Is Alchemer or Cognito Forms better?

Neither clearly leads. Alchemer starts at On request and Cognito Forms at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Alchemer or Cognito Forms?

Cognito Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Alchemer and Free for Cognito Forms.

Does Alchemer or Cognito Forms run on more platforms?

Alchemer runs on Web, Cloud. Cognito Forms runs on Web.

Can I use Cognito Forms for free?

Yes. Cognito Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Alchemer starts at On request.

What is Alchemer best used for?

Alchemer is most often used for research questionnaires too conditional for a simple form builder, teams needing survey data routed into salesforce or a warehouse, organisations wanting research depth without enterprise experience-platform pricing. Of those, research questionnaires too conditional for a simple form builder and teams needing survey data routed into salesforce or a warehouse are not what Cognito Forms is typically brought in for.

What can Alchemer do that Cognito Forms cannot?

Alchemer covers Deep question logic, Wide question types, Workflow automation, Integrations.

Surveys · head to head

Alchemer vs Cognito Forms

Alchemer

Surveys

Survey and feedback platform for research teams

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Cognito Forms

Surveys

Powerful forms made easy

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Cognito Forms has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Alchemer more expensive than the simple form builders, which is the fair comparison for a short survey; Cognito Forms individual free plan caps at 100 entries per month and 1 user

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alchemer and Cognito Forms actually diverge.

Attributes where Alchemer and Cognito Forms differ
Attribute	Alchemer	Cognito Forms
Starting price	On request	Free
Pricing model	Tiered annual subscription published on the vendor site	subscription
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, Cloud	Web

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Surveys).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alchemer

Deep question logic
Wide question types
Workflow automation
Integrations
Panel and distribution
Reporting

Only in Cognito Forms

Nothing recorded that Alchemer does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alchemer

Research questionnaires too conditional for a simple form buildernot Cognito Forms
Teams needing survey data routed into Salesforce or a warehousenot Cognito Forms
Organisations wanting research depth without enterprise experience-platform pricingnot Cognito Forms

Cognito Forms

Building HIPAA-compliant data collection forms without codingnot Alchemer
Creating multi-step approval workflows for contract signingnot Alchemer
Collecting payments inline within customer intake formsnot Alchemer
Routing applications automatically based on responsesnot Alchemer

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alchemer

More expensive than the simple form builders, which is the fair comparison for a short survey
The interface carries a long product history and is less immediately friendly than newer tools
Advanced logic is powerful and correspondingly easy to misconfigure, and testing a complex survey is real work
Named Alchemer since 2020, so much of the searchable material still says SurveyGizmo

Cognito Forms

Individual free plan caps at 100 entries per month and 1 user
Pro plan ($24/mo monthly, $19/mo billed annually) still limits to 2 users and 2,000 entries per month
HIPAA compliance and single sign-on are restricted to the Enterprise tier ($174/mo monthly, $129/mo annual)

Pricing, plan by plan

Alchemer

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Alchemer review.

Cognito Forms

Free

IndividualFree
- 100 entries per month
- 1 user
- Cognito Forms branding included
Pro$24/month
- 2000 entries per month
- 2 users
- Electronic signatures
Team$49/month
- 10000 entries per month
- 5 users
- 5 guest access
Enterprise$174/month
- Unlimited entries
- 20 users
- 20 guest access

Which should you pick?

Choose Alchemer if

You need deep question logic.
You work on Web, Cloud.
You also want wide question types.

Alchemer review

Choose Cognito Forms if

You want to start without paying.

Cognito Forms review

Questions people ask

Is Alchemer or Cognito Forms better?: Neither clearly leads. Alchemer starts at On request and Cognito Forms at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alchemer or Cognito Forms?: Cognito Forms has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Alchemer and Free for Cognito Forms.
Does Alchemer or Cognito Forms run on more platforms?: Alchemer runs on Web, Cloud. Cognito Forms runs on Web.
Can I use Cognito Forms for free?: Yes. Cognito Forms has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Alchemer starts at On request.
What is Alchemer best used for?: Alchemer is most often used for research questionnaires too conditional for a simple form builder, teams needing survey data routed into salesforce or a warehouse, organisations wanting research depth without enterprise experience-platform pricing. Of those, research questionnaires too conditional for a simple form builder and teams needing survey data routed into salesforce or a warehouse are not what Cognito Forms is typically brought in for.
What can Alchemer do that Cognito Forms cannot?: Alchemer covers Deep question logic, Wide question types, Workflow automation, Integrations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Alchemer: What does Alchemer cost?

Tiered annual subscriptions published on the vendor site. Check current rates there.

Cognito Forms: How much does Cognito Forms cost?

Cognito Forms offers a free Individual plan with 100 entries per month. Paid plans start at $24/month for the Pro plan, $49/month for the Team plan, and $174/month for the Enterprise plan. Annual prepayment provides up to 20% discount off monthly rates.

Source

Alchemer: Is Alchemer the same as SurveyGizmo?

Yes. SurveyGizmo was renamed Alchemer in 2020, which is why older reviews and documentation use the former name.

Cognito Forms: What is the difference between Cognito Forms plans?

The Individual plan (free) includes 100 entries/month and 1 user. Pro adds electronic signatures and accommodates 2000 entries/month with 2 users. Team plan (Best Value) supports 10000 entries/month with 5 users and includes client portal and approvals. Enterprise provides unlimited entries, 20 users, and HIPAA compliance.

Source

Alchemer: When is it worth more than a simple form builder?

When the questionnaire has real conditional logic, or when responses need to route into Salesforce or a data warehouse.

Cognito Forms: Does Cognito Forms have a free version?

Yes, Cognito Forms offers a free Individual plan that includes 100 entries per month, 1 user, unlimited forms, and payment processing capabilities. Higher-tier plans are available for increased capacity and features.

Source

Alchemer vs Cognito Forms

Alchemer

Cognito Forms

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Alchemer

Only in Cognito Forms

What people use each for

Alchemer

Cognito Forms

Where each one falls short

Alchemer

Cognito Forms

Pricing, plan by plan

Alchemer

Cognito Forms

Which should you pick?

Choose Alchemer if

Choose Cognito Forms if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Alchemer

More on Cognito Forms

Keep looking

Other head to heads