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Marketing · head to head

Attribution vs SurveyCTO

A

Attribution

Marketing

First-party data marketing attribution platform

From
$2000/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
SurveyCTO logo

SurveyCTO

Surveys

Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SurveyCTO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • They diverge on capability: Attribution covers First-party data attribution, SurveyCTO covers Offline collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Attribution and SurveyCTO actually diverge.

Attributes where Attribution and SurveyCTO differ
AttributeAttributionSurveyCTO
Starting price$2000/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by submission volume
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Mobile, ApiWeb, Android, iOS
CategoryMarketingSurveys
Founded2020Unknown

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 Attribution

  • First-party data attribution
  • Multi-touch attribution
  • Privacy-compliant tracking
  • Real-time insights
  • Conversion tracking
  • Channel attribution
  • Custom reporting
  • API access

Only in SurveyCTO

  • Offline collection
  • XLSForm authoring
  • Automated quality checks
  • Audio auditing
  • Case management
  • Random assignment
  • Server region selection

What people use each for

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

Attribution

  • Marketing attributionnot SurveyCTO
  • ROI trackingnot SurveyCTO
  • Privacy-compliant trackingnot SurveyCTO
  • First-party datanot SurveyCTO

SurveyCTO

  • A household survey with 200 enumerators across a country where paying per seat would cost more than the fieldworknot Attribution
  • An impact evaluation that needs audio auditing and timing metadata to prove interviews were conducted as reportednot Attribution
  • A panel study revisiting the same households annually and needing offline case assignment to find them againnot Attribution
  • A statistics unit that must keep data inside a specific region and produce a SOC 2 report for its fundernot Attribution

Where each one falls short

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

Attribution

Nothing recorded yet. See the Attribution review.

SurveyCTO

  • Pricing is by submission volume, forms and storage rather than by users, so a small team running continuous high-volume collection can pay more than a 200-person survey team that runs for six weeks
  • Forms are authored in XLSForm spreadsheet syntax, which is precise and versionable but has a real learning curve, and organisations without someone comfortable in it stall at form design
  • Overage is charged at 100 US dollars per 1,000 extra submissions, which is easy to trigger on the Basic tier at 5,000 a month and produces surprise invoices during an active field round
  • Server region selection only appears on the Pro tier and a custom GDPR data processing agreement only on Advanced, so European data protection requirements push the price to at least 315 and often 630 dollars a month regardless of volume
  • It is built for structured research fieldwork, not for business process forms, so it has no dispatch, no invoicing and no formatted document output, and a field service business would be buying the wrong tool

Pricing, plan by plan

Attribution

$2000/month
  • Starter$2000/month
    • Up to 5 channels
    • Basic attribution
    • Monthly reports
  • Professional$5000/month
    • Unlimited channels
    • Advanced attribution
    • Weekly reports
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom implementation
    • Real-time attribution
    • Dedicated support

SurveyCTO

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Permanent free subscription for testing and training
    • 10 forms
    • 200 monthly submissions
  • Basic$225/month
    • Billed annually, 250 USD month to month
    • 100 forms
    • 10 GB storage
  • Pro$315/month
    • Billed annually, 350 USD month to month
    • 500 forms
    • 25 GB storage
  • Advanced$630/month
    • Billed annually, 700 USD month to month
    • Unlimited forms, storage and submissions
    • Advanced offline case management

Which should you pick?

Choose Attribution if

  • You need first-party data attribution.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
  • You also want multi-touch attribution.
Attribution review

Choose SurveyCTO if

  • You need offline collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, iOS.
  • You also want xlsform authoring.
SurveyCTO review

Questions people ask

Is Attribution or SurveyCTO better?
Neither clearly leads. Attribution starts at $2000/month and SurveyCTO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Attribution or SurveyCTO?
SurveyCTO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $2000/month for Attribution and Free for SurveyCTO.
Does Attribution or SurveyCTO run on more platforms?
Attribution runs on Web, Mobile, Api. SurveyCTO runs on Web, Android, iOS.
Can I use SurveyCTO for free?
Yes. SurveyCTO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Attribution starts at $2000/month.
What is Attribution best used for?
Attribution is most often used for marketing attribution, roi tracking, privacy-compliant tracking, first-party data. Of those, marketing attribution and roi tracking are not what SurveyCTO is typically brought in for.
What can Attribution do that SurveyCTO cannot?
Attribution covers First-party data attribution, Multi-touch attribution, Privacy-compliant tracking, Real-time insights. SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

No. Users and devices are unlimited on every paid tier. You pay for monthly submissions, forms and storage.

SurveyCTO: Is there a free version?

Yes, a permanent community subscription with 10 forms, 200 monthly submissions and 200 MB of storage, intended for testing and training rather than production.

SurveyCTO: What happens if I exceed my submissions?

Extra credits are 100 US dollars per 1,000, with discounts of 20 per cent or more at volume. Plan the tier around your peak field month, not your average.

SurveyCTO: Can I choose where the data is stored?

Only on Pro and above. If data residency matters, budget for at least the Pro tier.

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