Enketo Smart Paper

What Enketo Smart Paper is

Enketo Smart Paper is an open-source web application for deploying and conducting surveys, including in settings without an internet connection. Surveys work offline and can use skip logic and answer validation to guide respondents through forms and check their entries. Themes and widgets are available, and forms are designed to print cleanly. They run on mobile or desktop devices using a fairly modern browser. Enketo internally understands ODK XForms; its maker recommends creating forms with XLSForm or the KoboToolbox form builder. Enketo belongs to the OpenRosa/ODK ecosystem, which includes ODK, KoboToolbox, and Ona. Enketo Express can collect data for any OpenRosa-compliant server. The Enketo form engine is also available as a separate module and has been used in applications including OpenSRP, Medic, and Survey123 for ArcGIS. For hosting, organizations can use a service that includes Enketo, self-host the software, or pay for an Enketo-only or custom service. The self-hosted plan is free and open source, but the user must maintain it; support for self-hosters is available through the user forum. The project first launched in 2012 after a year of initial development. Enketo supports offline collection, signature capture, photo capture, and GPS capture.

Who it suits

Enketo suits survey teams that need offline data collection, open form formats, or complex skip and validation logic. The OpenRosa ecosystem is suited to users needing open form formats, complex skip and validation logic, open-source tools, or data collection without internet access. Users can choose between a service or self-hosting.

Limits

The free self-hosted plan requires users to host and maintain Enketo themselves. The listed support route for self-hosters is the user forum.

Getting started

1. Visit the Enketo website.
2. Choose a service that includes Enketo, or opt to self-host it.
3. Create forms with XLSForm or the KoboToolbox form builder.
4. Deploy surveys with Enketo.
5. If self-hosting, maintain the software and use the user forum for support.

Verdict

Choose Enketo if you need offline survey collection, flexible form logic, and compatibility with OpenRosa-compliant servers. Self-hosting keeps the plan free and open source, but requires you to maintain it; otherwise, you can use a service that includes Enketo or a paid Enketo-only or custom service.