The KoboToolbox Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about KoboToolbox in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
KoboToolbox
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among form and survey tools, read from KoboToolbox’s own pages.
Made by Kobo · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from KoboToolbox’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on KoboToolbox’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.6
GPA, above 19 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade
KoboToolbox is an open-source platform for collecting, managing and visualizing survey data, maintained by the nonprofit organization Kobo and widely used in humanitarian and development work. Forms are built in a visual Formbuilder or in XLSForm and filled in through web forms or the KoboCollect Android app, both of which work offline. Nonprofits use it free under the Community plan, while companies and high-volume users pay.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about KoboToolbox, taken from its own pages and our grades.
There's no iPhone app, and going over a limit blocks new submissions until the quota resets.
- 1
Best for field surveys that have to work offline
KoboToolbox is built for field data collection: long questionnaires, GPS points and photos, filled in offline on Android and uploaded later.
- 2
Paid plans start at $21 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan.
- 3
There is a free plan
Community plan, free for nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions: 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage. Other users pay $99 a month for it.
- 4
It runs on 2 platforms
Web and Android.
- 5
Formbuilder and XLSForm
Build forms in a visual Formbuilder or as XLSForm spreadsheets, with skip logic, validation, calculations, cascading selects and translations.
- 6
Offline data collection
Web forms and the KoboCollect Android app both store submissions on the device without a connection and upload them once it returns.
- 7
GPS and multimedia questions
Forms can capture GPS locations, photos, audio and video, and the KoboCollect app adds device features such as barcode scanning.
- 8
A 2.6 GPA, above 19 of 30
That is against the other form and survey tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
The plain part of KoboToolbox you could make: surveys, forms and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
KoboToolbox at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, Android
- Made by
- Kobo
- Category
- Forms & Surveys
- Our grade
- 2.6 GPA, good
The report card
Best for field surveys that have to work offline
KoboToolbox is built for field data collection: long questionnaires, GPS points and photos, filled in offline on Android and uploaded later. The free plan is only for nonprofits, schools, UN bodies and government, everyone else pays from $21 a month billed yearly with no trial, and the next company rung is $88. There's no iPhone app, and going over a limit blocks new submissions until the quota resets.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | $21 a month billed yearly for unlimited projects, unlimited data collectors and 1,000 submissions a month, which lands just under this category's $24 middle. For a company the next rung is brutal: 5,000 submissions costs $88, past the dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | C | Depends entirely who you are. Nonprofits, government agencies, UN bodies and schools get 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB free, caps a busy project would still reach. Everybody else gets nothing free and no trial either. |
| Features | A | It does the whole survey job and several things nothing else in this category does: XLSForm questionnaires with cascading selects and translations, GPS, photo, audio and barcode questions, offline collection, automatic transcription of audio answers, and exports to Stata, ArcGIS and Power BI. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and there's a real learning curve: the serious questionnaires are written as XLSForm spreadsheets, projects have to be deployed, and collectors need accounts. The visual Formbuilder is the gentle route. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web plus the KoboCollect Android app, both working offline, with an API that downloads data and deploys projects, and exports into Excel, Power BI, Tableau and ArcGIS. No iPhone app: Apple users fill forms in a browser. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who KoboToolbox is for
- Fits if you're a nonprofit, UN agency or researcher collecting data in the field
- Works for survey teams collecting offline on Android phones and tablets with long, spreadsheet-built questionnaires
Who it is not for
- Not for you if you're a company or individual hoping for free, as the free plan is for nonprofits, schools and government
- Skip it if your team is on iPhones and wants an app, since KoboCollect is Android only
- Pricey if you're a business past 1,000 submissions a month, where the next plan is $88 billed yearly, and there's no trial
- Watch out: going over a submission or storage limit blocks new submissions until the quota resets or you upgrade
- Watch out: these prices come from a July 5, 2026 archive copy, because the live pricing page could not be loaded
Good to know
Good for
- Nonprofits, UN agencies and researchers collecting field data
- Enumerator teams working offline on Android phones and tablets
- Long questionnaires with complex logic built in XLSForm
Worth knowing
- The free Community plan is limited to nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions; others pay.
