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Marketing · head to head

Kissmetrics vs SurveyCTO

Kissmetrics logo

Kissmetrics

Marketing

Customer analytics and behavioral data

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
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

  • 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; 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: Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, SurveyCTO covers Offline collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kissmetrics and SurveyCTO actually diverge.

Attributes where Kissmetrics and SurveyCTO differ
AttributeKissmetricsSurveyCTO
Pricing modelfreemiumPer month by submission volume
PlatformsWebWeb, Android, iOS
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 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.

Kissmetrics

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

SurveyCTO

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

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

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

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 Kissmetrics if

  • You need customer analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want behavioral tracking.
Kissmetrics 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 Kissmetrics or SurveyCTO better?
Neither clearly leads. Kissmetrics starts at Free and SurveyCTO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kissmetrics or SurveyCTO?
Kissmetrics starts at Free and SurveyCTO at Free.
Does Kissmetrics or SurveyCTO run on more platforms?
Kissmetrics runs on Web. SurveyCTO runs on Web, Android, iOS.
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 SurveyCTO is typically brought in for.
What can Kissmetrics do that SurveyCTO cannot?
Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, Behavioral tracking, Cohort analysis, Funnel analysis. SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing.

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
SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

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

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
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.

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics offer annual discounts?

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

Source
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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