- Plans cap monthly submissions: 5,000 on Basic and 10,000 on Pro; extra submissions cost $100 per 1,000 credits.
- Extra AI credits are sold separately as prepaid or on-demand credits.
- The free Community subscription has no access to the support team.
- Server location selection and the SOC 2 report need Pro or higher.
Key features
Survey Solutions
- Questionnaire Designer
- Build multi-language questionnaires with nested rosters, linked and cascading questions, and a compiler that flags problems.
- Mixed interview modes
- Collect offline on tablets (CAPI), online through a web interface (CAWI) and by phone (CATI).
- Data validation
- Validation and interview flow use C# expressions, with macros, calculated variables and lookup tables.
- GIS capture
- Capture locations, distances and areas, with geofencing and offline guidance to interview points using satellite images.
- APIs and monitoring
- REST APIs support quality controls and dashboards, and paradata lets you monitor survey progress.
SurveyCTO
- Offline mobile collection
- The SurveyCTO Collect app works offline on Android and iOS and supports CAPI, CATI and ACASI interview modes.
- Data quality tools
- Real-time checks flag issues, with review and correction of submissions and automated statistical checks.
- Case management
- Follow-up and longitudinal surveys can be tied together; advanced offline case management is on the Advanced plan.
- Security
- The vendor says it is SOC 2 certified and GDPR and HIPAA compliant, with end-to-end encryption and SSO.
- AI tools
- AI translation, transcription and form design help, drawn from a monthly credit allowance that depends on the plan.
Plans
Survey Solutions
Survey Solutions$0
Free software: questionnaire designer, headquarters server, supervisor and interviewer tools; you host it.
SurveyCTO
Community$0
Free sandbox: 10 forms, 200 submissions a month, 200 MB storage, all paid features but no support team access.
Basic$225
per month, billed annually ($250 billed monthly)
10 GB storage, 5,000 monthly submissions, 100 forms, unlimited users and devices, 1,000 AI credits.
Pro$315
per month, billed annually ($350 billed monthly)
25 GB storage, 10,000 monthly submissions, 500 forms, limited API access, server location choice, 2,500 AI credits.
Advanced$630
per month, billed annually ($700 billed monthly)
Unlimited storage, submissions and forms, all APIs, advanced offline case management, 5,000 AI credits.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom storage, submissions and forms, custom training, an enterprise success team and custom AI credits.
Ways to pay less
Survey Solutions
No public discounts listed.
SurveyCTO
- Annual discount
10% off with annual payment
The pricing page gives a 10% discount whenever an annual subscription is paid up front; Basic is $225 a month annually versus $250 monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Survey Solutions or SurveyCTO?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Survey Solutions is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $225 a month for SurveyCTO. Survey Solutions is free, and SurveyCTO starts at $225 per month, billed annually ($250 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Survey Solutions or SurveyCTO?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Survey Solutions and SurveyCTO have a free plan.
Which platforms do Survey Solutions and SurveyCTO run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only SurveyCTO 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.