# Epicollect5 review (2026): is it any good? > Free mobile and web data collection from Oxford University Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Epicollect5 is a free mobile and web platform for collecting data, developed by a team at the Oxford University Big Data Institute. Projects are built in a web form builder and filled in through Android and iOS apps, with GPS and media capture. Data can be viewed on a central server and exported as CSV or JSON. - **Category:** Forms & Surveys - **Made by:** Centre for Genomic Pathogen Surveillance - **Website:** https://five.epicollect.net - **Runs on:** Web, Android, iOS - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if the work is mission-critical, as the team says it is provided as-is with no guarantees. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Epicollect5 is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free to use without limits, subject to a fair usage policy; as many projects and entries as you want. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Free | $0 | 100% free service with unlimited projects and entries, provided as-is under a fair usage policy. | Read from https://docs.epicollect.net/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Epicollect5 before buying. ## Key features - **Form builder:** Create projects and multi-form questionnaires in the web app, then download them to a device. - **Mobile collection:** The app runs on Android 10+ and iOS 15.6+, collecting GPS locations and media. - **Central views:** Entries can be viewed on a map, in tables and in charts on the project site. - **Export and API:** Data exports as CSV and JSON, and a developer API is documented. - **Logic:** Jumps, branches, groups and double-entry verification are documented in the form builder. ## Good for - Researchers, students and citizen science projects on a zero budget - Small teams collecting GPS-tagged data in the field ## Worth knowing - The team says it is not a commercial company and provides the service as-is, with no guarantees. - For mission-critical projects the docs suggest alternatives such as KoboToolbox, ODK or Google Forms. - A fair usage policy applies, and Epicollect5 is not designed as free media storage. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 3.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Epicollect5 is free, from a team at the Oxford University Big Data Institute, with web and Android and iOS apps. It has no limits beyond a fair usage policy, but the team says it is not a commercial company and gives no guarantees. Its own docs suggest other tools for mission-critical projects. - **Value for money: A.** Free with as many projects and entries as you want, under a fair usage policy. Nothing in forms tools costs less, and you need no server. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright, with no cap a normal project would reach. - **Features: C.** Form builder, mobile collection, exports, an API and logic. The docs point to KoboToolbox, ODK or Google Forms for mission-critical work. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You design each project in the form builder. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web plus Android and iOS apps with GPS and media capture, an export API and Google Maps and Earth links. No desktop app. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Epicollect5's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among form and survey tools - Epicollect5's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 142 of the 148 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 3. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 139 of 148) and worst on features (C, above 5). - Epicollect5 has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/forms ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Epicollect5 is free, so making your own would save you nothing. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.0 is higher than 142 of the 148 other form and survey tools we grade. - You could make: Forms and surveys: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Google Maps, Google Earth and Microreact among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Google Maps, Google Earth, Microreact **Tags:** Forms, Surveys, Works offline, Public API ## Alternatives - [KoboToolbox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kobotoolbox): Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/epicollect5-vs-kobotoolbox) - [Open Data Kit](https://toolgpa.com/tools/open-data-kit): Open-source mobile and web data collection. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/epicollect5-vs-open-data-kit) - [Enketo](https://toolgpa.com/tools/enketo): Open-source web forms that work offline. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/enketo-vs-epicollect5) - [Ona](https://toolgpa.com/tools/ona): Mobile data collection with forms, maps and charts. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/epicollect5-vs-ona) - [Google Forms](https://toolgpa.com/tools/google-forms): Form, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/epicollect5-vs-google-forms) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://docs.epicollect.net/ - https://five.epicollect.net Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/epicollect5 Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).