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Marketing · head to head

Postscript vs SurveyCTO

Postscript logo

Postscript

Marketing

SMS marketing built for Shopify merchants, with carrier fees billed on top of message rates

From
$49/month
Free plan
No
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

  • Only SurveyCTO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Postscript carrier pass-through fees are billed on top of the per-message rate, roughly $0.00418 per SMS and $0.00841 per MMS in the United States, and are routinely missing from the cost comparisons buyers build.; 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: Postscript covers Shopify segmentation, SurveyCTO covers Offline collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Postscript and SurveyCTO actually diverge.

Attributes where Postscript and SurveyCTO differ
AttributePostscriptSurveyCTO
Starting price$49/monthFree
Pricing modelPer month plus per message sentPer month by submission volume
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOSWeb, Android, iOS
CategoryMarketingSurveys

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 Postscript

  • Shopify segmentation
  • Automated flows
  • Subscriber acquisition
  • Two-way conversations
  • MMS campaigns
  • Revenue attribution
  • Headless SDK
  • Usage-based tiers

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.

Postscript

  • A Shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inboxnot SurveyCTO
  • A brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanismnot SurveyCTO
  • A merchant segmenting by past purchase and variant to send replenishment reminders at the right intervalnot SurveyCTO
  • A store on headless Shopify or a custom stack that still wants SMS built on order data through the SDKnot SurveyCTO

SurveyCTO

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

Where each one falls short

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

Postscript

  • Carrier pass-through fees are billed on top of the per-message rate, roughly $0.00418 per SMS and $0.00841 per MMS in the United States, and are routinely missing from the cost comparisons buyers build.
  • The cheapest per-message rates require the $500 a month plan, so a small sender pays more than double the headline low rate per text.
  • The $0 Starter plan carries a $49 minimum monthly spend, so it is not a free tier and quiet months still generate a bill.
  • US SMS marketing carries real legal exposure under consent, quiet hours and carrier registration rules, and the compliance obligation sits with the merchant, not the platform.
  • It is SMS and MMS only, so email, push and on-site messaging live in a separate tool and audience suppression between the two has to be managed across systems.

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

Postscript

$49/month
  • Starter$49/month
    • $0 base fee but a $49 minimum monthly spend
    • SMS at $0.015 and MMS at $0.045 per message
    • Campaigns, automations, acquisition tools and analytics
  • Growth$100/month
    • Lower per-message rates than Starter
    • Full campaign and automation feature set
    • No contract required
  • Professional$500/month
    • Rates falling towards $0.007 SMS and $0.024 MMS
    • Suited to high-volume senders
    • Upgrade or downgrade at any time
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing on a contract
    • Negotiated message rates and support terms

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 Postscript if

  • You need shopify segmentation.
  • You work on Web, iOS.
  • You also want automated flows.
Postscript 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 Postscript or SurveyCTO better?
Neither clearly leads. Postscript starts at $49/month and SurveyCTO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Postscript or SurveyCTO?
SurveyCTO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $49/month for Postscript and Free for SurveyCTO.
Does Postscript or SurveyCTO run on more platforms?
Postscript runs on Web, iOS. SurveyCTO runs on Web, Android, iOS.
Can I use SurveyCTO for free?
Yes. SurveyCTO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Postscript starts at $49/month.
What is Postscript best used for?
Postscript is most often used for a shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inbox, a brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanism, a merchant segmenting by past purchase and variant to send replenishment reminders at the right interval, a store on headless shopify or a custom stack that still wants sms built on order data through the sdk. Of those, a shopify direct-to-consumer brand that wants abandoned cart recovery by text rather than another email in an ignored inbox and a brand running a product drop where a timed broadcast to an opted-in list is the whole launch mechanism are not what SurveyCTO is typically brought in for.
What can Postscript do that SurveyCTO cannot?
Postscript covers Shopify segmentation, Automated flows, Subscriber acquisition, Two-way conversations. SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Postscript: Is Postscript only for Shopify?

It is built for Shopify and that is where its segmentation advantage lies, but headless and non-Shopify stores are supported through an SDK with more setup work.

SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

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

Postscript: What is the real cost per text?

The plan rate plus carrier fees. On Starter that is about $0.015 plus roughly $0.00418 in US carrier fees per SMS, so budget close to two cents a message before discounts.

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.

Postscript: Is the Starter plan free?

No. The base fee is $0 but there is a $49 minimum monthly spend, so it functions as a $49 floor.

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.

Postscript: Do I need a contract?

No. Contracts are offered but not required, and plans can be moved up or down at any time under usage-based billing.

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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