SurveyMethods vs Zoho Survey (2026): which should you pick?

Pick SurveyMethods if

• Fits if you run a short survey with fewer than 15 answers
• Works for teams that want a REST API and Zapier on a mid-priced plan

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you stay free: 3 surveys and 15 responses each
• Pricey if you want AI sentiment, Ask AI or quotas, which need Professional at $41 a month
• Watch out: annual plans cap responses at 10,000 and 30,000 a year, and monthly billing at 500 and 750 a month
• Watch out: the free trial's length isn't stated, and collaboration tools are Enterprise only

Pick Zoho Survey if

• Fits if your team already uses Zoho CRM, Zoho Sheet or other Zoho apps
• Works for one person running surveys on tablets where there's no connection, from $7.42 a month billed annually

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you stay free: 10 questions and 100 responses a survey, with no skip logic, logo or XLS and CSV export
• Not for you if several people need to work on surveys, as only Enterprise at $75 has 3 users
• Skip it if you want to pay monthly on the cheapest plan, since Basic is annual only and monthly billing caps responses per survey
• Pricey if you need skip logic or scoring, which wait for Plus at $25 a month billed annually
• Watch out: webhooks, white labeling and the Zoho CRM, Google Sheets, Zapier and Tableau links start at Pro at $35

SurveyMethods

• The free plan allows only 3 surveys and 15 responses per survey.
• Response caps on paid plans are 10,000 and 30,000 a year on annual billing, or 500 and 750 a month when billed monthly.
• Sentiment analysis, Ask AI and quotas need Professional.
• Collaboration tools are listed only under Enterprise.

Zoho Survey

• The free plan allows 10 questions and 100 responses per survey, with no skip logic, logo or XLS and CSV export.
• Free, Basic, Plus and Pro each include 1 user; only Enterprise has 3 users, user management and audit logs.
• Basic is sold on annual billing only, and monthly billing limits responses per survey to between 3,000 and 7,000 a month.
• Webhooks, white labeling and the Google Sheets, Zapier, Zoho CRM and Tableau integrations start at Pro.

SurveyMethods

Survey builder

Drag-and-drop editor with 20-plus question types, templates, themes and a survey library.

Page and field logic

Question-based page logic starts on Advanced, and advanced field-based logic and quotas on Professional.

AI analysis

Sentiment analysis, response quality scoring and an Ask AI chat over survey data are listed on Professional.

Distribution

Email collectors, embedded collectors and reminders, plus event registration forms on paid plans.

Reports

Real-time reports with filters on every plan, and a custom report builder with online publishing on higher plans.

Zapier and REST API

Connects to other apps through Zapier and a REST API, with unlimited API calls on Professional.

Zoho Survey

Survey builder and AI Survey Creator

Build from more than 30 question types and over 250 templates, or describe a survey and have the AI Survey Creator draft it. Both are on every plan.

Skip logic and scoring

Display, page and answer logic show or skip questions based on earlier answers, and scoring assigns points to responses. Both start on Plus.

Distribution channels

Send surveys by email, link, social media, website embed, pop-up or inside an email on every plan. SMS distribution starts on Plus.

Offline collection

An offline feedback app for iPad and Android tablets runs surveys in kiosk mode and uploads responses once a connection returns. Available from Basic.

Reports and analysis

Real-time reports are on every plan. Filters and sentiment analysis start on Basic, cross-tab and trend reports on Plus, and SPSS export on Pro.

White labeling and translation

Pro and Enterprise can host surveys on their own domain with a custom favicon and translate a survey into more than 90 languages.

SurveyMethods

• Basic$0

  3 surveys, 50 questions and 15 responses per survey, 20-plus question types and real-time reports, with SurveyMethods branding.

• Advanced$12

  per month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)

  Unlimited questions, 10,000 responses a year (500 a month when billed monthly), page logic, reminders, email collectors and custom themes.

• Professional$41

  per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)

  30,000 responses a year (750 a month when billed monthly), field-based logic, quotas, online reports, sentiment analysis, Ask AI, custom branding and unlimited API calls.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Five or more licenses, unlimited responses, collaboration and workflow tools, dedicated support and training. Sold through sales.

Zoho Survey

• Free$0

  1 user, unlimited surveys, 10 questions and 100 responses per survey, the AI Survey Creator and real-time responses.

• Basic$7.42

  per month, billed annually (no monthly billing)

  1 user, unlimited questions and 12,000 responses per survey a year, with logo and theme customization, offline collection and XLS and CSV export.

• Plus$25

  per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)

  1 user and unlimited responses on annual billing (3,000 per survey a month on monthly), plus skip logic, scoring, SMS and cross-tab reports.

• Pro$35

  per month, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)

  1 user, plus multilingual surveys, white labeling, webhooks, SPSS export and the Zoho CRM, Google Sheets, Zapier and Tableau integrations.

• Enterprise$75

  per month, billed annually ($109 billed monthly)

  3 users, with user management, departments, single sign-on, audit logs, priority support and personalized onboarding.

SurveyMethods

• Annual discount

  Up to 17% off with annual billing

  The pricing page says annual subscriptions save up to 17% against month-to-month.

• Education

  25% to 40% off for schools and nonprofits

  Educational institutions and nonprofits can get 25% off, or up to 40% off Advanced and Professional in exchange for a public link to SurveyMethods and credit in published research.

Zoho Survey

• Annual discount

  Save up to 35% with yearly billing

  The pricing page advertises up to 35% off for yearly billing: Plus is $25 instead of $35 per month, Pro $35 instead of $49 and Enterprise $75 instead of $109.

• Nonprofit

  Discount for qualifying non-profits

  The pricing page says qualifying non-profit organizations can get a discount by emailing the Zoho Survey sales team. No percentage is published.