LimeSurvey

Overview

LimeSurvey is an open-source survey application maintained by LimeSurvey GmbH, which lists Hamburg, Germany, in its footer.^[23] It is offered in two ways: the self-hosted Community Edition, where data stays on the user’s or hosting provider’s server, and LimeSurvey Cloud, a hosted service sold in monthly or annual plans.^[23]

The software has long been popular with universities, public bodies and researchers who need full control over where survey data is stored, and its open code base allows custom question types, themes and plugins. Cloud plans are differentiated by response allowance, number of administrators and upload storage; if a Cloud subscription lapses, the account falls back to the free package and collected responses remain accessible.^[23]

The trade-off for self-hosting is operational: the user is responsible for installation, updates, backups and security. The administration interface is also more technical than those of design-led tools such as Typeform. Cloud pricing is published in euros.

LimeSurvey features

• Self-hosted open-source Community Edition
• Hosted LimeSurvey Cloud plans
• Multiple administrator accounts on higher plans
• Community forum and public GitHub repository
• Free fallback package keeps response access

LimeSurvey pricing

EUR. Community Edition free (self-hosted). Cloud: Basic €34/month billed monthly (1,000 responses/month, 1 admin); Expert €29/month billed €348/year (10,000 responses/year, 3 admins); Business €75/month billed €900/year (50,000 responses/year, 5 to 10 admins); Corporate quote; free plan available.

LimeSurvey strengths and limitations

Appears in

• Best Survey Software in 2026 #11

LimeSurvey alternatives and competitors

Alternatives to LimeSurvey: companies ranked in the same lists.

• SurveyMonkey
• Qualtrics EmployeeXM
• Typeform
• Jotform Sign
• Google Password Manager
• Microsoft Power BI
• Alchemer
• QQuestionPro
• SurveySparrow
• ZAZoho Analytics
• Tally
• Formbricks