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Surveys · head to head

SurveyCTO vs Swydo

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
Swydo logo

Swydo

Marketing

Automated client reporting for marketing agencies, priced per data source rather than per client

From
€69/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SurveyCTO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: 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; Swydo pricing by data source punishes agencies with many small clients: forty clients on two connections each costs more than the headline EUR 69 suggests, and the per-source rate only starts falling after ten sources.
  • They diverge on capability: SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, Swydo covers Multi-platform connectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SurveyCTO and Swydo actually diverge.

Attributes where SurveyCTO and Swydo differ
AttributeSurveyCTOSwydo
Starting priceFree€69/month
Pricing modelPer month by submission volumePer month by data source count
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Android, iOSWeb
CategorySurveysMarketing

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 SurveyCTO

  • Offline collection
  • XLSForm authoring
  • Automated quality checks
  • Audio auditing
  • Case management
  • Random assignment
  • Server region selection

Only in Swydo

  • Multi-platform connectors
  • Report templates
  • Goal and budget tracking
  • White label delivery
  • Client portal
  • Scheduled distribution

What people use each for

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

SurveyCTO

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

Swydo

  • A performance agency with a dozen retainer clients that each need a branded monthly PDF without an analyst rebuilding itnot SurveyCTO
  • An in-house team reporting on paid search and paid social to a board that will not open a Looker Studio linknot SurveyCTO
  • An agency that wants unlimited internal users because juniors, account managers and the finance team all need accessnot SurveyCTO
  • Replacing a per-client reporting tool when the client roster is small but each client runs many channelsnot SurveyCTO

Where each one falls short

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

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

Swydo

  • Pricing by data source punishes agencies with many small clients: forty clients on two connections each costs more than the headline EUR 69 suggests, and the per-source rate only starts falling after ten sources.
  • There is no data warehouse or SQL layer, so any calculation the interface does not offer natively cannot be built, and complex attribution reporting has to happen elsewhere.
  • Historical data lives with the connection, so removing a departed client destroys the reporting history for that account unless it was exported first.
  • The connector list is around forty sources and skews to mainstream ad platforms, so agencies serving niche verticals with bespoke platforms will still need manual data entry or Google Sheets bridges.
  • Report design is template-driven rather than free-form, so agencies that sell on the polish of their deliverables often find they cannot match a designed InDesign or Canva output.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Swydo

€69/month
  • Swydo$69/month
    • Ten data sources included
    • Unlimited clients, users, dashboards and reports
    • White labelling and custom sending domain

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Swydo if

  • You need multi-platform connectors.
  • You also want report templates.
Swydo review

Questions people ask

Is SurveyCTO or Swydo better?
Neither clearly leads. SurveyCTO starts at Free and Swydo at €69/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SurveyCTO or Swydo?
SurveyCTO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for SurveyCTO and €69/month for Swydo.
Does SurveyCTO or Swydo run on more platforms?
SurveyCTO runs on Web, Android, iOS. Swydo runs on Web.
Can I use SurveyCTO for free?
Yes. SurveyCTO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Swydo starts at €69/month.
What is SurveyCTO best used for?
SurveyCTO is most often used for a household survey with 200 enumerators across a country where paying per seat would cost more than the fieldwork, an impact evaluation that needs audio auditing and timing metadata to prove interviews were conducted as reported, a panel study revisiting the same households annually and needing offline case assignment to find them again, a statistics unit that must keep data inside a specific region and produce a soc 2 report for its funder. Of those, a household survey with 200 enumerators across a country where paying per seat would cost more than the fieldwork and an impact evaluation that needs audio auditing and timing metadata to prove interviews were conducted as reported are not what Swydo is typically brought in for.
What can SurveyCTO do that Swydo cannot?
SurveyCTO covers Offline collection, XLSForm authoring, Automated quality checks, Audio auditing. Swydo covers Multi-platform connectors, Report templates, Goal and budget tracking, White label delivery.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SurveyCTO: Do I pay per enumerator?

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

Swydo: Does Swydo charge per client?

No. Clients, users and reports are unlimited. You pay a base fee plus a per-data-source charge above ten sources.

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.

Swydo: What is a data source?

One authenticated connection to one platform for one account, so one client with Google Ads and GA4 is two sources.

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.

Swydo: Is there a free plan?

No, only a fourteen day trial. Billing starts at EUR 69 per month.

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.

Swydo: Can clients log in themselves?

Yes, clients get live dashboard access at no extra seat cost.

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