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Marketing · head to head

CleverTap vs Zoho Survey

CleverTap logo

CleverTap

Marketing

Mobile-first engagement and retention analytics billed on monthly active users

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Zoho Survey logo

Zoho Survey

Surveys

Survey tool with a choice of data centre region, bundled into the wider Zoho suite

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoho Survey has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CleverTap the platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.; Zoho Survey the data centre region is set when the Zoho account is created and changing it later requires a vendor-assisted migration, so a hasty signup can lock an organisation into the wrong jurisdiction.
  • They diverge on capability: CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Zoho Survey covers Regional data centres.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CleverTap and Zoho Survey actually diverge.

Attributes where CleverTap and Zoho Survey differ
AttributeCleverTapZoho Survey
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree tier, then per user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, REST APIWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryMarketingSurveys

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 CleverTap

  • Cross-channel journeys
  • Product analytics
  • TesseractDB
  • Clever.AI
  • Experiments
  • Web and app personalisation

Only in Zoho Survey

  • Regional data centres
  • Zoho CRM integration
  • Logic and piping
  • Offline collection
  • Multilingual surveys
  • Report sharing

What people use each for

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

CleverTap

  • A consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profilesnot Zoho Survey
  • Reactivating lapsed users with push and WhatsApp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membershipnot Zoho Survey
  • Running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with itnot Zoho Survey
  • Consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipelinenot Zoho Survey

Zoho Survey

  • An organisation already running Zoho CRM that wants survey responses on the customer record without integration worknot CleverTap
  • A buyer whose procurement requires European, Indian, Australian or Canadian data residencynot CleverTap
  • A support team measuring satisfaction after tickets close in Zoho Desknot CleverTap
  • A field team collecting responses offline and syncing when connectivity returnsnot CleverTap

Where each one falls short

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

CleverTap

  • The platform assumes the mobile app is the main surface, so teams whose lifecycle runs mostly through the browser or through long B2B email sequences pay for capability they will not use.
  • Billing on monthly active users is cheaper for dormant-heavy bases but more expensive for products with high activity rates, and the definition of an active user is set in the contract rather than by you.
  • Event volume caps sit alongside the user caps, so a chatty instrumentation plan can trigger overage charges that are negotiated rather than published.
  • Deliverability support for email is thinner than at dedicated email providers, and teams sending high email volumes often keep a separate ESP for the largest campaigns.
  • Segmentation quality depends entirely on the event taxonomy, so without an owner who governs event naming the reports and segments diverge from reality within a couple of releases.

Zoho Survey

  • The data centre region is set when the Zoho account is created and changing it later requires a vendor-assisted migration, so a hasty signup can lock an organisation into the wrong jurisdiction.
  • The free tier caps both questions and responses per survey tightly, so it functions as an evaluation rather than a plan any team can run on.
  • Reporting and statistical analysis are thin compared with research-grade tools, and advanced methods such as conjoint or maximum difference scaling are absent.
  • Integrations outside the Zoho suite are shallow, so organisations on Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft stacks lose most of the value that makes the product attractive.
  • Interface conventions and quality vary across Zoho applications, so users moving between Survey, CRM and Analytics face inconsistent behaviour and separate learning curves.

Pricing, plan by plan

CleverTap

On request
  • Essentials$undefined/year
    • Billed on monthly active users rather than stored profiles
    • Push, in-app and web messaging
    • Standard segmentation and analytics
  • Advanced$undefined/year
    • Adds email, SMS and WhatsApp channels
    • Journey orchestration and experiments
    • Higher event and MAU allowances
  • Cutting Edge$undefined/year
    • Full AI and personalisation modules
    • Extended data retention
    • Dedicated technical account management

Zoho Survey

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited surveys with a cap on questions and responses per survey
    • Basic reporting and link or email distribution
    • Zoho branding on surveys
  • Paid tiers$undefined/year
    • Priced per user with higher response allowances at each tier
    • Skip logic, piping, white labelling and offline collection unlocked by tier
    • Included for organisations licensing the Zoho One suite

Which should you pick?

Choose CleverTap if

  • You need cross-channel journeys.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, REST API.
  • You also want product analytics.
CleverTap review

Choose Zoho Survey if

  • You need regional data centres.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want zoho crm integration.
Zoho Survey review

Questions people ask

Is CleverTap or Zoho Survey better?
Neither clearly leads. CleverTap starts at On request and Zoho Survey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CleverTap or Zoho Survey?
Zoho Survey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for CleverTap and Free for Zoho Survey.
Does CleverTap or Zoho Survey run on more platforms?
CleverTap runs on Web, iOS, Android, REST API. Zoho Survey runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Zoho Survey for free?
Yes. Zoho Survey has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CleverTap starts at On request.
What is CleverTap best used for?
CleverTap is most often used for a consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profiles, reactivating lapsed users with push and whatsapp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membership, running holdout tests to prove that lifecycle messaging causes retention rather than correlating with it, consolidating a separate analytics tool and a separate messaging tool into a single event pipeline. Of those, a consumer app with millions of installs but low monthly activity that does not want to pay for dormant profiles and reactivating lapsed users with push and whatsapp sequences triggered by behaviour rather than by list membership are not what Zoho Survey is typically brought in for.
What can CleverTap do that Zoho Survey cannot?
CleverTap covers Cross-channel journeys, Product analytics, TesseractDB, Clever.AI. Zoho Survey covers Regional data centres, Zoho CRM integration, Logic and piping, Offline collection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CleverTap: Does CleverTap charge for users who stopped opening the app?

No. Billing is on monthly active users, so a dormant account stops counting without you deleting anything, which is the opposite of contact-based email pricing.

Zoho Survey: Can I choose where my survey data is stored?

Yes, at account creation across several regions including Europe, India, Australia and Canada. Changing it afterwards requires a migration request to Zoho.

CleverTap: Can it replace a product analytics tool?

For funnels, cohorts and retention it usually can. For exploratory analysis across many custom properties, teams tend to keep a warehouse copy and query it directly.

Zoho Survey: Is it included in Zoho One?

Yes. If your organisation licences Zoho One, Survey is part of the suite, which usually removes the case for a separate survey subscription.

CleverTap: What happened to Leanplum customers?

CleverTap acquired Leanplum in 2022 and migrated customers onto its own platform, so Leanplum contracts are not a live option.

Zoho Survey: Is it good enough for market research?

For basic questionnaires yes. For quota-managed or statistically demanding studies, a research-grade platform is a better fit.

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