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Marketing · head to head

Kissmetrics vs LimeSurvey

Kissmetrics logo

Kissmetrics

Marketing

Customer analytics and behavioral data

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
LimeSurvey logo

LimeSurvey

Surveys

Open source survey software you can self-host, with German-hosted cloud as the alternative

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kissmetrics overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point; LimeSurvey self-hosting shifts patching, backups and PHP upgrades onto your own team, and neglected installations become a security liability holding participant data.
  • They diverge on capability: Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kissmetrics and LimeSurvey actually diverge.

Attributes where Kissmetrics and LimeSurvey differ
AttributeKissmetricsLimeSurvey
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, with paid cloud hosting
PlatformsWebWeb, Self-hosted
CategoryMarketingSurveys
Founded2009Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Kissmetrics

  • Customer analytics
  • Behavioral tracking
  • Cohort analysis
  • Funnel analysis
  • Salesforce
  • GDPR
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

Only in LimeSurvey

  • Self-hosted deployment
  • Question type depth
  • Expression manager
  • Quotas and screening
  • Multilingual surveys
  • Participant management

What people use each for

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

Kissmetrics

  • Product analytics and user behavior trackingnot LimeSurvey
  • Event-based analyticsnot LimeSurvey
  • Data integration and reportingnot LimeSurvey

LimeSurvey

  • A university study whose ethics approval requires participant data to stay on institutional serversnot Kissmetrics
  • A public body procuring survey software under European data protection rulesnot Kissmetrics
  • A market research agency running multilingual instruments with quotas and screening logicnot Kissmetrics
  • A team that needs complex matrix and ranking questions consumer form builders do not supportnot Kissmetrics

Where each one falls short

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

Kissmetrics

  • Overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point
  • The free plan allows 100,000 events a month
  • Per event rates fall with volume, from $0.20 per 1,000 events on Growth to $0.10 on Gold, so smaller customers pay double per event
  • The vendor states Growth, Silver and Gold are the identical product, so the paid tiers differ only in unit price and volume
  • Anything above 5 million events is custom priced

LimeSurvey

  • Self-hosting shifts patching, backups and PHP upgrades onto your own team, and neglected installations become a security liability holding participant data.
  • The default interface and themes look dated beside Typeform or Jotform, which measurably lowers completion rates on consumer-facing surveys.
  • Cloud plans are capped on responses per period, so an unexpectedly successful field wave can force an upgrade in the middle of data collection.
  • Serious theming and layout changes require template and CSS work rather than a visual designer, so agencies often budget developer time per project.
  • Support on the free edition is community forums only, and paid support is a separate purchase, which is a poor fit for teams with no technical staff.

Pricing, plan by plan

Kissmetrics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100,000 events/month
    • Autocapture tracking
    • AI chat
  • Growth$99/month
    • Starting at 500k events
    • $0.20 per 1k events
    • Populations
  • Silver$null/month
    • $0.15 per 1k events
    • All Growth features
  • Gold$null/month
    • $0.10 per 1k events (at 5M+ events)
    • All Growth features

LimeSurvey

Free
  • Community Edition (self-hosted)Free
    • Free under the GNU General Public Licence
    • No response limits imposed by the vendor
    • Hosting, patching, backups and upgrades are your responsibility
  • LimeSurvey Cloud$undefined/year
    • Hosted on servers in Germany
    • Tiered on responses and storage per period rather than per user
    • Higher tiers add branding removal, more storage and support

Which should you pick?

Choose Kissmetrics if

  • You need customer analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want behavioral tracking.
Kissmetrics review

Choose LimeSurvey if

  • You need self-hosted deployment.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want question type depth.
LimeSurvey review

Questions people ask

Is Kissmetrics or LimeSurvey better?
Neither clearly leads. Kissmetrics starts at Free and LimeSurvey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kissmetrics or LimeSurvey?
Kissmetrics starts at Free and LimeSurvey at Free.
Does Kissmetrics or LimeSurvey run on more platforms?
Kissmetrics runs on Web. LimeSurvey runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use Kissmetrics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kissmetrics best used for?
Kissmetrics is most often used for product analytics and user behavior tracking, event-based analytics, data integration and reporting. Of those, product analytics and user behavior tracking and event-based analytics are not what LimeSurvey is typically brought in for.
What can Kissmetrics do that LimeSurvey cannot?
Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, Behavioral tracking, Cohort analysis, Funnel analysis. LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment, Question type depth, Expression manager, Quotas and screening.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics have a free plan?

Yes, KISSmetrics offers a free plan with 100,000 events/month including autocapture tracking, dashboards, and core reports. No card required.

Source
LimeSurvey: Is LimeSurvey really free?

The self-hosted Community Edition is free under the GPL with no vendor response limits. The hosted cloud is paid and tiered by response volume.

Kissmetrics: What does KISSmetrics charge for paid plans?

Growth plan starts at $99/month for 500k events, charging $0.20 per additional 1k events. Silver and Gold tiers offer lower per-event rates at higher volumes.

Source
LimeSurvey: Where is cloud data stored?

On servers in Germany, which is why public sector and academic buyers choose it over United States hosted competitors.

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics offer annual discounts?

Yes, annual plans receive 20% off monthly rates. Overage charges are automatically added to the next invoice.

Source
LimeSurvey: Can it handle complex research designs?

Yes. Quotas, randomisation, piping and matrix question types are core features rather than enterprise add-ons.

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