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LimeSurvey

Open-source survey tool, hosted in the cloud or self-hosted

Free plan · from $39/moFormsChecked Oct 5, 2026
Visit limesurvey.org
LimeSurvey, as pictured on limesurvey.org
How LimeSurvey presents itself. Image from limesurvey.org.

Our verdict

Third of our top three form and survey tools

For: Researchers, and anyone who must keep answers on their own server

LimeSurvey is an open-source survey tool. Its free Community Edition installs on your own server, so response data stays on infrastructure you control, and the hosted LimeSurvey Cloud has a free plan. Surveys can use skip logic, branching, quotas and randomization, run in several languages, and export to SPSS, R and Stata. It is third because it is built for surveys more than everyday forms and asks more of you: the free edition has to be installed and run on a server, the free cloud plan has limits on responses and administrators that the pricing page does not state, and hosted prices vary by country: a June 2026 copy of the US page lists Basic at $39 a month for 1,000 responses.

See all three and how we rank

What is LimeSurvey?

LimeSurvey is an open-source survey tool sold as a hosted service, LimeSurvey Cloud, and offered as a free Community Edition to install on your own server. It covers a wide range of question types, survey logic, multilingual surveys, participant invitations and statistical exports. The company is based in Hamburg and always charges in euros, at prices that vary by country.

LimeSurvey has a free plan. Paid plans start at $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34). See every plan

Good for

  • Academic and market researchers who export to SPSS, R or Stata
  • Organizations that must keep survey data on their own servers
  • Multilingual surveys run across several countries

Worth knowing

  • Checkout is always in euros; non-euro prices on the pricing page are shown for orientation only and differ by country.
  • Basic covers 1 admin user and 1,000 responses a month; Expert and Business have yearly allowances of 10,000 and 50,000 responses.
  • White-label domains and custom branding start at Expert, and SSO, LDAP and SAML are listed under Corporate.
  • On the free cloud plan, access is locked until the end of the month once the response limit is exceeded.

Key features

Question types and survey logic
Question types include matrices, rankings, sliders, file uploads and equations, combined with skip logic, branching, piping, quotas and randomization.
Multilingual surveys
Run one survey in several languages. The administration and survey interfaces are available in more than 80 languages, with Google Translate support for quick translation.
Invitations and participants
Send invitation and reminder emails in bulk from editable templates, handle bounces automatically, prevent multiple participation and let participants save and continue later.
Statistics and exports
Quick statistics give a graphical evaluation of results, and data exports to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel and PDF.
Self-hosted Community Edition
The open-source Community Edition is free to download and install on your own server, so response data stays on infrastructure you control.
Hosting regions and compliance
LimeSurvey Cloud stores data in the location chosen at setup, including Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, the USA, Canada and Australia, and offers a GDPR data processing agreement.

LimeSurvey pricing

Starts at
$39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34)
Free plan
Free cloud plan with no locked features but limits on responses, upload storage and administrators; the pricing page does not state the limits. The self-hosted Community Edition is free.
Free trial
None listed
Community Edition$0Open-source edition to download and run on your own server, with response data kept on your own infrastructure.
Free$0LimeSurvey Cloud with no locked features, limited in the number of responses, upload storage and administrators.
Basic$39per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34)1 admin user, 1,000 responses a month and 250 MB of upload storage, with unlimited surveys and questions.
Expert$36per month, billed annually ($432; charged in EUR, about €374)3 admin users, 10,000 responses a year and 1 GB of upload storage, plus a white-label domain and custom branding.
Business$69per month, billed annually ($820; charged in EUR, €711)5 to 10 admin users, 50,000 responses a year and 3 GB of upload storage, plus 1 alias domain and priority email support.
CorporateCustomTailored users and responses, SSO, LDAP and SAML, a dedicated server and VIP support.

LimeSurvey’s own pricing page could not be read, so these figures come from web.archive.org, checked Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with LimeSurvey before you buy.

Pricing in detail

Ways to pay less

  • Education50% off for students, 30% for teachers

    Students get 50% off and teachers 30% off after emailing a valid student or faculty ID. Both must agree to use LimeSurvey only for classroom-related work.

    Stated on limesurvey.org
  • Nonprofit30% off for charitable organizations

    Charitable organizations get a 30% discount after sending proof of charity status or charity work. Discounts cannot be applied retroactively.

    Stated on limesurvey.org

Works with

LimeSurvey alternatives

All LimeSurvey alternatives comparedAll form and survey tools

Common questions

Is LimeSurvey free?

LimeSurvey has a free plan. Free cloud plan with no locked features but limits on responses, upload storage and administrators; the pricing page does not state the limits. The self-hosted Community Edition is free. Paid plans start at $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34).

How much does LimeSurvey cost?

LimeSurvey lists 6 plans. Community Edition: $0. Free: $0. Basic: $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34). Expert: $36 per month, billed annually ($432; charged in EUR, about €374). Business: $69 per month, billed annually ($820; charged in EUR, €711). Corporate: custom pricing. Prices were read from web.archive.org on Oct 5, 2026.

What platforms does LimeSurvey work on?

LimeSurvey is available on Web.

Does LimeSurvey offer any discounts?

LimeSurvey publicly lists the following: 50% off for students, 30% for teachers; 30% off for charitable organizations.

Does LimeSurvey have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. LimeSurvey is listed for Web.

Does LimeSurvey have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 5, 2026. LimeSurvey is listed for Web.

Is LimeSurvey open source?

Yes. LimeSurvey is open source, according to its own site. It can also be run on a server of your own.

Does LimeSurvey have an API?

Yes. LimeSurvey offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does LimeSurvey integrate with?

LimeSurvey's listing names Google Analytics and Google Translate. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.

Does LimeSurvey have a student discount?

50% off for students, 30% for teachers. Students get 50% off and teachers 30% off after emailing a valid student or faculty ID. Both must agree to use LimeSurvey only for classroom-related work.

Who makes LimeSurvey?

LimeSurvey is made by LimeSurvey GmbH.

What are the alternatives to LimeSurvey?

The closest alternatives to LimeSurvey in our directory are SurveyMonkey, QuestionPro, KoboToolbox, Formbricks and Google Forms. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with LimeSurvey.

Sources for this page

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026.