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Maps · head to head

ArcGIS Survey123 vs SAGA GIS

ArcGIS Survey123 logo

ArcGIS Survey123

Maps

Form-centric field data collection that writes straight into an ArcGIS organisation

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SAGA GIS logo

SAGA GIS

Maps

Open source terrain and geoscientific analysis with no vendor and no support contract available

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SAGA GIS has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ArcGIS Survey123 the app is free and the licensing is not: every person completing a secure survey needs a paid ArcGIS user type, so a hundred-person field programme costs tens of thousands a year before anyone counts credits.; SAGA GIS there is no commercial support contract available from anyone, so a procurement process that requires a named supplier with a service level cannot be satisfied and the organisation carries the whole operational risk itself
  • They diverge on capability: ArcGIS Survey123 covers XLSForm authoring, SAGA GIS covers Terrain morphometry.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ArcGIS Survey123 and SAGA GIS actually diverge.

Attributes where ArcGIS Survey123 and SAGA GIS differ
AttributeArcGIS Survey123SAGA GIS
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelPer user per year by ArcGIS user typeOpen source, no licence fee
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, WindowsWindows, Linux, macOS

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Maps).

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 ArcGIS Survey123

  • XLSForm authoring
  • Web designer
  • Offline collection
  • Direct ArcGIS write
  • Repeats and nested records
  • Media and signature capture
  • Webhooks and integration
  • Reports

Only in SAGA GIS

  • Terrain morphometry
  • Hydrological modelling
  • Geostatistics
  • Image analysis
  • Module library
  • QGIS integration
  • Python and R bindings

What people use each for

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

ArcGIS Survey123

  • A water utility recording hydrant inspections that must appear on the corporate asset map the moment they are submitted, not after a nightly importnot SAGA GIS
  • A local authority running a public consultation where anyone can submit without a licence, while staff review responses in an ArcGIS dashboardnot SAGA GIS
  • An environmental monitoring programme with complex conditional forms authored in XLSForm and completed offline in areas with no signalnot SAGA GIS
  • A field crew already licensed for ArcGIS Field Maps that needs structured forms alongside map-based editing without adding another vendornot SAGA GIS

SAGA GIS

  • A hydrologist deriving catchment boundaries and flow networks from a national elevation model at a resolution commercial tools slow down onnot ArcGIS Survey123
  • A soil science team producing interpolated property surfaces with documented geostatistical methods for a peer-reviewed papernot ArcGIS Survey123
  • A government environmental analyst who needs a terrain index that no commercial GIS implements and does not want to write it from scratchnot ArcGIS Survey123
  • A QGIS user who has hit the limits of the native toolbox and needs the SAGA algorithms already exposed in the processing frameworknot ArcGIS Survey123

Where each one falls short

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

ArcGIS Survey123

  • The app is free and the licensing is not: every person completing a secure survey needs a paid ArcGIS user type, so a hundred-person field programme costs tens of thousands a year before anyone counts credits.
  • Esri does not publish user type prices on its main pricing pages, so buyers reconstruct the cost from marketplace listings or a sales conversation, which makes budgeting an ArcGIS rollout unnecessarily opaque.
  • Credits are consumed by geocoding, storage and some analysis, and a data collection programme that generates heavy attachment volumes can burn through the bundled allowance and trigger a mid-year top-up.
  • It is useless without ArcGIS. There is no standalone deployment, so the decision to use Survey123 is really a decision to buy or keep an ArcGIS estate.
  • Form authoring splits between a web designer that is easy but limited and XLSForm plus Survey123 Connect that is capable but requires learning a spreadsheet syntax, and teams routinely start in the wrong one and rebuild.

SAGA GIS

  • There is no commercial support contract available from anyone, so a procurement process that requires a named supplier with a service level cannot be satisfied and the organisation carries the whole operational risk itself
  • The project explicitly states that everyone working on it has another job and that answers may take a while, which means an urgent production failure has no escalation path
  • The interface is dated and inconsistent across modules, and cartographic output is poor, so most users treat it as an analysis engine and produce maps somewhere else
  • Documentation for many of the several hundred modules is a parameter list without explanation of method or expected input, so choosing the right algorithm often requires reading the source or a published paper
  • Development is concentrated in a small group, which creates real key-person risk: a change in the circumstances of a handful of maintainers would slow or stop releases, and there is no organisation obliged to continue them

