LimeSurvey

LimeSurvey is a multilingual survey platform with hosted subscriptions and a self-hosted open-source edition. It suits organizations that need sophisticated questionnaires, regional data control, and exportable results rather than a bare form. The deciding issue is scale: its free tier is very small, while paid quotas and administrator seats differ substantially.

Overview

LimeSurvey combines more than 30 customizable question types with media support, logic, and branching, so it can handle structured research, registration workflows, and complex feedback instruments. More than 80 languages and multilingual surveys make it practical for audiences in multiple countries, and more than 800 templates provide useful starting points. The company is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and reports use by more than 60,000 companies and institutions across over 160 countries.

Its self-hosted, open-source option is the strongest differentiator for teams that want operational control and an alternative to Google Forms. Hosted users can select a data center or region, including EU and US choices. LimeSurvey emphasizes privacy controls, governance, data location, and avoiding vendor lock-in; it states that personal data is protected with 2048-bit SSL encryption and that the service is GDPR compliant. It reports WCAG 2.2 Level AA alignment, while ISO 27001 remains in progress.

Key features

Distribution is unusually broad: links, QR codes, social media, email, posters, and flyers cover both digital and offline recruitment. Response analytics support in-product review, while exports to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel, and PDF suit research teams that need statistical or office workflows beyond the survey system. Google Translate, Google Analytics, and API access can connect surveys to existing processes, and a respondent panel is included for teams that need help reaching participants.

These capabilities favor researchers and institutions over people making a one-question poll. The trade-off is that the value of the integrations and export formats depends on the tools a team already operates, and a larger feature set can demand more planning than a minimal form builder.

Pricing

The freemium structure gives prospective users a no-cost starting point. The Free plan costs nothing and includes one administrator and 25 responses per month. That is enough for a small test or occasional internal questionnaire, but not for a public survey with meaningful traffic.

Basic costs $39 a month, billed monthly. It raises capacity to 1,000 responses per month, adds 250 MB of upload storage, and keeps one administrator. Surveys and questions are unlimited, so the constraint is response volume rather than questionnaire count. This is the clearest fit for a small team running regular, moderate-sized surveys.

Expert costs $432 a year, displayed as $36 per month and billed annually. It includes 10,000 responses per year, 1 GB of upload storage, and three administrators. The annual commitment suits teams with predictable demand that need more collaboration and capacity than Basic; readers should budget for the full yearly payment.

Business uses custom pricing and includes 50,000 responses per year, 3 GB of storage, and selected administrator users. It targets organizations with substantially higher annual volume. Corporate also uses custom pricing and adds tailored users and responses, SSO, LDAP and SAML, a dedicated server, and VIP support, making it the enterprise choice for identity, infrastructure, and support requirements. Support ranges from community and email assistance to priority email and VIP support across plans.

Platforms

LimeSurvey is offered through its API and as self-hosted software. The self-hosted route gives technically capable organizations control over deployment and data location; hosted plans are more appropriate when a team wants LimeSurvey to operate the service.

Who it's for

Choose LimeSurvey for multilingual research, regulated or privacy-conscious work, and surveys that need branching, media, robust exports, or varied distribution. Basic fits modest recurring programs, Expert fits teams needing 10,000 annual responses and three administrators, and Business or Corporate fits larger institutions with higher quotas or enterprise identity and hosting needs. It is a poor match for a tiny one-off questionnaire if 25 monthly responses are insufficient and a paid quota is hard to justify.

Pros and cons

• Pro: More than 30 question types, branching, media, and multilingual support handle complex international questionnaires.
• Pro: EU or US hosting choices, self-hosting, encryption, and stated GDPR compliance strengthen data-control options.
• Pro: Exports to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel, and PDF support both research and general reporting.
• Con: The free plan allows only 25 responses per month, limiting real-world public use.
• Con: Administrator seats remain at one on Basic, while higher collaboration requires Expert or above.
• Con: Expert is billed annually, and Business and Corporate require custom pricing, making larger budgets harder to compare upfront.
• Con: ISO 27001 is still in progress rather than complete.

Alternatives

Pick Typeform instead if you want a free plan with unlimited forms and 10 responses per month across web and mobile-capable platforms. Alchemer is worth considering when annual response allowances up to 75,000 or 100,000 are the priority. Choose Qualtrics for an individual-focused free tier with three active surveys and 500 total responses. Survey Solutions is a free option with downloadable server and tablet components. Zoho Survey suits users wanting a free 10-question, 100-response-per-survey allowance or a Basic tier with 12,000 annual responses. EUSurvey is a free, EUPL-licensed open-source alternative with source code on GitHub. KoboToolbox is an alternative with a $21-per-month Starter plan and 1,000 submissions. Formbricks offers self-hosting and a Pro plan priced at $89 per month.

For broader comparisons, see Survey Software, Survey API Software, and Market Research Software.

Verdict

LimeSurvey is a strong choice for organizations that need flexible logic, multilingual delivery, serious export options, and control over hosting or deployment. Choose it when data governance and survey depth matter more than a minimal setup. Look elsewhere if you need a generous free allowance, transparent high-volume pricing, or more administrator seats at the entry paid tier.