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Surveys · head to head

QuestionPro vs SurveyCTO

QuestionPro logo

QuestionPro

Surveys

Survey and experience management platform with a permanently free tier capped at 200 responses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SurveyCTO logo

SurveyCTO

Surveys

Offline field survey platform priced by submissions rather than seats, built for research data quality

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: QuestionPro team Edition has a five-seat minimum, so a small team that only needs two or three licences still pays for five.; 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: QuestionPro covers Survey builder, SurveyCTO covers Offline collection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which QuestionPro and SurveyCTO actually diverge.

Attributes where QuestionPro and SurveyCTO differ
AttributeQuestionProSurveyCTO
Pricing modelPer user per monthPer month by submission volume
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Android, iOS

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 QuestionPro

  • Survey builder
  • QuestionPro CX
  • QuestionPro Workforce
  • Research Suite
  • Offline data collection
  • White label reporting

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.

QuestionPro

  • A researcher or student who needs unlimited surveys but stays under 200 responses and wants to pay nothingnot SurveyCTO
  • A single analyst who needs advanced logic and unlimited responses and can justify one Advanced seatnot SurveyCTO
  • A CX team that wants closed-loop case management bundled with survey distributionnot SurveyCTO
  • A market research agency needing MaxDiff and conjoint analysis that SurveyMonkey does not offernot SurveyCTO

SurveyCTO

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

Where each one falls short

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

QuestionPro

  • Team Edition has a five-seat minimum, so a small team that only needs two or three licences still pays for five.
  • CX, Workforce and Research Suite are effectively separate products with their own pricing and onboarding, not tiers of the same subscription, which complicates a multi-department rollout.
  • The free Essentials plan caps at 200 responses per survey, which a single moderately popular customer survey can exceed in days.
  • The interface is denser than Typeform or SurveyMonkey, and teams that want a fast, visually simple survey builder often find QuestionPro slower to set up.
  • Enterprise CX and Research Suite pricing is never published, so budgeting for a programme rollout requires a sales conversation before any commitment is possible.

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

QuestionPro

Free
  • EssentialsFree
    • 1 user
    • 200 responses per survey
    • Unlimited surveys and questions
  • Advanced$99/month
    • 1 user
    • Unlimited responses
    • Advanced logic and reporting
  • Team Edition$83/month
    • Minimum 5 users, billed per seat
    • Collaboration and role permissions
    • Advanced analysis tools
  • CX, Workforce, Research Suite$undefined/year
    • Sold as separate products with separate quotes
    • Volume and module dependent

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 QuestionPro if

  • You need survey builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want questionpro cx.
QuestionPro 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 QuestionPro or SurveyCTO better?
Neither clearly leads. QuestionPro starts at Free and SurveyCTO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, QuestionPro or SurveyCTO?
QuestionPro starts at Free and SurveyCTO at Free.
Does QuestionPro or SurveyCTO run on more platforms?
QuestionPro runs on Web, iOS, Android. SurveyCTO runs on Web, Android, iOS.
Can I use QuestionPro for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is QuestionPro best used for?
QuestionPro is most often used for a researcher or student who needs unlimited surveys but stays under 200 responses and wants to pay nothing, a single analyst who needs advanced logic and unlimited responses and can justify one advanced seat, a cx team that wants closed-loop case management bundled with survey distribution, a market research agency needing maxdiff and conjoint analysis that surveymonkey does not offer. Of those, a researcher or student who needs unlimited surveys but stays under 200 responses and wants to pay nothing and a single analyst who needs advanced logic and unlimited responses and can justify one advanced seat are not what SurveyCTO is typically brought in for.
What can QuestionPro do that SurveyCTO cannot?
QuestionPro covers Survey builder, QuestionPro CX, QuestionPro Workforce, Research Suite. SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

QuestionPro: Is the free plan actually usable long-term?

Yes. Essentials has no time limit, but it caps at 200 responses per survey and one user, which rules it out for anything with meaningful reach.

SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

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

QuestionPro: Is QuestionPro CX the same product as the survey builder?

No. CX is a separate product built for closed-loop customer experience programmes, priced and sold on its own.

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.

QuestionPro: Does Team Edition have a minimum seat count?

Yes, five seats at roughly $83 per user per month billed annually, so the minimum monthly spend is around $415.

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.

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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