Teams look past SurveyMonkey when the free Basic plan stops showing responses, when team plans require three paid seats, or when response overage and paid-only exports make a recurring program costly. Most move to Typeform, Jotform or Google Forms for simple surveys, and to LimeSurvey or Formbricks for open-source control.
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What each alternative does differently
1. Typeform
One-question-at-a-time surveys people actually finish · Spain
Typeform shows one question at a time and prices by monthly responses, with a free plan and paid tiers from 100 responses a month. It suits short customer-facing surveys and lead forms. It is lighter on the multi-user team plans and crosstab analysis that SurveyMonkey sells.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if completion rate and look matter more than analysis depth.
Pricing: Free plan with a small monthly response limit, then published monthly tiers priced by response volume and features. (free plan)
Full review: #1 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Typeform →
2. Jotform
Form builder that handles surveys, payments and workflows · United States
Jotform is a form builder first, priced by monthly submissions, with a free Starter plan of 100 submissions and 5 forms. Paid plans are single-user self-serve, so teams outgrow them early. It covers payments and workflows that SurveyMonkey leaves out, with less survey methodology.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you need payments or workflows alongside surveys.
Pricing: Free Starter plan, then Bronze, Silver and Gold tiers priced monthly by submissions and storage; enterprise quoted. (free plan)
Full review: #3 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Jotform →
3. Google Forms
Free basic forms inside Google Workspace · United States
Google Forms costs nothing with a Google account and sends responses to Google Sheets, which removes the export question. It has no response caps to buy around. It also has no panel sourcing, crosstabs or advanced analysis, and it lives inside the Google account.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you only need simple surveys and already use Google Workspace.
Pricing: Free with a Google account; included in Google Workspace per-user subscriptions. (free plan)
Full review: #11 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Google Forms →
4. Microsoft Forms
Simple surveys and quizzes inside Microsoft 365 · United States
Microsoft Forms comes with Microsoft 365 work and school accounts and connects to Excel and OneDrive. It supports branching and several question types, including Net Promoter Score. Microsoft itself points to Dynamics 365 Customer Voice for deeper branding and analysis, so it fits internal polls, not research.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if your organization already licenses Microsoft 365.
Pricing: Included with Microsoft 365 business and education plans; free with a personal Microsoft account. (free plan)
Full review: #12 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Microsoft Forms →
5. Tally
Document-style form builder with a generous free tier · Belgium
Tally offers unlimited forms and submissions on its free plan, including conditional logic, file uploads and webhooks. Pro at 20 euros a month removes branding, and Business at 65 euros adds data retention controls. It has no panel, no crosstabs and no per-seat team pricing.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you want to stop paying per response or per seat.
Pricing: Free plan with unlimited forms and responses; Pro at €20 a month and Business at €65 a month, billed monthly or yearly. (free plan)
Full review: #6 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Tally →
6. SurveySparrow
Conversational surveys for recurring feedback programs · United States
SurveySparrow uses a conversational format and sells annual response bundles instead of per-user team plans, with a free plan of 75 responses a quarter. Its Business plan includes three users and custom branding. Extra users cost 49 dollars a month each, so seat growth still costs.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you want a chat-style survey with customer feedback workflows.
Pricing: Forever-free plan with low limits, then paid plans billed quarterly or yearly, with CX and employee suites priced separately. (free plan)
Full review: #8 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit SurveySparrow →
7. QuestionPro
Broad research suite with panels and analytics · United States
QuestionPro keeps a free Essentials plan, then Advanced at 99 dollars per user a month billed annually. Its Research Suite is quote-only and adds conjoint, MaxDiff and access to a respondent panel. It is closer to SurveyMonkey on price and heavier on research tooling.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you need panels and advanced research methods.
Pricing: Free plan, then per-user plans published from about $99 a month billed annually; research and CX suites quoted. (free plan)
Full review: #7 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit QuestionPro →
8. Zoho Survey
Low-cost surveys wired into the Zoho suite · India
Zoho Survey has a free plan limited to 3 active surveys, 10 questions and 100 responses per survey. Basic includes 12,000 responses a year, and Plus and Pro list unlimited surveys. Prices appear only after choosing currency and billing, and it integrates best with other Zoho products.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you already run on Zoho and want a lower unit cost.
Pricing: Free plan capped by questions and responses per survey, then Basic, Plus, Pro and Enterprise tiers with low published monthly prices on annual billing. (free plan)
Full review: #14 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Zoho Survey →
9. LimeSurvey
Open-source survey platform for research · Germany
LimeSurvey has a free community edition and a cloud service with six hosting regions, from Germany to Australia. Its Expert plan lists 10,000 responses a year and 3 admin users. Open code and fixed response pools replace per-seat billing, but the interface is more technical.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if data location or self-hosting control matters.
Pricing: Community edition free to self-host; cloud-hosted plans with a free tier and paid tiers sized by responses. (open source)
Full review: #9 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit LimeSurvey →
10. Formbricks
Open-source in-product and website surveys · Germany
Formbricks is an open-source platform under AGPLv3, built for in-product and website surveys, with cloud hosting in Frankfurt. The free Hobby cloud tier allows 250 responses a month, and Pro at 74 dollars lists unlimited team seats. It is built for product feedback, not market research.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if you survey users inside an app or website.
Pricing: AGPL core free to self-host, with some features under a paid Enterprise license; cloud plans from a free tier of 250 responses a month to Pro at $74 and Scale at $325 a month, sized by monthly responses. (open source)
Full review: #10 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Formbricks →
11. Paperform
Free-form page builder for forms, quizzes and payments · Australia
Paperform is a page-style form builder with unlimited users on every plan and unlimited submissions on Pro at 49 dollars a month billed annually. The free plan caps at 30 submissions a month. It bundles e-signatures and workflows, and has little survey-specific analysis.
Switch from SurveyMonkey if your team is large and per-seat pricing is the problem.
Pricing: Free plan with 30 submissions a month, then Pro at $49 and Business at $124 a month on annual billing, with unlimited seats on every plan and quoted Enterprise. (free plan)
Full review: #15 of 17 in our ranking ·
Visit Paperform →
Questions and answers
Can I export my SurveyMonkey data in other formats?
Yes, SurveyMonkey lists CSV, XLS, PDF, PPT and SPSS exports, but its help center marks exporting as a paid feature. Check your plan before you rely on it, and download data before a plan lapses.
Is there a free alternative to SurveyMonkey?
Yes, Google Forms is free with a Google account and Tally lists unlimited forms and submissions on its free plan. Formbricks and LimeSurvey also offer free tiers or free self-hosted editions, with their own limits.
How do I cancel SurveyMonkey?
You cancel auto-renewal in your online account, and the subscription then runs until the end of the current billing cycle. SurveyMonkey's terms state that fees paid are non-refundable unless the terms or law provide otherwise.
Why does SurveyMonkey charge per user on team plans?
Team plans require a minimum of three users, and each collaborator needs a seat. Alternatives such as Paperform list unlimited users, and SurveySparrow and LimeSurvey sell response bundles with a few included users.
Can I move my survey questions to another tool?
Not as one file in general, so plan to rebuild each questionnaire by hand. Copy question text and answer options from an export, and rebuild skip logic and piping in the new tool before launching.
Which alternative suits in-app surveys?
Formbricks is built for in-product and website surveys, with link, in-app and email surveys under an AGPLv3 core. Typeform and Jotform are better for stand-alone survey links.
