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Surveys · head to head

Alchemer vs REDCap

Alchemer logo

Alchemer

Surveys

Survey and feedback platform for research teams

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REDCap logo

REDCap

Research

Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alchemer more expensive than the simple form builders, which is the fair comparison for a short survey; REDCap a for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • They diverge on capability: Alchemer covers Deep question logic, REDCap covers Form and survey designer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alchemer and REDCap actually diverge.

Attributes where Alchemer and REDCap differ
AttributeAlchemerREDCap
Pricing modelTiered annual subscription published on the vendor sitequote
PlatformsWeb, CloudWeb, Linux, Windows
CategorySurveysResearch

Identical on both: starting price (On request), free tier (No), 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 REDCap

  • Form and survey designer
  • Longitudinal projects
  • Data quality rules
  • Randomisation
  • Audit trail and e-signature
  • API and exports

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

REDCap

  • An academic research group at an institution that already runs REDCap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build itnot Alchemer
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot Alchemer
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot Alchemer
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot 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

REDCap

  • A for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • Because each institution hosts its own instance, support, uptime, backup and version currency vary by university, and a researcher has no recourse to Vanderbilt when the local instance is two years out of date.
  • It is free of licence fee but not free of cost: the hosting institution carries server, security, patching and support staffing, which is why some institutions charge internal recharges per project.
  • Validation for regulated use is the deploying institution responsibility, so an instance is not Part 11 compliant simply because REDCap supports the features; someone locally has to produce and maintain the evidence.
  • The interface and reporting are dated compared with commercial survey and EDC tools, and complex logic is built through data dictionary spreadsheets rather than a modern visual builder, which slows non technical study teams.

Pricing, plan by plan

Alchemer

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the Alchemer review.

REDCap

On request
  • REDCap non-profit licence$undefined/year
    • No licence fee to non-profit and government institutions that join the consortium
    • Institution must install and host it on its own infrastructure
    • For-profit organisations may not hold a licence or self-host

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 REDCap if

  • You need form and survey designer.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want longitudinal projects.
REDCap review

Questions people ask

Is Alchemer or REDCap better?
Neither clearly leads. Alchemer starts at On request and REDCap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alchemer or REDCap?
Alchemer starts at On request and REDCap at On request.
Does Alchemer or REDCap run on more platforms?
Alchemer runs on Web, Cloud. REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
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 REDCap is typically brought in for.
What can Alchemer do that REDCap cannot?
Alchemer covers Deep question logic, Wide question types, Workflow automation, Integrations. REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Randomisation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Alchemer: What does Alchemer cost?

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

REDCap: Is REDCap really free?

The licence is free to non-profit institutions and government organisations that join the consortium, but they must host and support it themselves, so there is real internal cost.

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.

REDCap: Can my company use REDCap?

Not by holding a licence or self-hosting. For-profit organisations must use a separately licensed commercial hosted route.

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.

REDCap: Is REDCap 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It has the features to support Part 11 use, but compliance depends on how the hosting institution configures, validates and documents its own instance.

REDCap: Who supports it?

Your local institutional REDCap administrator, not Vanderbilt. Support quality varies by site.

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