Why look for Qualtrics alternatives?
From our research and compilation of this article, we've identified three key reasons why Qualtrics might not be the right choice for you:
- You need more budget-friendly XM software
- You need quick customer support
- You want a fast XM setup
While Qualtrics is a highly-rated customer experience management software, it can be more expensive than competitors, it’s technically complex, and it requires time and close attention to detail to get the most out of its capability.
So, Qualtrics is often not the ideal solution for businesses with limited budgets, less technical staff, or more focused survey needs.
This is why you might consider Qualtrics competitors that offer comparable features with a lower learning curve and more affordable pricing, including a free version or trial.
Qualtrics strengths and limitations
To better understand Qualtrics, let’s go over its strengths and limitations—thematically organized from realuser feedback.
Strengths:
1. Users praise Qualtrics’ advanced analytics, which are excellent for complex market research. They allow detailed data analysis, saving time and improving the accuracy and relevance of outcomes.
“What really distinguishes CoreXM is the inclusion of a strong statistical analysis tool which reduces the need to move data into SPSS. The survey tool is also intuitive.” - Adam K., Data Analytics and Visualization (Read full review)
2. A variety of question types and advanced logic options make it easy for users to handle complex survey designs and quickly set up detailed research projects.
"In one of the projects that I recently completed I was able to use the semantic differential scale function for understanding how people evaluate a new product concept on its strength and weakness. Other scales are also accessible for other question types. In another project that I completed I did use nominal scale for dichotomous questions, ordinal scale for rank order questions, and likert scale for likeliness questions. It was great experience having so many features available to customize in Qualtrics. Qualtrics allows you to create and store surveys.” - Prathamesh M., Account manager (Read full review)
3. Multiple market research tools and use cases in one platform. This helps reduce costs by eliminating the need for separate tools.
"I used Qualtrics for both a market research class, and for a survey on behalf of a client as project manager for my school's consulting group. Both times I felt I was able to create a quality survey that yielded actionable insights, and crafting my questions always felt straightforward. There is also a great variety of options when it comes to analyzing results." - Verified User in Higher Education (Read full review)
Limitations:
1. Very expensive. Qualtrics doesn't publicly share its prices, but customers find the cost to be very expensive, according to reviews left by Qualtrics customers on G2.
"We strongly believe that the price of Qualtrics CoreXM is not commensurate with what it offers. In addition, unlike its competitors, this application lacks flexible payment options." - Shari C. (Read full review)
"I don't like the fact that they keep raising the price and don't consider us." - Roberta L. (Read full review)
"The price can be quite high compared to other survey creation software." - Luciano S. (Read full review)
"Pretty expensive. The price could be brought down to accommodate more customers." - Zahra M. (Read full review)
"Qualtrics describes its strategy as "land and expand" which means their price will be low at first. Then as you expand your use to other parts of your organization, the company will wait until it's clear that switching vendors has become difficult. Then they sharply raise the price. They more than doubled ours." - Bob M. (Read full review)
2. Difficult to use with a steep learning curve. Qualtrics customers have reported the platform to be very hard to learn and use, citing it as overly complicated and not intuitive. Learning all of Qualtrics' features takes more time compared to alternatives.
"Horrible product. Not intuitive, overly complicated. There are major gaps in survey design, programming and analysis tools that much better, less expensive tools commonly have." - Verified User in Computer Software (Read full review)
"Not very user friendly and takes a while to master." - Micaela C. (Read full review)
"I find Qualtrics to be clunky and difficult to use, the user interface is not easy to navigate." - Verified User in Computer Software (Read full reviews)
"I do not like the fact that Qualtrics CoreXM has a steep learning curve...Without support during the onboarding process, users may not be able to get started at all." - Georgino J. (Read full review)
3. Lacks sufficient customer support. Many customers complain of long wait times and ineffective customer support.
"Customer service has been terrible. Problems get "escalated" and then I never hear from them again." - Thomas W. (Read full review)
"The customer support is terrible and they want to charge you for every little thing." - Verified User in Education Management (Read full review)
"The back and forth between our team and Qualtrics staff was slow and painful, with many requested edits having to be re-requested." - Verified User in Hospitals & Healthcare (Read full review)
"Their world-class support is nowhere near world-class. We get passed around most of the time with no intent/attempt to do root cause analysis. I had to intervene on some of the tickets as it takes them too long to respond." - Verified User in Retail (Read full review)
"Qualtrics has terrible customer service...When we initially selected Qualtrics, they promised the moon and promised to work with us and then they basically left us high and dry." - Verified User in IT & Services (Read full review)
"Customer service has been terrible. I've had questions on part of our service that have gone unanswered or addressed which has been frustrating. Each time I follow up and ask for a solution they say they will look into it and get back to me. We started this process over four months ago and it's still unresolved." - Verified User in Financial Services (Read full review)
Key criteria for evaluating alternatives
Choose your survey software based on objective metrics that turn customer insights into strategic decisions. This means looking at features that simplify survey management and ease data collection so you can convert them into actionable insights.
