SurveyMonkey vs Qualtrics
SurveyMonkey shows its team prices on the page and sells by seat, while Qualtrics publishes no figures and bills against usage you forecast. Both are American vendors. The choice is mostly whether you want to budget from a rate card or negotiate a volume.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose SurveyMonkey ifyou want a published per-seat rate, a response allowance printed on the page, and a ready respondent panel for a marketing or HR survey.
Choose Qualtrics ifyou run a structured research programme at an organisation that expects a sales process, and you want a wide export menu including SPSS, XML and Tableau.
SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics side by side
| SurveyMonkey | Qualtrics | |
|---|---|---|
| Our survey software rank | #9 of 14 | #10 of 14 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 4 November 2026 | Basic free; Team Advantage EUR 30, Team Premier EUR 75 per user per month, annual, min 3 users; Enterprise quoted | Quoted per organisation, by planned usage |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Marketing and HR teams wanting familiar surveys and a respondent panel | Universities and large organisations running structured, regulated research programmes at scale |
| Not for | Individuals needing a single paid seat or very large exports | Small teams that need to buy and start in one afternoon |
Both are reviewed in full in our survey software ranking: SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics.
Where they differ
SurveyMonkey 2 · Qualtrics 1 · open 1- 01
Can you see the bill before buying?
SurveyMonkey lists Team Advantage at EUR 30 and Team Premier at EUR 75 per user monthly, on annual billing, from three users. Qualtrics shows no amounts and asks you to request pricing. Anyone comparing budgets in a spreadsheet can only do that with SurveyMonkey.
Edge: SurveyMonkey
- 02
What the meter counts
SurveyMonkey caps each plan at 50,000 or 100,000 responses a year, and extra responses cost EUR 0.10 each. Qualtrics charges market research by interactions, which include survey responses and minutes of video feedback, and employee experience by headcount. Qualtrics suits mixed media studies; SurveyMonkey is easier to forecast.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Getting data out
Qualtrics exports to CSV, TSV, Excel, XML, SPSS, Google Drive and Tableau, though not every format ships with every licence. SurveyMonkey exports only on paid plans, falls back to CSV above 100,000 responses, and keeps files for 14 days. Qualtrics has the wider menu, with a licence caveat.
Edge: Qualtrics
- 04
Starting small and what you lose
SurveyMonkey has a free Basic plan with limited response viewing, and downgraded accounts lose responses older than 365 days. Qualtrics mentions no free trial on its pricing page, so a pilot means a conversation. SurveyMonkey wins for testing questions cheaply, with a data-retention catch.
Edge: SurveyMonkey
When neither fits
If you need a vendor outside the United States or a self-hosted tool, look at LimeSurvey or Formbricks instead of either one.
SurveyMonkey or Qualtrics: questions
3 answersDoes Qualtrics publish its prices?
No. Its pricing page asks you to request pricing and says customers pay for planned usage.
What happens when I pass the SurveyMonkey response cap?
The pricing page lists an overage of EUR 0.10 per response. Team plans also require at least three users.
Are SurveyMonkey and Qualtrics European?
Neither. SurveyMonkey Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and Qualtrics LLC lists Provo, Utah, with SurveyMonkey Europe UC serving customers outside the United States.
Sources
Checked 4 November 2026- SurveyMonkey pricing: seat prices, response caps, overage, free Basic, 365-day deletion.
- SurveyMonkey export help: paid exports, CSV above 100,000 responses, 14-day files.
- SurveyMonkey office locations: San Mateo headquarters.
- SurveyMonkey privacy notice: SurveyMonkey Europe UC outside the United States.
- Qualtrics pricing: no listed prices, usage-based metrics, no trial mentioned.
- Qualtrics export formats: export formats and licence caveat.
- Qualtrics privacy statement: Provo, Utah address.