The LimeSurvey Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about LimeSurvey 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.
LimeSurvey
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source survey tool, hosted in the cloud or self-hosted
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among form and survey tools, read from LimeSurvey’s own pages.
Made by LimeSurvey GmbH · checked Oct 9, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02Insider tipsWhat most people miss: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches
- 03What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 04What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 05Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 06The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 07Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from LimeSurvey’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on LimeSurvey’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.4
GPA, above 6 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade
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.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about LimeSurvey, taken from its own pages and our grades.
- 1
Best for research surveys you can host yourself
Only two integrations are listed, and SSO waits for the unpriced Corporate plan.
- 2
Paid plans start at $39 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34).
- 3
There is 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.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
Question types and survey logic
Question types include matrices, rankings, sliders, file uploads and equations, combined with skip logic, branching, piping, quotas and randomization.
- 6
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.
- 7
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.
- 8
A 2.4 GPA, above 6 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
Your call
A form at its plainest is questions, a button and a table of answers.
LimeSurvey at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34)
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- LimeSurvey GmbH
- Category
- Forms & Surveys
- Our grade
- 2.4 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for research surveys you can host yourself
LimeSurvey is a survey tool for researchers, with quotas, randomization, multi-language surveys and exports to SPSS, R or Stata, and it's open source if you host it yourself. The hosted plans are less clear: checkout is always in euros, the free plan's limits aren't stated, and passing them locks you out until the month ends. Only two integrations are listed, and SSO waits for the unpriced Corporate plan.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Basic is about $39 a month billed monthly for 1 admin and 1,000 responses, which is right at the top of this category's middle band. Expert works out at $36 a month paid yearly. Checkout is always in euros, and the price shown varies by country. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Two free routes and one is unlimited: the cloud free plan locks no features, though the pricing page won't state its caps and going over locks you out until the month ends, and the Community Edition is free to run on your own server. |
| Features | B | The whole survey job, nothing in the listing missing: matrices, rankings, sliders, uploads and equations, with skip logic, branching, piping, quotas and randomization, one survey in several languages, bulk invitations, and exports to SPSS, R, Stata and Excel. |
| Ease of use | C | No store rating on record, and this is a tool you learn: quotas, piping and branching to set up, participant lists to manage, and the free edition installs on a server you run yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Web only, and barely connected. The listing names two integrations, Google Analytics and Google Translate, neither of which sends your answers anywhere. The public API is the only way out. |
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 LimeSurvey is for
- Fits if you're an academic or market researcher who exports to SPSS, R or Stata
- Works for organizations that must keep survey data on their own servers, or run one survey in several languages
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you want answers sent on to your other apps, as only Google Analytics and Google Translate are listed, plus the API
- Not for you if you need single sign-on, since SSO, LDAP and SAML are listed under Corporate with no public price
- Tight if you're on the free cloud plan: its limits aren't published, and passing them locks you out for the rest of the month
- Watch out: checkout is always in euros, so the dollar price shown differs by country, and Basic is 1 admin and 1,000 responses a month
- Pricey if you want a white-label domain or custom branding, which start at Expert, billed yearly at about $432
Good to know
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.
Part 02 · Tips
Insider tips
What most people miss: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches
7
Things most people miss, each from its own help pages
The things about LimeSurvey that are easy to miss until they cost you: ways to pay less, settings worth changing and the catches at renewal or when you leave. Each one is from LimeSurvey’s own pages, linked beside it.
Read on Oct 17, 2026. Read from LimeSurvey's support FAQ (subscriptions, LimeSurvey Cloud, data protection) and its manual page on activating a survey on 17 October 2026. Not tried out: these tips are what its own pages say.
