Saturday, March 11, 2023
Online surveys and best free tools
Choosing an online survey tool for your business can be a lot harder than you may think.
There are hundreds of survey software tools available with free and premium versions. All promising top performance and guaranteed results.
Which one should you choose?
In this article, we will look into how to choose the right survey software and list the most popular options.
How to choose online survey software?
There are several key factors you need to consider when choosing online survey software.
Purpose and scope
The first thing to keep in mind is the purpose of your survey or surveys. Are you looking for creating a specific survey or want to look for an all-in-one solution?
If your goal is to implement multiple surveys at once, it is recommended to go after a multipurpose survey tool that is flexible enough to give you the freedom. The downside of such tools is that they may usually lack the analytical part. This means you will have to do all the calculations on your own and rarely receive any insights.
If your goal is to implement a specific survey (ex. customer satisfaction), look for software offering that type specifically. Such solutions are more likely to include in-built analysis and have their features built around a specific goal.
Free or premium
Are you ready to go with a free or premium tool?
Of course, premium survey software will include a lot more. You will have more customization options, higher response limits, and other benefits. Still, it is possible that you don't need all of that functionality right away.
The best thing to do here is to choose an online survey software offering a freemium model. The freemium business model includes both - free and premium versions. That means you can start for free and upgrade to the premium version as you grow your business. This is also a good way to think one step further and have growth in mind.
Ease of use
We all have our preferences when it comes to the user interface. Choose the software that fits yours. Of course, all major survey tools have more or less the same learning curve and it all comes down to your own preferences.
Data and privacy
Who owns the data you collect? Who is accountable for privacy?
A good online survey software will not own your data - you are in charge and can decide what to do with it.
Consider how easy it is to export the data from the system so you can perform your own analysis or migrate it to the CRM of your choice.
How does the software protect your data? Do you know of any data breaches that happened to the company before? Data privacy and security are hot topics during the last few years - make sure to take them seriously to avoid any legal issues.
Customer support
How well is the product supported? Does it offer good documentation and tutorials? Are you able to reach out to the software vendor with the pre-sale questions and do they provide customer support?
If the answers are “yes” - you are good to go.
Best free (and premium) online survey tools
As we know how to choose the best survey software for your business, let's look into some of the best and name-worthy solutions.
Before we begin, all of the survey tools listed below have a free version in place (as promised in the title). Plus, some of the tools offer premium version that you may be interested in checking out before making a final call.
Google Forms
Google Forms is a part of Google Workspace and is surely one of the most popular form builders on the market.
Google Forms is a free and easy way to launch surveys and collect responses. You can also export the data and use it to your liking. The downside of Google Forms are design limits and branding options. You will have to stick with a default design you can't change that much.
Typeform
Typeform allows you to create forms, surveys, and quizzes. It offers rich design options that allows you to create good-looking surveys and integrate them on your media.
From the feature side of things, Typeform comes with a library of templates, conditional logic, reports and metrics.
Typeform has a free version to get you started with options to go premium started from $22/month (billed annually).
SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is another popular online survey software that offers free and premium versions. The premium package starts from $40/month (billed annually).
SurveyMonkey comes with a comprehensive list of pre-made surveys which is a benefit for those seeking a quick and easy start. You can then distribute surveys via various channels including email, web, mobile, and apps.
Omnisome
Omnisome is a niche survey software focused on customer satisfaction. It allows you to create beautiful surveys to interact with your customers through your website or web app.
Omnisome satisfaction surveys are designed in a way to discover the value your product brings to your customers along with the ways on how to improve it. An advanced reporting and insights helps you keep track of your progress and analyze data on the go.
Omnisome offers a free version along with the premium one starting from $12/month (billed annually).
SurveySparrow
Another widely popular survey tool, SurveySparrow allows you to design beautiful surveys for your web, mobile, email, and social media.
SurveySparrow offers rich conditional logic and automations that can be useful for advanced users (and surveys).
There is a free version of the SurveySparrow together with the premium.
Zoho Survey
A popular Zoho platform offers a way to create and distribute surveys for free.
Zoho Survey has a feature-rich survey builder that allows users to create almost any type of surveys. You can then distribute your surveys across different channels or even buy responses if you want to target specific audience.
Zoho Survey is free to use with premium starting at $27/month (billed annually).
SurveyPlanet
SurveyPlanet offers an easy way to create and launch surveys.
With SurveyPlanet, you can use one of their many custom themes, use question branching, and easily export data.
The free version is powerful enough with no limits on surveys and responses. The premium version comes with more advanced features for growing business and starts from $22/month (billed annually).
Survs
Survs is another popular alternative to create online surveys. It offers a free version with all the basic features and limits for responses. The premium version has higher limits and starts from $20/month (billed annually).
While Survs may feel a bit outdated in terms of the user interface, it offers an easy-to-use dashboard to overview your survey results.
Conclusions
With so many survey software tools available, it is easy to get lost. To keep on track, keep your criteria in mind and understand where you want to go.
If you want to start conducting customer satisfaction surveys, it could be a good idea to start with a tool focusing on that since it can help you along the way.
If you want to introduce multiple surveys for different purposes, consider choosing an all-in-one solution to reduce potential costs and time.
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