- Going over a plan's submission or storage limit blocks new submissions until the quota resets or the plan is upgraded.
- KoboCollect is an Android app; iPhones and iPads collect data through web forms in a browser.
- Prices here come from a July 5, 2026 archive copy of the pricing page, because the live page could not be loaded.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$21
A month to start. There is a free plan too
KoboToolbox has a free plan. Paid plans start at $21 per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly); nonprofits have a free plan.
Everybody else gets nothing free and no trial either.
Community (nonprofit)
$0
For nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions: unlimited projects, 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage.
Starter
$21
per month, billed annually ($25 billed monthly)
For companies and personal use only: unlimited projects and data collectors, 1,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage.
Community (other)
$88
per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
The Community plan as sold to companies and individuals outside the nonprofit category: 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage.
Professional
$129
per month, billed annually ($159 monthly); nonprofit rate
25,000 submissions a month and unlimited file storage. Organizations outside the nonprofit category pay $166 billed annually or $199 monthly.
Teams
$249
per month, billed annually ($289 monthly); nonprofit rate
50,000 submissions a month, unlimited storage and 1 team with member roles. Other organizations pay $309 billed annually or $359 monthly.
Enterprise Solutions
Custom
Unlimited submissions and 10 teams, with single sign-on included and hosting in a choice of 28 countries or on your own infrastructure.
The free plan
Community plan, free for nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions: 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage. Other users pay $99 a month for it.
Read from web.archive.org on Oct 6, 2026, where its own pages could not be read.
Ways to pay less
Nonprofit
Free Community plan and lower rates for nonprofits
Nonprofits, government agencies and UN organizations get the Community plan free and pay less for Professional and Teams than other organizations do.
Stated on web.archive.orgEducation
Nonprofit pricing for educational institutions
The pricing page counts educational institutions in its nonprofit category, which includes the free Community plan and the lower paid rates.
Stated on web.archive.orgAnnual discount
Lower monthly rate with annual billing
Billed annually, Starter is $21 instead of $25 per month, and the nonprofit rates are $129 instead of $159 for Professional and $249 instead of $289 for Teams.
Stated on web.archive.org
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
2
Places it runs: Web and Android
Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, works offline, public API, forms, surveys, reports.
No iPhone app: Apple users fill forms in a browser.
- Formbuilder and XLSForm
- Build forms in a visual Formbuilder or as XLSForm spreadsheets, with skip logic, validation, calculations, cascading selects and translations.
- Offline data collection
- Web forms and the KoboCollect Android app both store submissions on the device without a connection and upload them once it returns.
- GPS and multimedia questions
- Forms can capture GPS locations, photos, audio and video, and the KoboCollect app adds device features such as barcode scanning.
- Audio transcription and translation
- Audio responses can be transcribed and translated automatically within a monthly quota: 10 minutes on Community and 120 on Professional.
- Reports, data tables and exports
- Custom reports, table views and bulk editing are built in, and data exports work with Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS and Stata.
- API
- The API downloads data as JSON, CSV or XLSX, submits or edits records, creates and deploys projects, and manages users and permissions.
Where it runs
- Web
- Android
What it works with
- Microsoft Excel
- Google Sheets
- Power BI
- Tableau
- ArcGIS
- Stata
- TolaData
- monday.com
KoboToolbox is made by Kobo.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
19/30
Other form and survey tools it is graded above
KoboToolbox's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 19 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 2.
It stands best on features (A, above 27 of 30) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $21 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 15 of the 30 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 31 form and survey tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. KoboToolbox’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 7 of 30
- CFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 30
- AFeaturesAbove 27 of 30
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 30
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 4 of 30
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 31 form and survey tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. KoboToolbox is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
The plain part of KoboToolbox you could make: surveys, forms and reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 4 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It costs $252 a year. KoboToolbox is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Surveys, forms and reports: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- A real app for Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets and Power BI among them, and has an API.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions.
- The depth: we grade its features A, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. KoboToolbox’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
LimeSurvey, Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Jotform and QuestionPro
The 5 tools KoboToolbox is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
LimeSurvey
Free plan · from $39/mo
Open-source survey tool, hosted in the cloud or self-hosted.