- 1
Setting
Decide on anonymous answers before you activate a survey
When you press Activate this survey, LimeSurvey asks whether to anonymise responses and whether to save IP addresses, timings, date stamps and referrer URLs. Anonymised means there's no way to link answers back to participants later, so choose before you go live.
manual.limesurvey.org - 2
Easy to miss
Once a survey is live, you can't add or delete questions
Its manual says an active survey lets you change wording but not question types, and you can't add or remove questions. Deactivating gets the editor back, but it moves responses to a backup table and loses participation information. To stop a survey, expire it instead.
manual.limesurvey.org - 3
Setting
Send invitations through your own mail server
On LimeSurvey Cloud's own mail server, invitations go out from a no-reply address and you're never told about bounces. Its FAQ says to add your own SMTP details on the email tab of global settings, so mail comes from your address and bounces come back to you.
limesurvey.org - 4
Pay less
A half-finished survey counts as half a response
LimeSurvey's FAQ counts a completed survey as 1 response however many questions it has, and a partly completed one as 0.5. A response an admin types in by hand counts as a full 1. Handy to know when you work out which plan's allowance you need.
limesurvey.org - 5
Renewal
Cancel on the website, not by email, to skip two weeks' notice
Cancelling online (Billing History, then Cancel this plan) works right up to the last day before renewal. Cancel by email or letter and you need to give two weeks' notice. Either way the plan runs to the end of the period you paid for, with no refund for the time left.
limesurvey.org - 6
Leaving
Uploaded files aren't in the survey archive you export
Its FAQ warns that files people upload aren't included in an exported survey archive (.lsa). Download the ones you want from response browsing first, because deleting a response deletes its files too.
limesurvey.org - 7
Privacy
Answers aren't encrypted by default, but you can switch it on
LimeSurvey Cloud's FAQ says response data isn't encrypted by default, because the app reads it all the time. You can set answers to certain question types, and chosen participant fields, to be always encrypted at rest. Worth doing for anything sensitive.
limesurvey.org
Part 03 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$39
A month to start. There is a free plan too
LimeSurvey has a free plan. Paid plans start at $39 per month, billed monthly (charged in EUR, about €34).
Checkout is always in euros, and the price shown varies by country.
Community Edition
$0
Open-source edition to download and run on your own server, with response data kept on your own infrastructure.
Free
$0
LimeSurvey Cloud with no locked features, limited in the number of responses, upload storage and administrators.
Basic
$39
per 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
$36
per 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
$69
per 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.
Corporate
Custom
Tailored users and responses, SSO, LDAP and SAML, a dedicated server and VIP support.
The 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.
Read from web.archive.org on Oct 9, 2026, where its own pages could not be read.
Ways to pay less
Education
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.
Stated on limesurvey.orgNonprofit
30% 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.orgBy country
Lower price shown to buyers in India
The pricing page sets a local price by country. On 9 October 2026 it showed Basic to a reader in India at ₹779 a month (about €7), against $39 (about €34) in a US copy of the page archived in June 2026.
Stated on limesurvey.org
Part 04 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
Open-source survey tool, hosted in the cloud or self-hosted. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, templates, forms, surveys, reports.
The listing names two integrations, Google Analytics and Google Translate, neither of which sends your answers anywhere.
- 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- Google Analytics
- Google Translate
Who makes LimeSurvey
LimeSurvey is developed by LimeSurvey GmbH in Hamburg. It publishes the open-source Community Edition for free and earns money from LimeSurvey Cloud subscriptions; a separate network of partner companies sells hosting, support and custom development around the software.
- Founded
- 2015limesurvey.org
- Based
- Hamburg, Germanycareers.limesurvey.org
- Founders and leaders
- Jory Nagel, CEOlimesurvey.org
- Carsten Schmitz, Co-founder of LimeSurvey GmbH and CTOlimesurvey.org
- Hiring
- One open role on its careers page, a Full Stack Developer based in Hamburg; the page says all jobs can also be done remotelycareers.limesurvey.org
- Partner program
- LimeSurvey Partners are service companies listed in a directory for hosting, support, training, installation, integration, customization, survey creation and theme design. Partners contribute funding and expertise to LimeSurvey's development; no fee or revenue share is published.limesurvey.com
- Lately
Read on Oct 18, 2026 from the company’s own pages and from news reports. What is not stated there is left out.
