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SurveyMonkey vs Thermo SampleManager LIMS

SurveyMonkey logo

SurveyMonkey

Research

Turn feedback into action

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Thermo SampleManager LIMS logo

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

Research

Enterprise LIMS for regulated QC laboratories, with LES and SDMS in one product

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only SurveyMonkey has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: SurveyMonkey team plans require minimum 3 users as baseline; Thermo SampleManager LIMS no pricing is published in any form, and Thermo Fisher routes even basic cost questions through a request for quote, so early stage budget planning is guesswork.
  • They diverge on capability: SurveyMonkey covers Survey builder, Thermo SampleManager LIMS covers Sample lifecycle management.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which SurveyMonkey and Thermo SampleManager LIMS actually diverge.

Attributes where SurveyMonkey and Thermo SampleManager LIMS differ
AttributeSurveyMonkeyThermo SampleManager LIMS
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWebWeb, Windows, Linux
Founded1999Unknown

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

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 SurveyMonkey

  • Survey builder
  • Question bank
  • Survey logic
  • Multi-language surveys
  • Mobile surveys
  • Real-time results
  • Data analysis tools
  • Custom branding

Only in Thermo SampleManager LIMS

  • Sample lifecycle management
  • Specifications and OOS handling
  • Laboratory execution system
  • Scientific data management
  • Stability studies
  • Instrument management
  • Environmental monitoring

What people use each for

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

SurveyMonkey

  • Market research and customer surveysnot Thermo SampleManager LIMS
  • Employee feedback and engagement trackingnot Thermo SampleManager LIMS
  • Data collection and analysisnot Thermo SampleManager LIMS
  • Customer satisfaction and NPS measurementsnot Thermo SampleManager LIMS

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

  • A pharmaceutical QC laboratory that needs enforced method execution and electronic signatures for GMP release testingnot SurveyMonkey
  • A multi site chemical or petrochemical business standardising sample handling and specifications across laboratoriesnot SurveyMonkey
  • A water or environmental testing laboratory with high sample throughput and regulatory reporting obligationsnot SurveyMonkey
  • A laboratory replacing a LIMS plus separate LES and SDMS estate and wanting to retire two integrations along with the old systemnot SurveyMonkey

Where each one falls short

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

SurveyMonkey

  • Team plans require minimum 3 users as baseline
  • Annual response limits enforced: 50,000 responses/year on Team Advantage, 100,000 on Team Premier
  • Additional responses beyond annual limits charged at AED 0.50 per response
  • Enterprise plan requires custom pricing and minimum 5 users
  • Advanced features like multilingual surveys and phone support require Team Premier tier

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

  • No pricing is published in any form, and Thermo Fisher routes even basic cost questions through a request for quote, so early stage budget planning is guesswork.
  • Implementation is configuration heavy and normally requires Thermo Fisher professional services or a specialist partner, and services costs routinely exceed the licence cost in the first year.
  • Computer system validation is the customer responsibility on top of implementation, so a GMP laboratory carries a validation programme of its own before go live and repeats a subset of it at every upgrade.
  • Cloud hosting is charged as an annual fee scaled to licence count, so seats drive infrastructure cost as well as licence cost and occasional users are expensive twice.
  • The product carries a long codebase history and its configuration model is specialist, which makes in house administrators hard to recruit and creates a dependency on external consultants for changes that would be self service in a newer LIMS.

Pricing, plan by plan

SurveyMonkey

Free
  • Team Advantage$99/month
    • 50,000 responses per year
    • Unlimited surveys and questions
    • 3 user minimum
  • Team Premier$240/month
    • 100,000 responses per year
    • All Team Advantage features
    • White label branding

Thermo SampleManager LIMS

On request
  • SampleManager LIMS$undefined/year
    • Quoted through the Thermo Fisher sales team, nothing published
    • Annual hosting fee calculated on the number of licences for cloud deployments
    • Deployment as Thermo managed AWS, on premise, or customer cloud

Which should you pick?

Choose SurveyMonkey if

  • You need survey builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want question bank.
SurveyMonkey review

Choose Thermo SampleManager LIMS if

  • You need sample lifecycle management.
  • You work on Web, Windows, Linux.
  • You also want specifications and oos handling.
Thermo SampleManager LIMS review

Questions people ask

Is SurveyMonkey or Thermo SampleManager LIMS better?
Neither clearly leads. SurveyMonkey starts at Free and Thermo SampleManager LIMS at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SurveyMonkey or Thermo SampleManager LIMS?
SurveyMonkey has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for SurveyMonkey and On request for Thermo SampleManager LIMS.
Does SurveyMonkey or Thermo SampleManager LIMS run on more platforms?
SurveyMonkey runs on Web. Thermo SampleManager LIMS runs on Web, Windows, Linux.
Can I use SurveyMonkey for free?
Yes. SurveyMonkey has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Thermo SampleManager LIMS starts at On request.
What is SurveyMonkey best used for?
SurveyMonkey is most often used for market research and customer surveys, employee feedback and engagement tracking, data collection and analysis, customer satisfaction and nps measurements. Of those, market research and customer surveys and employee feedback and engagement tracking are not what Thermo SampleManager LIMS is typically brought in for.
What can SurveyMonkey do that Thermo SampleManager LIMS cannot?
SurveyMonkey covers Survey builder, Question bank, Survey logic, Multi-language surveys. Thermo SampleManager LIMS covers Sample lifecycle management, Specifications and OOS handling, Laboratory execution system, Scientific data management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

SurveyMonkey: How much does SurveyMonkey cost?

SurveyMonkey offers team plans starting at AED 99 per user per month for Team Advantage and AED 240 per user per month for Team Premier. Both plans require a minimum of 3 users. Billing can be monthly or annual.

Source
Thermo SampleManager LIMS: Does SampleManager include LES and SDMS?

Yes. Laboratory execution and scientific data management are part of the product rather than separate purchases, which removes two integration projects.

SurveyMonkey: What are SurveyMonkey's overage fees?

SurveyMonkey charges AED 0.50 per additional response on paid plans beyond the annual limit included in each tier.

Source
Thermo SampleManager LIMS: How much does it cost?

Nothing is published. Pricing is quoted, and cloud deployments carry an annual hosting fee based on licence count.

Thermo SampleManager LIMS: Is it validated when I buy it?

Thermo Fisher supplies qualification documentation, but computer system validation of your configured instance remains your responsibility.

Thermo SampleManager LIMS: Can I run it on premise?

Yes. Thermo managed AWS, on premise and customer cloud deployments are all offered.

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