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Research · head to head

REDCap vs Zoho Survey

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
Zoho Survey logo

Zoho Survey

Surveys

Survey tool with a choice of data centre region, bundled into the wider Zoho suite

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zoho Survey has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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.; Zoho Survey the data centre region is set when the Zoho account is created and changing it later requires a vendor-assisted migration, so a hasty signup can lock an organisation into the wrong jurisdiction.
  • They diverge on capability: REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Zoho Survey covers Regional data centres.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which REDCap and Zoho Survey actually diverge.

Attributes where REDCap and Zoho Survey differ
AttributeREDCapZoho Survey
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFree tier, then per user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Linux, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android
CategoryResearchSurveys

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 REDCap

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

Only in Zoho Survey

  • Regional data centres
  • Zoho CRM integration
  • Logic and piping
  • Offline collection
  • Multilingual surveys
  • Report sharing

What people use each for

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

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 Zoho Survey
  • A hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloudnot Zoho Survey
  • An investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial EDC budgetnot Zoho Survey
  • A multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal projectnot Zoho Survey

Zoho Survey

  • An organisation already running Zoho CRM that wants survey responses on the customer record without integration worknot REDCap
  • A buyer whose procurement requires European, Indian, Australian or Canadian data residencynot REDCap
  • A support team measuring satisfaction after tickets close in Zoho Desknot REDCap
  • A field team collecting responses offline and syncing when connectivity returnsnot REDCap

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Zoho Survey

  • The data centre region is set when the Zoho account is created and changing it later requires a vendor-assisted migration, so a hasty signup can lock an organisation into the wrong jurisdiction.
  • The free tier caps both questions and responses per survey tightly, so it functions as an evaluation rather than a plan any team can run on.
  • Reporting and statistical analysis are thin compared with research-grade tools, and advanced methods such as conjoint or maximum difference scaling are absent.
  • Integrations outside the Zoho suite are shallow, so organisations on Salesforce, HubSpot or Microsoft stacks lose most of the value that makes the product attractive.
  • Interface conventions and quality vary across Zoho applications, so users moving between Survey, CRM and Analytics face inconsistent behaviour and separate learning curves.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zoho Survey

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited surveys with a cap on questions and responses per survey
    • Basic reporting and link or email distribution
    • Zoho branding on surveys
  • Paid tiers$undefined/year
    • Priced per user with higher response allowances at each tier
    • Skip logic, piping, white labelling and offline collection unlocked by tier
    • Included for organisations licensing the Zoho One suite

Which should you pick?

Choose REDCap if

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

Choose Zoho Survey if

  • You need regional data centres.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want zoho crm integration.
Zoho Survey review

Questions people ask

Is REDCap or Zoho Survey better?
Neither clearly leads. REDCap starts at On request and Zoho Survey at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, REDCap or Zoho Survey?
Zoho Survey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for REDCap and Free for Zoho Survey.
Does REDCap or Zoho Survey run on more platforms?
REDCap runs on Web, Linux, Windows. Zoho Survey runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Zoho Survey for free?
Yes. Zoho Survey has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. REDCap starts at On request.
What is REDCap best used for?
REDCap is most often used for an academic research group at an institution that already runs redcap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build it, a hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloud, an investigator initiated trial that needs randomisation, an audit trail and statistical export without a commercial edc budget, a multi site academic collaboration where each site can be given scoped access to a single longitudinal project. Of those, an academic research group at an institution that already runs redcap, where a new study database costs nothing beyond the time to build it and a hospital collecting patient reported outcomes where data must stay on institutional infrastructure rather than a vendor cloud are not what Zoho Survey is typically brought in for.
What can REDCap do that Zoho Survey cannot?
REDCap covers Form and survey designer, Longitudinal projects, Data quality rules, Randomisation. Zoho Survey covers Regional data centres, Zoho CRM integration, Logic and piping, Offline collection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Zoho Survey: Can I choose where my survey data is stored?

Yes, at account creation across several regions including Europe, India, Australia and Canada. Changing it afterwards requires a migration request to Zoho.

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.

Zoho Survey: Is it included in Zoho One?

Yes. If your organisation licences Zoho One, Survey is part of the suite, which usually removes the case for a separate survey subscription.

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.

Zoho Survey: Is it good enough for market research?

For basic questionnaires yes. For quota-managed or statistically demanding studies, a research-grade platform is a better fit.

REDCap: Who supports it?

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

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