Pricing, plan by plan

ArcGIS Survey123

On request
  • Survey123 appFree
    • No separate charge for the app itself
    • Requires an ArcGIS Online or Enterprise organisation
    • Public surveys can be completed without a licence
  • Creator user type$undefined/year
    • Required to author and publish surveys
    • Foundational user type, can administer the organisation
    • Includes an annual credit allowance
  • Mobile Worker user type$undefined/year
    • Required for each person completing a secure survey
    • Dependent user type, must be added to an organisation with a foundational licence
    • Public marketplace listings have shown around $400 per year

SAGA GIS

Free
  • SAGA GISFree
    • GNU General Public Licence
    • No licence fee and no usage limits
    • No commercial support contract exists

Which should you pick?

Choose ArcGIS Survey123 if

  • You need xlsform authoring.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, Windows.
  • You also want web designer.
ArcGIS Survey123 review

Choose SAGA GIS if

  • You need terrain morphometry.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, macOS.
  • You also want hydrological modelling.
SAGA GIS review

Questions people ask

Is ArcGIS Survey123 or SAGA GIS better?
Neither clearly leads. ArcGIS Survey123 starts at On request and SAGA GIS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ArcGIS Survey123 or SAGA GIS?
SAGA GIS has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for ArcGIS Survey123 and Free for SAGA GIS.
Does ArcGIS Survey123 or SAGA GIS run on more platforms?
ArcGIS Survey123 runs on Web, iOS, Android, Windows. SAGA GIS runs on Windows, Linux, macOS.
Can I use SAGA GIS for free?
Yes. SAGA GIS has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ArcGIS Survey123 starts at On request.
What is ArcGIS Survey123 best used for?
ArcGIS Survey123 is most often used for a water utility recording hydrant inspections that must appear on the corporate asset map the moment they are submitted, not after a nightly import, a local authority running a public consultation where anyone can submit without a licence, while staff review responses in an arcgis dashboard, an environmental monitoring programme with complex conditional forms authored in xlsform and completed offline in areas with no signal, a field crew already licensed for arcgis field maps that needs structured forms alongside map-based editing without adding another vendor. Of those, a water utility recording hydrant inspections that must appear on the corporate asset map the moment they are submitted, not after a nightly import and a local authority running a public consultation where anyone can submit without a licence, while staff review responses in an arcgis dashboard are not what SAGA GIS is typically brought in for.
What can ArcGIS Survey123 do that SAGA GIS cannot?
ArcGIS Survey123 covers XLSForm authoring, Web designer, Offline collection, Direct ArcGIS write. SAGA GIS covers Terrain morphometry, Hydrological modelling, Geostatistics, Image analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ArcGIS Survey123: Is Survey123 free?

The app is. Using it is not, unless your surveys are public. Authoring needs a Creator licence and each person completing a secure survey needs a Mobile Worker, Editor, Creator or GIS Professional user type.

SAGA GIS: Who maintains SAGA GIS?

A small international developer community, originating from physical geography departments at the universities of Göttingen and Hamburg. It is hosted on SourceForge and releases continue in the 9.x line.

ArcGIS Survey123: How much are the user types?

Esri does not list them on its main pricing pages. Public marketplace listings have shown roughly $700 a year for Creator and $400 for Mobile Worker; confirm with Esri or a distributor for your region.

SAGA GIS: Can I buy support?

No. There is no vendor and no commercial support contract. The project itself states there is no hotline and no guaranteed support.

ArcGIS Survey123: Can respondents fill in a survey without a licence?

Yes, if the survey is shared publicly. Secure surveys require a licensed user type.

SAGA GIS: Do I need SAGA if I already run QGIS?

Often not, because many SAGA algorithms are available through the QGIS processing toolbox. Install SAGA directly when you need modules QGIS does not expose or want to script them independently.

ArcGIS Survey123: Does it work offline?

Yes, in the mobile app, with sync when connectivity returns.

SAGA GIS: What licence is it under?

The GNU General Public Licence, so you can modify and redistribute it under the same terms.

ArcGIS Survey123: Is it the same as ArcGIS Field Maps?

No. Field Maps is map-centric editing; Survey123 is form-centric. Many organisations license both, which doubles nothing because user types cover the whole app suite.

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