Orange is my favorite color
November 11, 2008

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I need to run a customer satisfaction survey for 2008 so I spent some time reviewing the available online survey options and comparing which would be most suitable for my needs. I am not a survey junkie so it doesn’t make sense for me to buy a premium service or subscribe on an ongoing basis. I have very occasional needs and my requirements are pretty simple. Hopefully this cheat sheet saves somebody else some time!

Online Survey Services

I compared six online services and three alternatives that might work for people too. I’m not concerned with fancy features so I stuck to the basics: how many questions can I ask, how many responses can I collect and can I export it to Excel/CSV for further analysis?

Note: this compares the free editions of each service!

Service # Surveys ?s/Survey Responses CSV?
SurveyMonkey n/a 10 100 N
SurveyGizmo n/a n/a 250/mo Y
PollDaddy n/a 10 100/mo N
QuestionPro 2 10 n/a N
eSurveys 1 n/a 25 N
Zoomerang n/a 30 100 N
Alternatives
Wordpress Filled-In Plugin1 n/a n/a n/a Y
Google Docs2 n/a n/a n/a Y
Lime Survey3 n/a n/a n/a Y

1 – requires a Wordpress installation and the ability to add a plugin. You have to create your form but Filled In takes care of validating, processing and storing it as CSV or XML data. It can also email the data as it’s received.
2 – requires a Google Docs account for the survey creator but not the survey taker. Responses are automatically added to your Google spreadsheet.
3 – requires PHP/database but is a locally installed application with full control and extensive features. There is also a hosted version of the service.

My Selection

I care more about having enough questions and exporting the data than having hundreds of responses so I have created an account with SurveyGizmo. They also allow you to embed your survey into a remote website using an API key plus they provide a Wordpress plugin. So far it seems OK but although building my survey form looks flexible, I think it’s going to take me some time.

I also already use the excellent Filled-In plugin on another site so I am considering using SurveyGizmo to generate my HTML form and then paste it into my Wordpress install and configure Filled In to collect it.

The end of the year is coming – collect your feedback so you can make good decisions for 2009!

7 Comments

  1. Nathan D said:

    on November 11, 2008 at 10:51 pm

    Personally, I use http://www.limesurvey.org/ – very easy to set up and customize, and no worries about someone else’s limitations to make their business model work — you own it end to end, and it does what you want it to do.

  2. brian said:

    on November 12, 2008 at 7:53 am

    Thanks Nathan – I added it to the list. It looks feature-rich although installing and getting up to speed is maybe more than I’m willing to invest for a once-a-year survey. Me = lazy. :)

  3. Brittany said:

    on November 12, 2008 at 8:04 am

    Hi Brian,
    Thanks for choosing SurveyGizmo. If you or your readers ever have any questions, feel free to let us know!
    Thanks – Brittany

  4. Dr B said:

    on November 12, 2008 at 9:48 am

    Brian,
    I would suggest that you get some help in designing the survey. It is not just a matter of writing questions. There is a lot more to it. I would suggest that eventhough you are planning to do only one survey a year, it is even more important to do it right. There is a lot to it. Doing it wrong can lead you in the wrong direction and you won’t know it until later. Think about this.

  5. Dr B said:

    on November 12, 2008 at 9:49 am

    Brian,
    I would suggest that you get some help in designing the survey. It is not just a matter of writing questions. There is a lot more to it. I would suggest that since you are planning to do only one survey a year, it is even more important to do it right. Doing it wrong can lead you in the wrong direction and you won’t know it until later. Think about this.

  6. Richard said:

    on November 30, 2008 at 10:46 am

    Probably made a good choice with SurveyGizmo – I used Survey Monkey for a recent questionnaire (for a community project website we run the website for), and I didn’t notice SM’s 100 response/survey limit until it was too late – I ended up creating many, many surveys, bit of a waste of time!

  7. Donna said:

    on February 15, 2009 at 12:12 am

    If you haven’t checked out Zoomerang, I suggest you do it today. Zoomerang pioneered the online survey space and continues to be the best tool money can buy. They have a free version, one you can access for only $19 per month (no long-term contract), and a premium version with lots of advanced features. It is very easy to use – but if you have questions, they offer free telephone support and a wide range of online webinars and tutorials. Since they are part of MarketTools, one of the largest market research companies in the world, they have access to a wide range of survey expertise which enables them to build a product that reflects real world needs. They offer a wide range of templates enabling you to quickly design a great survey – powerful list management tools, including easy access to a 2 million member panel of potential survey takers – the ability to send surveys via email, mobile phones, or web sites – and a range of useful reporting and analysis tools including export to Powerpoint and open ended text analysis.

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