Softwr

Surveys · head to head

KoboToolbox vs Medallia

KoboToolbox logo

KoboToolbox

Surveys

Offline-first data collection for humanitarian, development and research field work

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medallia logo

Medallia

Surveys

Enterprise experience management platform for customer, employee and contact centre feedback

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only KoboToolbox has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: KoboToolbox the free Community plan caps at 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage, and any form collecting photographs exhausts storage long before it exhausts the submission count.; Medallia there is no published pricing and no self-serve tier, so evaluating cost requires a sales process before any real budgeting can happen.
  • They diverge on capability: KoboToolbox covers Offline data collection, Medallia covers Multi-channel feedback capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which KoboToolbox and Medallia actually diverge.

Attributes where KoboToolbox and Medallia differ
AttributeKoboToolboxMedallia
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by submission countquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Android, Self-hostedWeb, iOS, Android

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 KoboToolbox

  • Offline data collection
  • XLSForm and browser form builder
  • Skip logic and validation
  • Multilingual forms
  • GPS and media capture
  • Case management
  • Exports and analysis
  • Self-hosting

Only in Medallia

  • Multi-channel feedback capture
  • AI text and sentiment analysis
  • Role-based reporting
  • Contact centre analytics
  • Experience orchestration
  • Market research tools

What people use each for

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

KoboToolbox

  • A rapid needs assessment after a disaster where enumerators work for days without mobile coveragenot Medallia
  • A ministry of health running a national survey that must be self-hosted in country for data protection reasonsnot Medallia
  • An NGO running the same longitudinal household survey in four languages across three countriesnot Medallia
  • A research group that needs a free instrument for a modest sample and an SPSS export at the endnot Medallia

Medallia

  • A retail or hospitality chain that wants customer feedback, digital behaviour and call transcripts unified in one platformnot KoboToolbox
  • An enterprise with a dedicated CX team needing role-based dashboards from frontline staff to the executive teamnot KoboToolbox
  • A contact centre wanting agent coaching and quality management driven by the same data as customer satisfaction scoresnot KoboToolbox
  • A company running employee and customer experience programmes and wanting one vendor across bothnot KoboToolbox

Where each one falls short

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

KoboToolbox

  • The free Community plan caps at 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of file storage, and any form collecting photographs exhausts storage long before it exhausts the submission count.
  • The Starter paid plan allows only 1,000 submissions a month for $21, which is fewer than the free nonprofit tier, so a small commercial user pays more for less than a charity gets free.
  • Eligibility for the free plan depends on Kobo's assessment of your organisation and purpose, which introduces an approval step that a consultancy working on behalf of an NGO may not clear.
  • Self-hosting is genuinely possible but the stack is substantial to deploy and maintain, so a ministry choosing it for data residency reasons takes on real infrastructure staffing cost.
  • Analysis and reporting inside the platform are basic compared with dedicated tools, so most serious use exports to Excel, Power BI or statistical software, and that export step is where data governance often gets loose.

Medallia

  • There is no published pricing and no self-serve tier, so evaluating cost requires a sales process before any real budgeting can happen.
  • Implementation is a project, not a signup, and typically involves data integration and consulting work before the platform produces usable dashboards.
  • The breadth of modules means a buyer who only needs a simple survey tool is paying for enterprise infrastructure they will not use.
  • Switching away later means re-architecting how feedback is collected across the organisation, which creates real vendor lock-in once rolled out.
  • Smaller teams and mid-market companies are effectively priced out, since the platform and its go-to-market are built for large enterprise accounts.

Pricing, plan by plan

KoboToolbox

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • Free for qualifying nonprofit and public good organisations
    • 5,000 submissions per month
    • 1 GB file storage
  • Starter$21/month
    • 1,000 submissions per month
    • 0.5 GB file storage
    • For private and for-profit use
  • Professional$129/month
    • 25,000 submissions per month or 300,000 per year
    • Unlimited file storage
    • Priority support
  • Teams$undefined/month
    • 50,000 submissions per month or 600,000 per year
    • Shared team administration
    • Pricing published by plan tier

Medallia

On request
  • Medallia Experience Cloud$undefined/year
    • No published pricing, sold as a multi-year enterprise contract
    • Pricing depends on modules (CX, EX, contact centre, market research)
    • Implementation and integration typically charged separately

Which should you pick?

Choose KoboToolbox if

  • You need offline data collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Android, Self-hosted.
  • You also want xlsform and browser form builder.
KoboToolbox review

Choose Medallia if

  • You need multi-channel feedback capture.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want ai text and sentiment analysis.
Medallia review

Questions people ask

Is KoboToolbox or Medallia better?
Neither clearly leads. KoboToolbox starts at Free and Medallia at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, KoboToolbox or Medallia?
KoboToolbox has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for KoboToolbox and On request for Medallia.
Does KoboToolbox or Medallia run on more platforms?
KoboToolbox runs on Web, Android, Self-hosted. Medallia runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use KoboToolbox for free?
Yes. KoboToolbox has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Medallia starts at On request.
What is KoboToolbox best used for?
KoboToolbox is most often used for a rapid needs assessment after a disaster where enumerators work for days without mobile coverage, a ministry of health running a national survey that must be self-hosted in country for data protection reasons, an ngo running the same longitudinal household survey in four languages across three countries, a research group that needs a free instrument for a modest sample and an spss export at the end. Of those, a rapid needs assessment after a disaster where enumerators work for days without mobile coverage and a ministry of health running a national survey that must be self-hosted in country for data protection reasons are not what Medallia is typically brought in for.
What can KoboToolbox do that Medallia cannot?
KoboToolbox covers Offline data collection, XLSForm and browser form builder, Skip logic and validation, Multilingual forms. Medallia covers Multi-channel feedback capture, AI text and sentiment analysis, Role-based reporting, Contact centre analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

KoboToolbox: Is KoboToolbox free?

Free for qualifying nonprofit and public good organisations under the Community plan, currently 5,000 submissions a month and 1 GB of storage. Commercial use requires a paid plan from $21 a month.

Medallia: Is there a self-serve or free version?

No. Medallia sells only through direct sales with quoted enterprise contracts; there is no published price list.

KoboToolbox: Who funds it?

Kobo Inc is a US nonprofit funded roughly 38 per cent by grants and contributions and 62 per cent by service contracts, subscriptions and training, based on its 2024 figures.

Medallia: Can a mid-sized company buy Medallia?

Technically yes, but the sales motion, implementation cost and contract structure are built for large enterprise deployments, not smaller teams.

KoboToolbox: Can I host it myself?

Yes. The server stack is open source and is regularly deployed in country for data residency reasons.

Medallia: Does it replace a standalone survey tool?

It can collect surveys, but its value is in unifying multiple feedback channels; a company only needing surveys is better served by a cheaper dedicated tool.

KoboToolbox: Are forms portable?

Yes. It uses XLSForm and ODK standards, so instruments move between Kobo and other ODK-compatible servers.

Share

Related pages

More on KoboToolbox

More on Medallia

Keep looking

Other head to heads