Akvo Flow
Akvo Flow is a data collection tool for organisations that use data to drive change.
What Akvo Flow is
Akvo Flow is a data collection tool for organisations that use data to drive change. Its online workspace lets users create, edit, copy, and store surveys, then connect enumerators’ devices and assign work through survey groups and time-limited assignments. Forms can gather qualitative and quantitative answers, water test results, GPS data, images, geographic shapes, barcodes, and QR codes. Monitoring forms can track selected data points over time.
The Android app supports collection without network coverage. Data can upload automatically when coverage returns or manually through USB. Flow can export collected data and form codebooks, while its Comprehensive report summarizes a dataset with basic statistics and charts. Its open source platform can connect with other tools through an API. Roles and permissions manage team access, and Akvo says users control what data remains private or is shared. Akvo says data transmitted between system components uses SSL encryption. Flow is available for Android, API, self-hosted, and web use, with a free plan and trial; paid pricing is on request. Flow Basic is limited to new clients, 300 submissions, one export format, and one user.
Good
- Android collection works without network coverage.
- Forms support GPS, images, barcodes, and QR codes.
- Monitoring forms track data points over time.
- Reports summarize datasets with statistics and charts.
- Roles and permissions manage team access.
Watch out
- Flow Basic is only for new clients.
- Flow Basic limits submissions to 300 data points.
- Flow Basic allows one export format and one user.
- Paid plan pricing is available on request.
Who it suits
Akvo Flow suits development organisations, including NGOs, governments, knowledge institutions, and private sector organisations, that need to collect field data. It can fit teams that need offline Android collection, survey assignments, or varied data types such as GPS, images, and test results.
Verdict
Akvo Flow offers survey design, varied field data capture, and offline Android collection, with reporting and API connectivity. Teams should check whether the limits of Flow Basic fit their needs or request details about the paid Pro plan.
Plans and prices
From Akvo Flow's own pricing page, checked 15 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Flow Basic | Free | only for new clients · 300 data-point submissions · 1 export format · 1 user · EN/FR/ES · self-service configuration · £0/m |
| Flow Pro + | Priced on request | submissions based on organisation needs · 4 export formats · unlimited users · configuration service · support service package · Custom |
The facts
Each one read from Akvo Flow's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access controls
- Flow provides roles and permissions for managing team members’ data access.checked 9 Oct 2026
- API
- The documented REST API is read-only, accepts GET requests over HTTPS and returns collected Flow data for third-party applications.checked 15 Oct 2026
- API and extensibility
- The public GitHub repository contains the web platform, backend, dashboard interface, mobile app links and data import/export components.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Assignments
- Managers can connect enumerator devices and create survey groups and time-limited assignments.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data capture
- Forms can collect qualitative and quantitative answers, water test results, GPS data, images, geographical shapes, barcodes, and QR codes.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Data exports
- Flow exports collected data in multiple formats for cleaning, analysis, geoshape work and viewing.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data location
- The privacy policy says survey data is hosted and processed on servers in the European Union.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Exports and reports
- Flow can export data and form codebooks, and its Comprehensive report summarizes a dataset with basic statistics and charts.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Field assignments
- Users can connect enumerators’ devices to the workspace and create survey groups and assignments for a specified timeframe.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Independent praise: broad field use
- Engineering for Change records use by more than 250 organisations and over four million submitted forms across water, health, education, agriculture, food security and wildlife projects.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent praise: domain flexibility
- Rural Water Supply Network describes Flow as domain agnostic and notes use beyond water, including monitoring illegal trawling, health and food security.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Independent praise: ease and offline maps
- CartONG's benchmarking found Flow relatively easy to set up and use, with acceptable documentation and support, and praised offline map display and historical point access.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The Flow app is distributed outside Google Play and requires enabling installation from unknown sources.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Akvo says its open source platform can connect with other tools and systems using its API.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- Akvo describes Flow as serving development organisations, including NGOs, governments, knowledge institutions, and private sector organisations.checked 9 Oct 2026
- Languages
- The workspace and app are offered in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia and Vietnamese; the app also supports Hindi.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Licence
- The GitHub repository identifies the project as AGPL-3.0 licensed.checked 15 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- App permissions
- The app uses location for geolocation and image geotagging, phone state for device assignment and uploads, and storage for forms and media.checked 15 Oct 2026
The company
- Company founded
- Akvo says it was founded in 2006 by an open-source pioneer and a hydrologist.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company LinkedIn facts
- LinkedIn lists Akvo as founded in 2008, headquartered in Amsterdam and employing 51–200 people.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Company type
- Akvo describes itself as a nonprofit headquartered in the Netherlands with offices across four continents.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Data ownership
- Akvo states that users retain ownership of survey content and that private survey data is not sold.checked 15 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2006checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Amsterdam, Netherlandschecked 28 Sep 2026
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