Softwr

Surveys · head to head

Alchemer vs Mautic

Alchemer logo

Alchemer

Surveys

Survey and feedback platform for research teams

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Mautic logo

Mautic

Marketing

The main open source marketing automation platform, self-hosted and GPL licensed

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mautic 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; Mautic mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • They diverge on capability: Alchemer covers Deep question logic, Mautic covers Visual campaign builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alchemer and Mautic actually diverge.

Attributes where Alchemer and Mautic differ
AttributeAlchemerMautic
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelTiered annual subscription published on the vendor siteOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker
CategorySurveysMarketing

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

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 Mautic

  • Visual campaign builder
  • Contact management and segmentation
  • Landing pages and forms
  • Lead scoring
  • Dynamic web content
  • Email builder and A/B testing
  • Self-hosted data control
  • No feature gating

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 Mautic
  • Teams needing survey data routed into Salesforce or a warehousenot Mautic
  • Organisations wanting research depth without enterprise experience-platform pricingnot Mautic

Mautic

  • A marketing agency running automation for many clients that cannot pass on per-contact SaaS pricing at scalenot Alchemer
  • A European university or public body whose data protection position requires contact data to stay on infrastructure it controlsnot Alchemer
  • A company with a list of several hundred thousand contacts where SaaS per-contact pricing has become the largest line in the marketing budgetnot Alchemer
  • A team that needs to modify the automation logic itself, not just configure it, and wants source access to do sonot 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

Mautic

  • Mautic depends on reliably scheduled cron jobs to process segments and send campaigns, and a misconfigured or silently failing schedule stops sends without an obvious error, which is the most common way Mautic deployments fail in production.
  • Email sending is not included: you must arrange, pay for and warm up your own sending infrastructure through Amazon SES, SendGrid or similar, and deliverability problems become entirely your problem with no vendor to escalate to.
  • Acquia owns the commercial descendant, Campaign Studio, and is the largest contributor, so the loudest commercial interest in the ecosystem benefits from a hosted product rather than from the self-hosted one being easy.
  • Upgrades between major versions have historically been disruptive, requiring database migrations and plugin compatibility checks, so a neglected instance can become expensive to bring current.
  • The interface and the reporting are noticeably behind commercial platforms, so marketing teams that came from HubSpot or ActiveCampaign will find everyday tasks slower and will need training.

Pricing, plan by plan

Alchemer

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Alchemer review.

Mautic

Free
  • Self-hosted communityFree
    • GPL licensed, no licence fee and no contact limits
    • All features included, no paid edition
    • You provide hosting, database, cron scheduling and email sending
  • Managed Mautic hosting$undefined/month
    • Third-party managed hosting listed by the project
    • Updates, backups and cron scheduling handled for you
    • Pricing varies by provider and is not set by the project

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 Mautic if

  • You need visual campaign builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
  • You also want contact management and segmentation.
Mautic review

Questions people ask

Is Alchemer or Mautic better?
Neither clearly leads. Alchemer starts at On request and Mautic at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alchemer or Mautic?
Mautic has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Alchemer and Free for Mautic.
Does Alchemer or Mautic run on more platforms?
Alchemer runs on Web, Cloud. Mautic runs on Web, Linux, Self-hosted, Docker.
Can I use Mautic for free?
Yes. Mautic 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 Mautic is typically brought in for.
What can Alchemer do that Mautic cannot?
Alchemer covers Deep question logic, Wide question types, Workflow automation, Integrations. Mautic covers Visual campaign builder, Contact management and segmentation, Landing pages and forms, Lead scoring.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Alchemer: What does Alchemer cost?

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

Mautic: Is Mautic free?

Yes, GPL licensed with no licence fee and no contact limits. You pay for hosting, email sending and the staff time to maintain it.

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.

Mautic: Does Acquia own Mautic?

Acquia acquired the founding commercial entity in 2019 and sells Campaign Studio built on it, but the Mautic trademark sits with the Open Source Collective and the project is community governed.

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.

Mautic: What breaks most often?

Cron scheduling. If segment rebuilding and campaign triggers are not running on schedule, campaigns quietly stop sending with no alert.

Mautic: Can it handle large contact lists?

Yes, but performance at several hundred thousand contacts depends on database tuning and queue configuration, which is work you must do yourself.

Share

Related pages

More on Alchemer

More on Mautic

Keep looking

Other head to heads