Surveys · alternatives
Alternatives to Cognito Forms
22 surveys tools sit alongside Cognito Forms in this directory. Below is what separates each from Cognito Forms on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 22
- With a free tier
- 14
- Cheaper to start
- 5
- Cognito Forms starts at
- Free, then $24/month
Why people look past Cognito Forms
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Cognito Forms entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
Cognito Forms publishes 4 tiers, from Free up to $174/month. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the Cognito Forms pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
The rapid internal tool platform
- Starts $24 a month cheaper, at Free.
Customer and employee feedback platform
- No free tier, where Cognito Forms has one.
- Sold on a quote model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to Cognito Forms's 4.
The most trusted WordPress forms plugin
- No free tier, where Cognito Forms has one.
- Starts $35 a year dearer, at $59/year.
- 3 tiers to Cognito Forms's 4.
Powerful forms get more done
- Starts $15 a month dearer, at $39/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Cognito Forms's 4.
Offline-first data collection for humanitarian, development and research field work
- Starts $3 a month cheaper, at $21/month.
- Sold on a Per month by submission count model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Cognito Forms's 4.
Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality
- Starts $201 a month dearer, at $225/month.
- Sold on a Per month by submission volume model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Cognito Forms's 4.
Every Cognito Forms alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognito Forms (this page) | Free, then $24/month | Subscription | 4 | |
| RetoolThe rapid internal tool platform | Free | Subscription | 4 | vs Cognito Forms |
| GetFeedbackCustomer and employee feedback platform | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Gravity FormsThe most trusted WordPress forms plugin | $59/year | Subscription | 3 | vs Cognito Forms |
| JotformPowerful forms get more done | Free, then $39/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Cognito Forms |
| KoboToolbox | Free, then $21/month | Per month by submission count | 5 | vs Cognito Forms |
| SurveyCTO | Free, then $225/month | Per month by submission volume | 5 | vs Cognito Forms |
| QuestionPro | Free | Per user per month | 4 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Sogolytics | Free | Per user per month | 3 | vs Cognito Forms |
| SurveyLegend | Free, then $15/month | Per month by responses per survey | 4 | vs Cognito Forms |
| LimeSurvey | Free | Open source, with paid cloud hosting | 2 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Tally | Free, then $29/month | Free tier, paid for branding and team features | 2 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Zoho Survey | Free | Free tier, then per user per month | 2 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Fillout | Free, then $15/month | Per month by response count | 6 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Microsoft Forms | Free | Included with Microsoft 365, not sold separately | 4 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Google Forms | Free | Included with Google Workspace, not sold separately | 4 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Paperform | Free | Freemium | 4 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Medallia | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Device Magic | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Zonka Feedback | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Qualtrics CoreXM | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Cognito Forms |
| Alchemer | On request | Tiered annual subscription published on the vendor site | - | vs Cognito Forms |
| Formstack | On request | Tiered monthly subscription published on the vendor site; HIPAA-capable plans priced separately | - | vs Cognito Forms |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Cognito Forms badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (14)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Retool , Free
- Jotform , Free, then $39/month
- KoboToolbox , Free, then $21/month
- SurveyCTO , Free, then $225/month
- QuestionPro , Free
- Sogolytics , Free
- SurveyLegend , Free, then $15/month
- LimeSurvey , Free
Cheaper than Cognito Forms (5)
Entry price under Cognito Forms's $24/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Retool , Free
- KoboToolbox , Free, then $21/month
- SurveyLegend , Free, then $15/month
- Fillout , Free, then $15/month
- Paperform , Free
What you would be giving up
Cognito Forms is most often brought in for building hipaa-compliant data collection forms without coding, creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signing, collecting payments inline within customer intake forms, routing applications automatically based on responses. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Cognito Forms is broadly right and the question is cost, the Cognito Forms pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Surveys category lists everything the directory holds, and best surveys tools ranks them.
Cognito Forms runs on not recorded. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Cognito Forms alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Cognito Forms?
- 22 other surveys tools are listed in this directory, led by Retool, GetFeedback, Gravity Forms, Jotform. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Cognito Forms?
- 14 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Retool, Jotform, KoboToolbox, SurveyCTO, QuestionPro.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Cognito Forms?
- Yes. 5 of the alternatives below start under Cognito Forms's $24/month: Retool at Free, KoboToolbox at Free, then $21/month, SurveyLegend at Free, then $15/month, Fillout at Free, then $15/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Cognito Forms?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Cognito Forms?
- Cognito Forms is most often brought in for building hipaa-compliant data collection forms without coding, creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signing, collecting payments inline within customer intake forms, routing applications automatically based on responses. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Cognito Forms?
- None of the surveys tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Cognito Forms alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Surveys, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Cognito Forms against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Cognito Forms covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every surveys tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Surveys category, 22 tools beside Cognito Forms. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.