LimeSurvey
The survey engine that does nearly everything, provided you enjoy administering PHP
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-10
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- GPL-2.0+
- Hosting Model
- Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud)
- Platforms
- webself-hostedself-host, real ops
- Installation
- Hosted Cloud signup, or download the Community Edition PHP package and run its web installer
- Operational Setup
- The useful unlimited route is self-hosting, which requires a PHP web server, database, mail, updates and backups; the hosted free plan permits only 25 responses per month.
- Where Your Data Lives
- Cloud data lives in LimeSurvey's selected hosting region; self-hosted surveys and responses live in MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL Server, with multiple tabular/statistical export formats.
- The Catch / Trade-off
- LimeSurvey has far deeper survey logic than most free tools, but its dense administration and self-hosting burden are much less approachable than SurveyMonkey, while its free cloud plan permits only 25 responses monthly.
Replaces 1 paid app
up to $39/mo ($468/yr) in subscriptions
LimeSurvey FAQ
Common questions
Is LimeSurvey free and open source?+
LimeSurvey is an open-source tool licensed under GPL-2.0+ that runs on local or hosted. The survey engine that does nearly everything, provided you enjoy administering PHP
What paid software does LimeSurvey replace?+
LimeSurvey serves as a free replacement for 1 paid SaaS application: SurveyMonkey, saving up to $39/month ($468/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up LimeSurvey?+
Installation: Hosted Cloud signup, or download the Community Edition PHP package and run its web installer. Setup notes: The useful unlimited route is self-hosting, which requires a PHP web server, database, mail, updates and backups; the hosted free plan permits only 25 responses per month.
What is the catch or trade-off with LimeSurvey?+
LimeSurvey has far deeper survey logic than most free tools, but its dense administration and self-hosting burden are much less approachable than SurveyMonkey, while its free cloud plan permits only 25 responses monthly.