LimeSurvey

Overview

LimeSurvey is survey software for building, sharing, and analyzing multilingual questionnaires, with hosted plans and a self-hosted open-source option. It suits organizations that need control over survey logic, data location, and response handling more than a minimal form builder. Its strengths are the breadth of its survey tools and deployment choices; the main trade-off is that response quotas and admin seats vary sharply by plan.

Key features

More than 30 customizable question types, media support, and branching logic give survey creators room to build questionnaires beyond simple feedback forms. More than 80 languages and multilingual surveys make it a practical fit for audiences across regions, while over 800 templates offer a quicker starting point.

Surveys can be distributed by link, QR code, social media, email, posters, or flyers. Response analytics and exports to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel, and PDF support both quick review and further analysis. Google Translate, Google Analytics, and API integrations extend the workflow, though the specific integrations will matter more to teams already using those tools.

Privacy controls include choices for data center or hosting region, including EU and US options, and the service states that it uses 2048-bit SSL encryption and is GDPR compliant. It reports WCAG 2.2 Level AA alignment, while ISO 27001 is in progress. Its emphasis on data governance and avoiding vendor lock-in will appeal to organizations with tighter control requirements; LimeSurvey is also available self-hosted.

Pricing

The free plan costs nothing and includes 25 responses per month and one admin user. That is enough to explore the builder or run a very small survey, but the low response cap makes it unsuitable for sustained collection.

Basic costs $39 a month, billed monthly. It raises the limit to 1,000 responses per month, adds 250 MB of upload storage, and allows unlimited surveys and questions, but still includes only one admin user. It fits an individual managing several surveys; teams that need shared administration will hit the seat limit first.

Expert costs $432 a year, billed annually and displayed as $36/month. It includes 10,000 responses per year, three admin users, and 1 GB of upload storage. Its lower displayed monthly price comes with an annual billing commitment, and its annual response allowance needs to suit the survey schedule.

Business has custom pricing, with 50,000 responses per year, 3 GB of upload storage, and selected admin users. Corporate also has custom pricing and offers tailored users and response volumes, SSO, LDAP, SAML, a dedicated server, and VIP support. Those tiers are aimed at larger or more specialized deployments; the tailored setup and custom pricing make them less straightforward choices for small projects. Support ranges from community and email support to priority email and VIP support.

Platforms

LimeSurvey is offered as a hosted service and as self-hosted software, and it provides API access. Those choices suit organizations that want either managed hosting or more direct control over deployment. It is described as a European company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and reports serving more than 60,000 companies and institutions across over 160 countries.

Who it's for

LimeSurvey is a strong fit for organizations running multilingual or logic-heavy surveys, especially when analytics exports, regional hosting choices, or self-hosting matter. Basic is the clearest paid starting point for an individual; Expert better suits small teams that need three admins and higher annual response capacity. The free plan is best treated as a limited trial of the service rather than a high-volume option. Teams needing more seats, responses, or dedicated infrastructure should compare the custom-priced tiers against their requirements.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Extensive question types, branching, and multilingual support accommodate complex questionnaires and international audiences.
• Pros: Multiple sharing channels, analytics, and broad export formats support distribution and downstream analysis.
• Pros: Hosted and self-hosted options, regional hosting choices, and privacy controls give organizations flexibility over deployment and data governance.
• Cons: The free plan's 25 monthly responses sharply limits real-world use beyond evaluation.
• Cons: Basic permits only one admin, while higher seat counts require Expert or a custom-priced tier.
• Cons: Business and Corporate have custom pricing, so their cost is less predictable before discussing requirements.

Alternatives

Typeform is worth considering for users who want a free plan with unlimited forms, though it caps that plan at 10 responses per month. SurveyMonkey offers a free plan for simple surveys, forms, and quizzes, with 10 questions per survey and limited responses per survey. Alchemer is another freemium survey option.

Zoho Survey may suit a single user who wants unlimited questions on its Basic plan, which includes 12,000 responses per year. SurveyJS is an alternative with API, web, and self-hosted platform options. SurveyMethods offers a free Basic plan limited to three surveys, 50 questions per survey, and 15 responses per survey. SurveySparrow has a free plan for three active surveys with 10 questions per survey. OpenSurvey offers a free forever self-hosted open-source option.

Browse Survey API Software or Survey Software for more options.

Verdict

Choose LimeSurvey if your surveys need substantial branching, multilingual support, flexible deployment, or control over data location and governance. Its feature depth and self-hosted option are the strongest reasons to pick it. Look elsewhere if you need generous free response capacity, several admins on an inexpensive monthly plan, or predictable pricing for a large deployment.