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Surveys · head to head

LimeSurvey vs REDCap

LimeSurvey logo

LimeSurvey

Surveys

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
REDCap logo

REDCap

Research

Research data capture licensed free to non-profits, and not licensable at all to companies

From
On request
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.; REDCap a for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • They diverge on capability: LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment, REDCap covers Form and survey designer.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LimeSurvey and REDCap actually diverge.

Attributes where LimeSurvey and REDCap differ
AttributeLimeSurveyREDCap
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOpen source, with paid cloud hostingquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWeb, Linux, Windows
CategorySurveysResearch

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 REDCap

  • Form and survey designer
  • Longitudinal projects
  • Data quality rules
  • Randomisation
  • Audit trail and e-signature
  • API and exports

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 REDCap
  • A public body procuring survey software under European data protection rulesnot REDCap
  • A market research agency running multilingual instruments with quotas and screening logicnot REDCap
  • A team that needs complex matrix and ranking questions consumer form builders do not supportnot REDCap

REDCap

  • An academic research group at an institution that already runs REDCap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build itnot LimeSurvey
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot LimeSurvey
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot LimeSurvey
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot 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.

REDCap

  • A for-profit company cannot hold a licence or self-host REDCap, so a biotech or CRO that liked it at university simply cannot deploy it the same way and must buy a commercially licensed hosted version instead.
  • Because each institution hosts its own instance, support, uptime, backup and version currency vary by university, and a researcher has no recourse to Vanderbilt when the local instance is two years out of date.
  • It is free of licence fee but not free of cost: the hosting institution carries server, security, patching and support staffing, which is why some institutions charge internal recharges per project.
  • Validation for regulated use is the deploying institution responsibility, so an instance is not Part 11 compliant simply because REDCap supports the features; someone locally has to produce and maintain the evidence.
  • The interface and reporting are dated compared with commercial survey and EDC tools, and complex logic is built through data dictionary spreadsheets rather than a modern visual builder, which slows non technical study teams.

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

REDCap

On request
  • REDCap non-profit licence$undefined/year
    • No licence fee to non-profit and government institutions that join the consortium
    • Institution must install and host it on its own infrastructure
    • For-profit organisations may not hold a licence or self-host

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 REDCap if

  • You need form and survey designer.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Windows.
  • You also want longitudinal projects.
REDCap review

Questions people ask

Is LimeSurvey or REDCap better?
Neither clearly leads. LimeSurvey starts at Free and REDCap at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LimeSurvey or REDCap?
LimeSurvey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for LimeSurvey and On request for REDCap.
Does LimeSurvey or REDCap run on more platforms?
LimeSurvey runs on Web, Self-hosted. REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows.
Can I use LimeSurvey for free?
Yes. LimeSurvey has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. REDCap starts at On request.
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 REDCap is typically brought in for.
What can LimeSurvey do that REDCap cannot?
LimeSurvey covers Self-hosted deployment, Question type depth, Expression manager, Quotas and screening. REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Randomisation.

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.

REDCap: Is REDCap really free?

The licence is free to non-profit institutions and government organisations that join the consortium, but they must host and support it themselves, so there is real internal cost.

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.

REDCap: Can my company use REDCap?

Not by holding a licence or self-hosting. For-profit organisations must use a separately licensed commercial hosted route.

LimeSurvey: Can it handle complex research designs?

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

REDCap: Is REDCap 21 CFR Part 11 compliant?

It has the features to support Part 11 use, but compliance depends on how the hosting institution configures, validates and documents its own instance.

REDCap: Who supports it?

Your local institutional REDCap administrator, not Vanderbilt. Support quality varies by site.

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