Here is what to look for:
- Friendly and easy user interface: A system with a clear, straightforward layout that reduces the learning curve and lets you launch projects quickly.
- Advanced analytics: Depth and flexibility of the analytics and reporting tools offered to enable actionable insights from the data collected. Some advanced survey platforms offer predictive analytics to forecast future trends based on historical data.
- Customizations: The platform helps you tailor surveys, dashboards, and reports to meet your preferences.
- Cost-effective: The tool fits your budget without compromising on essential features.
- Integrations: The software integrates your CRM systems, marketing automation, and analytics suites. This lets you streamline workflows and data synchronization. Look for survey platforms with pre-built integrations and APIs for easy data exchange.
- Mobile optimization: Mobile-responsive designs and dedicated apps allow survey administration and data access from any device.
- Multilingual support and resources: The tool provides thorough documentation, training resources, and a dedicated support team to address your issues quickly.
The 7 leading Qualtrics competitors at a glance
Now that you know what to look for, here’s an at-a-glance comparison of each alternative:
|
Free Plan |
Paid Plans |
Ease of Use |
Customer Support |
Qualtrics |
❌ |
Starts at $1500/year |
Complex, steep learning curve |
Additional cost |
Sprig |
✅ |
Starts at $175/month |
User friendly, Highly intuitive |
Responsive, High Quality |
Survey Monkey |
✅ |
Starts at $25/month |
User friendly |
Responsive |
Medallia |
❌ |
Custom |
User friendly |
Responsive, High Quality |
Survey Sparrow |
✅ |
Starts at $19/month |
User friendly |
Responsive |
Typeform |
✅ |
Starts at $25/month |
Highly intuitive |
Responsive |
Google Forms |
✅ |
For additional features |
Simple interface |
Responsive |
GetFeedback |
❌ |
Not available publicly |
Simple interface |
Responsive |
More detail on the 7 best Qualtrics alternatives
Want a more in-depth analysis of each tool? Read on to find the perfect fit for your surveying needs.
1. Sprig
The Sprig Dashboard shows you a real-time feed of AI-generated summaries from all studies—Surveys, Feedback, Replays, and Heatmaps—to help you prioritize the top optimizations across your product.Sprig is an AI-powered user insights platform that enhances product experiences by decoding user feedback and behaviors.
It integrates qualitative and quantitative tools like in-product feedback/surveys, heatmaps, and session replays directly within product interfaces. This makes it easier for you to collect, analyze, and understand user data so you can act fast to make product improvements and iterations.
Key features
- Heatmaps: See user interactions to identify patterns in behavior across your product.
- Session replays: Review video of user sessions to see how users interact with your product and identify pain points.
- In-product Sprig surveys and feedback: Capture real-time, context-specific insights for your product or website without disrupting the user experience.
- Sprig AI Analysis: Quickly process data to identify trends, issues and opportunities.
- Customizable surveys: Tailor surveys to specific events or user actions for targeted feedback.
- Integration capabilities: Works with other business tools to enhance data usability and responsiveness.
- Resource library: Learn how to use Spring Feedback with detailed video tutorials to get the best out of each tool in your arsenal.
Use cases
1. User feedback collection: Leveraging Sprig in-product feedback surveys, enables you to capture in-the-moment feedback from customers to help you identify usability issues within the product interface so you can focus on improving user navigation, engagement, and sentiment.
2. Understanding user behavior: You can also use session replays and heatmaps to get a first-hand look into your user experience. With Sprig, you can capture session recordings and engagement maps of users' web and mobile experiences, and then use AI to instantly analyze all data and uncover trends in your users' behavior.
While Qualtrics offers in-app surveys, it doesn’t have the observational capabilities that Sprig session replays and heatmaps do. This makes it less effective for understanding the 'why' behind users' actions and sentiment.
Pricing
- Free Plan: Unlimited seats, 1 in-product study/month, 5,000 MTUs, 1 link survey/month.
- Starter: $175/month, unlimited seats, 2 in-product studies/month, 25,000 MTUs, mobile delivery extra $200/month.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing plans, unlimited seats, custom in-product studies and MTUs, advanced security, custom design, and dedicated support.
Best for
Research and product teams at mid-market, enterprise, and scaling companies who want to collect quick, actionable user feedback and behavior data that uncovers areas for product optimization and helps to improve the user experience.
2. Survey Monkey
SurveyMonkey is an easy-to-use survey builder. Its comprehensive set of features simplifies creating, sharing, and analyzing surveys. Its simplified interface and intuitive design are ideal for those businesses that want quick feedback without extensive training.
