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Surveys · head to head

Device Magic vs LimeSurvey

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
LimeSurvey logo

LimeSurvey

Surveys

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LimeSurvey 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; 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: Device Magic covers Fully offline capture, LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Device Magic and LimeSurvey differ
AttributeDevice MagicLimeSurvey
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteOpen source, with paid cloud hosting
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb, Self-hosted

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 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.

Device Magic

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

LimeSurvey

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

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

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

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 Device Magic if

  • You need fully offline capture.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want formatted pdf output.
Device Magic 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 Device Magic or LimeSurvey better?
Neither clearly leads. Device Magic starts at On request and LimeSurvey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Device Magic or LimeSurvey?
LimeSurvey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Device Magic and Free for LimeSurvey.
Does Device Magic or LimeSurvey run on more platforms?
Device Magic runs on iOS, Android, Web. LimeSurvey runs on Web, Self-hosted.
Can I use LimeSurvey for free?
Yes. LimeSurvey 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 LimeSurvey is typically brought in for.
What can Device Magic do that LimeSurvey cannot?
Device Magic covers Fully offline capture, Formatted PDF output, Destinations, Dispatch and scheduling. LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment, Question type depth, Expression manager, Quotas and screening.

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.

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.

Device Magic: Who owns Device Magic?

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

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.

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.

LimeSurvey: Can it handle complex research designs?

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

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.

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