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Surveys · head to head

LimeSurvey vs Plausible

LimeSurvey logo

LimeSurvey

Surveys

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plausible logo

Plausible

Marketing

Simple, privacy-friendly analytics

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LimeSurvey has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: LimeSurvey self-hosting shifts patching, backups and PHP upgrades onto your own team, and neglected installations become a security liability holding participant data.; Plausible there is no free tier, only a 30 day trial
  • They diverge on capability: LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment, Plausible covers Page view tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LimeSurvey and Plausible actually diverge.

Attributes where LimeSurvey and Plausible differ
AttributeLimeSurveyPlausible
Starting priceFree$9/month
Pricing modelOpen source, with paid cloud hostingsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWeb
CategorySurveysMarketing
FoundedUnknown2018

Identical on both: 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 LimeSurvey

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

Only in Plausible

  • Page view tracking
  • Goal tracking
  • Real-time analytics
  • Outbound link click tracking
  • Privacy-focused
  • No cookies
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

LimeSurvey

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

Plausible

  • Privacy-focused web analytics without cookies or personal datanot LimeSurvey
  • A Google Analytics replacement that needs no consent bannernot LimeSurvey
  • Self-hosted analytics on your own infrastructurenot LimeSurvey
  • EU-hosted measurement for data residency requirementsnot LimeSurvey

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Plausible

  • There is no free tier, only a 30 day trial
  • Paid plans are metered on monthly pageviews, so a traffic spike moves you up a plan
  • Self-hosting is possible but means running and updating the service yourself
  • Deliberately simple, so there are no user-level profiles or funnel-by-individual reports the way a cookie-based analytics tool provides

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Plausible

$9/month
  • Starter$9/month
    • Up to 10k monthly pageviews
    • 1 site
    • 3 years data retention
  • Growth$14/month
    • Up to 3 sites
    • Up to 3 team members
  • Business$19/month
    • Up to 10 sites
    • Up to 10 team members
    • 5 years data retention
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • 10+ sites
    • Custom pricing

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Plausible if

  • You need page view tracking.
  • You also want goal tracking.
Plausible review

Questions people ask

Is LimeSurvey or Plausible better?
Neither clearly leads. LimeSurvey starts at Free and Plausible at $9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LimeSurvey or Plausible?
LimeSurvey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LimeSurvey and $9/month for Plausible.
Does LimeSurvey or Plausible run on more platforms?
LimeSurvey runs on Web, Self-hosted. Plausible runs on Web.
Can I use LimeSurvey for free?
Yes. LimeSurvey has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plausible starts at $9/month.
What is LimeSurvey best used for?
LimeSurvey is most often used for a university study whose ethics approval requires participant data to stay on institutional servers, a public body procuring survey software under european data protection rules, a market research agency running multilingual instruments with quotas and screening logic, a team that needs complex matrix and ranking questions consumer form builders do not support. Of those, a university study whose ethics approval requires participant data to stay on institutional servers and a public body procuring survey software under european data protection rules are not what Plausible is typically brought in for.
What can LimeSurvey do that Plausible cannot?
LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment, Question type depth, Expression manager, Quotas and screening. Plausible covers Page view tracking, Goal tracking, Real-time analytics, Outbound link click tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Plausible: How much does Plausible Analytics cost?

Plausible offers plans starting at $9/month for the Starter tier, $14/month for Growth, and $19/month for Business. Enterprise pricing is custom. All plans include a 30-day free trial without requiring a credit card.

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.

Plausible: Is there a free version of Plausible?

Plausible does not offer a free plan; however, all paid plans include a 30-day free trial with full access to features.

Source
LimeSurvey: Can it handle complex research designs?

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

Plausible: What is the difference between Plausible's pricing tiers?

The Starter plan covers up to 10k monthly pageviews for 1 site. Growth adds up to 3 sites and 3 team members. Business expands to 10 sites, 10 team members, and includes advanced features like API access and 5 years data retention.

Source
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