- Only KoboToolbox lists an Android app.
- LimeSurvey also covers templates.
- 3.2GPA
Google Forms
Free plan · from $7/mo
Form, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account.
- Only KoboToolbox lists an Android app.
- KoboToolbox is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Google Forms also covers templates.
- 2.4GPA
SurveyMonkey
Free plan · from $39/mo
Online survey and form platform with built-in analysis tools.
- Only SurveyMonkey lists an iOS app.
- KoboToolbox is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- SurveyMonkey also covers templates.
- 3.0GPA
Jotform
Free plan · from $34/mo
No-code form builder with payments, e-signatures and workflows.
- Only Jotform lists an iOS app.
- KoboToolbox is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- KoboToolbox also covers surveys and reports.
- 2.4GPA
QuestionPro
Free plan · from $99/mo
Survey and market research platform with a free plan.
- Only QuestionPro lists an iOS app.
- KoboToolbox is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- KoboToolbox also covers forms.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
16
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is KoboToolbox free?
KoboToolbox has a free plan. Community plan, free for nonprofits, government agencies, UN organizations and educational institutions: 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage.
How much does KoboToolbox cost?
KoboToolbox lists 6 plans. Community (nonprofit): $0.
What platforms does KoboToolbox work on?
KoboToolbox is available on Web and Android.
Does KoboToolbox offer any discounts?
KoboToolbox publicly lists the following: Free Community plan and lower rates for nonprofits; Nonprofit pricing for educational institutions; Lower monthly rate with annual billing.
Does KoboToolbox have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. KoboToolbox is listed for Web and Android.
Does KoboToolbox have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. KoboToolbox is listed for Web and Android.
Is KoboToolbox open source?
Yes. KoboToolbox is open source, according to its own site.
Does KoboToolbox work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
Does KoboToolbox have an API?
Yes. KoboToolbox offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does KoboToolbox integrate with?
KoboToolbox's listing names Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Power BI, Tableau, ArcGIS, Stata, TolaData and monday.com.
Does KoboToolbox have a student discount?
Nonprofit pricing for educational institutions. The pricing page counts educational institutions in its nonprofit category, which includes the free Community plan and the lower paid rates.
Who makes KoboToolbox?
KoboToolbox is made by Kobo.
What are the alternatives to KoboToolbox?
The closest alternatives to KoboToolbox in our directory are LimeSurvey, Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, Jotform and QuestionPro.
How does KoboToolbox compare with other form and survey tools?
KoboToolbox's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 19 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 2.
Is KoboToolbox good value for money?
ToolGPA grades KoboToolbox C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $21 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 15 of the 30 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of KoboToolbox?
The plain part of KoboToolbox you could make: surveys, forms and reports.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from KoboToolbox’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read on 6 October 2026 from KoboToolbox's own help pages and a 5 July 2026 archive copy of its pricing page, because the live pricing page would not load. It still would not load when we went back. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-09-08.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Kobo. Prices change, so check kobotoolbox.org before you buy.
- web.archive.org/web/20260705193643/https://www.kobotoolbox.org/pricing/
- support.kobotoolbox.org/about_kobotoolbox.html
- support.kobotoolbox.org/welcome.html
- support.kobotoolbox.org/data-collection-tools.html
- support.kobotoolbox.org/api.html
- support.kobotoolbox.org/account_settings.html
- support.kobotoolbox.org/account_usage_limits.html
- support.kobotoolbox.org/glossary.html
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
3,189
Tools graded, in 94 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- KoboToolbox, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/kobotoolbox
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "KoboToolbox: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/kobotoolbox
Know someone choosing between form and survey tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/kobotoolbox/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded form and survey tools after KoboToolbox, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Forms & Surveys Insider's GuideEvery one of the 31 form and survey tools we grade, compared
- Google Forms Insider's GuideForm, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account3.2 GPA
- Jotform Insider's GuideNo-code form builder with payments, e-signatures and workflows3.0 GPA
- Fillout Insider's GuideForm builder with unlimited seats, payments and scheduling2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what KoboToolbox’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. KoboToolbox is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Kobo. Prices and plans change: check kobotoolbox.org before you buy.