Part 05 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
6/30
Other form and survey tools it is graded above
LimeSurvey's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 12.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 21 of 30) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $39 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 23 of the 30 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 17 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 31 form and survey tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. LimeSurvey’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 7 of 30
- BFree plan and trialAbove 21 of 30
- BFeaturesAbove 9 of 30
- CEase of useAbove 0 of 30
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 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. LimeSurvey 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.
Your call
A form at its plainest is questions, a button and a table of answers.
You could make the core of LimeSurvey for yourself: surveys, forms, templates and reports. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. It costs $468 a year. LimeSurvey is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.
What you could make
- Surveys, forms, templates and reports: an app builder makes these well.
- It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too.
What you could not
- It plugs into other products, Google Analytics and Google Translate among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. LimeSurvey’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 06 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
SurveyMonkey, QuestionPro, KoboToolbox, Formbricks and Google Forms
The 5 tools LimeSurvey is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.4GPA
SurveyMonkey
Free plan · from $39/mo
Online survey and form platform with built-in analysis tools.
- Only SurveyMonkey lists iOS and Android apps.
- LimeSurvey is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 2.4GPA
QuestionPro
Free plan · from $99/mo
Survey and market research platform with a free plan.
- Only QuestionPro lists iOS and Android apps.
- LimeSurvey is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- LimeSurvey also covers forms.
- 2.6GPA
KoboToolbox
Free plan · from $21/mo
Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline.
- Only KoboToolbox lists an Android app.
- LimeSurvey also covers templates.
- 2.4GPA
Formbricks
Free plan · from $74/mo
Open-source survey platform for links, websites and apps.
- LimeSurvey also covers forms and reports.
- Formbricks also covers workflow automation.
- 3.2GPA
Google Forms
Free plan · from $7/mo
Form, survey and quiz builder that comes with a Google Account.
- LimeSurvey is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
Part 07 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
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 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.
How much does LimeSurvey cost?
LimeSurvey lists 6 plans. Community Edition: $0.
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; Lower price shown to buyers in India.
Does LimeSurvey have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. LimeSurvey is listed for Web.
Does LimeSurvey have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. LimeSurvey is listed for Web.
Is LimeSurvey open source?
Yes. LimeSurvey is open source, according to its own site.
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.
Who makes LimeSurvey?
LimeSurvey is made by LimeSurvey GmbH. The company was founded in 2015.
What are the alternatives to LimeSurvey?
The closest alternatives to LimeSurvey in our directory are SurveyMonkey, QuestionPro, KoboToolbox, Formbricks and Google Forms.
How does LimeSurvey compare with other form and survey tools?
LimeSurvey's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 6 of the 30 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 12.
Is LimeSurvey good value for money?
ToolGPA grades LimeSurvey C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $39 a month, against a middle price of $21 for the category: 23 of the 30 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of LimeSurvey?
A form at its plainest is questions, a button and a table of answers. You could make the core of LimeSurvey for yourself: surveys, forms, templates and reports.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from LimeSurvey’s own pages on Oct 9, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from LimeSurvey's own pages on 9 October 2026. The dollar prices come from a June 2026 archive copy of its pricing page, because the live page showed us rupees. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-06-24.
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 LimeSurvey GmbH. Prices change, so check limesurvey.org before you buy.
- web.archive.org/web/20260611123112/https://www.limesurvey.org/pricing
- limesurvey.org/pricing
- limesurvey.org/
- community.limesurvey.org/
- limesurvey.org/support/faq/limesurvey-cloud/are-certain-limesurvey-features-locked-if-i-m-only-using-the-free-subscription-plan
- limesurvey.org/support/faq/limesurvey-cloud/what-happens-if-i-exceed-my-response-volume
Part 08 · 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
- LimeSurvey, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/limesurvey
- 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, "LimeSurvey: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 9, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/limesurvey
Know someone choosing between form and survey tools?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/limesurvey/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded form and survey tools after LimeSurvey, 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 LimeSurvey’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. LimeSurvey is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by LimeSurvey GmbH. Prices and plans change: check limesurvey.org before you buy.