Softwr

Surveys · head to head

Device Magic vs SurveyCTO

Device Magic logo

Device Magic

Surveys

Offline mobile forms for field crews, quote-only with a three user minimum, now under GoCanvas

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SurveyCTO logo

SurveyCTO

Surveys

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SurveyCTO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Device Magic neither plan publishes a price and both carry a three user minimum billed annually, so a two-person business cannot buy it at all and a small firm cannot benchmark the quote against published competitors; 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
  • They diverge on capability: Device Magic covers Fully offline capture, SurveyCTO covers Offline collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Device Magic and SurveyCTO actually diverge.

Attributes where Device Magic and SurveyCTO differ
AttributeDevice MagicSurveyCTO
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquotePer month by submission volume
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Android, iOS

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 Device Magic

  • Fully offline capture
  • Formatted PDF output
  • Destinations
  • Dispatch and scheduling
  • Resource data
  • Conditional logic
  • White labelling

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.

Device Magic

  • A mechanical contractor whose service certificates must reach the customer as a specific PDF layout immediately after the visitnot SurveyCTO
  • An inspection crew working in basements and rural sites where there is no signal for most of the working daynot SurveyCTO
  • A utility that needs the day's jobs dispatched to named engineers with the right form attached to each onenot SurveyCTO
  • A business replacing carbon-copy job sheets where the office currently re-keys every sheet into an accounting systemnot SurveyCTO

SurveyCTO

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

Where each one falls short

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

Device Magic

  • Neither plan publishes a price and both carry a three user minimum billed annually, so a two-person business cannot buy it at all and a small firm cannot benchmark the quote against published competitors
  • Device Magic is now part of GoCanvas, which sells an overlapping mobile forms product, so buyers should ask directly about long-term investment in Device Magic before signing a multi-year term
  • Per user per month pricing means seasonal and occasional field staff consume full seats, and businesses with a large casual crew pay for licences that are used a few weeks a year
  • It captures and delivers data but does not manage the work itself, so there is no job costing, no scheduling depth and no invoicing, and it usually sits alongside a field service management system rather than replacing one
  • PDF layout control is the main reason to buy it and is also the most fiddly part of the product; complex certificate layouts take real configuration effort and are not something a field supervisor will maintain

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

Device Magic

On request
  • Max$undefined/month
    • Per user per month, billed annually
    • Three user minimum
    • Unlimited forms and submissions
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Per user per month, billed annually
    • Three user minimum
    • Everything in Max

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 Device Magic if

  • You need fully offline capture.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want formatted pdf output.
Device Magic 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 Device Magic or SurveyCTO better?
Neither clearly leads. Device Magic starts at On request and SurveyCTO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Device Magic or SurveyCTO?
SurveyCTO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Device Magic and Free for SurveyCTO.
Does Device Magic or SurveyCTO run on more platforms?
Device Magic runs on iOS, Android, Web. 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. Device Magic starts at On request.
What is Device Magic best used for?
Device Magic is most often used for a mechanical contractor whose service certificates must reach the customer as a specific pdf layout immediately after the visit, an inspection crew working in basements and rural sites where there is no signal for most of the working day, a utility that needs the day's jobs dispatched to named engineers with the right form attached to each one, a business replacing carbon-copy job sheets where the office currently re-keys every sheet into an accounting system. Of those, a mechanical contractor whose service certificates must reach the customer as a specific pdf layout immediately after the visit and an inspection crew working in basements and rural sites where there is no signal for most of the working day are not what SurveyCTO is typically brought in for.
What can Device Magic do that SurveyCTO cannot?
Device Magic covers Fully offline capture, Formatted PDF output, Destinations, Dispatch and scheduling. SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Device Magic: What does Device Magic cost?

It does not publish prices. Both the Max and Enterprise plans are per user per month billed annually with a three user minimum, and you get a figure from sales.

SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

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

Device Magic: Who owns Device Magic?

It is part of GoCanvas, which also sells a competing mobile forms product.

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.

Device Magic: Does it work with no signal?

Yes, that is the main use case. Forms and reference data are held on the device and submissions sync when connectivity returns.

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.

Device Magic: Is there a submission limit?

No. Both plans list unlimited forms, unlimited submissions and unlimited lifetime data storage, so the cost variable is seats.

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.

Share

Related pages

More on Device Magic

More on SurveyCTO

Keep looking

Other head to heads