Key features
- Pre-designed and customizable templates: Choose from a variety of expert-built survey templates or build your own.
- Real-time results: Access survey responses as they are submitted for quick analysis and decision-making.
- Advanced data analysis: Features like text analysis and SPSS integration allow for deeper insight into survey data.
- Skip logic and answer validation: Direct users through different paths based on their answers to enhance respondent experience and data quality.
Use cases
1. Event feedback collection: For event organizers, SurveyMonkey’s variety of question types and third-party integrations simplify collecting and analyzing post-event feedback. Compare with Qualtrics, which could be more suited to large-scale events and detailed reporting.
2. Targeted customer feedback: SurveyMonkey’s skip logic and answer validation are easy and quick to set up for any user, whereas Qualtrics requires more configuration skills and time.
Pricing
- Team Advantage: $25/user/month — Unlimited surveys, shared templates, email support.
- Team Premier: $75/user/month — Adds expedited support and white-label surveys.
- Enterprise: Custom Pricing — Features advanced admin tools.
Best for
SMBs and teams that need a straightforward, cost-effective solution for general surveys and basic feedback collection.
3. Medallia
Medallia is a cross-platform customer and employee experience feedback management solution. It helps businesses capture, analyze, and act on feedback gathered from multiple digital touchpoints.
Using AI and Machine Learning, Medallia also factors in non-survey experience signals like customer support interactions and online reviews for analyzing feedback. This gives businesses a more holistic view of customer sentiment and behavior.
Key features:
- Omni-channel feedback: Get insights from emails, social media, web interactions, and in-app feedback.
- Advanced analytics: AI tools analyze text data and predict customer churn, helping you spot and address issues early on.
- Predictive churn analysis: Improve retention and loyalty by identifying customers at risk of leaving ahead of time.
- Customizable dashboards: Tailor dashboards to keep an eye on preferred metrics.
Use cases:
1. 360-degree feedback: Companies with a strong online presence can use this feature to identify trends, issues, and opportunities that might not be evident from survey data alone. This gives you a broader perspective than Qualtrics, which mainly focuses on survey data.
2. Customer loyalty programs: Use Medallia predictive analysis to identify customers at risk of leaving and take proactive measures to improve retention.
Pricing:
Medallia does not publicly disclose its pricing.
Best for
Large enterprises that need in-depth experience management for employees and customers, going beyond basic feedback surveys.
4. SurveySparrow
SurveySparrow turns dull surveys into conversations, which enhances response rates and quality.
Their omni-channel experience management combines NPS, offline surveys, chat, and 360° surveys for customers and employees.
Key features:
- Conversational interface: Chat-like surveys improve engagement experience and boost response rates.
- White-label surveys: Customization options for branding so you can easily integrate surveys with your corporate identity.
- Omni-channel feedback: Feedback collection across various platforms like email, social media, and the web.
- Recurring Surveys: Automatically measure changes over time or maintain continuous engagement without manually resetting surveys—each time.
- Offline data collection: Store responses directly on the user’s device, and once they’re online, the app syncs the data to the server.
Use cases:
1. Better response rates and data quality: Because surveys feel more like a casual conversation, they encourage engagement and honest answers. In contrast, Qualtrics' surveys tend to feel more formal.
2. Broader audience targeting: Natural-feeling surveys are particularly effective for getting information from groups like seniors and kids, who may not respond as well to more formal methods.
Pricing:
SurveySparrow offers different annual pricing for individuals, teams, and enterprises.
- Individual Plans:
- Basic: At $19/month — Access to 1 user, 2,500 responses, 10,000 contacts.
- Starter: At $39/month — Access to 1 user, 15,000 responses, 20,000 contacts.
- Team Plans:
- Business: $79/month — Access to 3 users, 50,000 responses, 200,000 contacts.
- Professional: $249/month — Access to 5 users, 100,000 responses, 300,000 contacts.
- Enterprise Solutions:
- Custom Pricing — Tailored features, including complete branding and Single Sign-On (SSO).
Best for
Marketing teams, UX teams, SMBs, and enterprises that need a mobile-friendly platform.
5. Typeform
Typeform is an easy-to-use and quick online form builder. It creates visually appealing forms and conversational surveys, and quizzes.
Their accessible form style makes data collection easy and enjoyable for both creators and respondents.
Features:
- Drag and drop builder and ready-made templates: Design forms quickly with a simple interface and customizable templates.
- AI assistance: Input your data collection goals, and AI will create the form for you.
- Skip logic & question branching: Adjust the survey questions according to the user’s previous answers.
- Integrations: Connect Typeform with over 500 apps like Google Sheets, Slack, and Mailchimp.
Pricing
- Basic: $25/month — Access to 100 responses, 1 user, unlimited forms.
- Plus: $50/month — Access to 1,000 responses, 3 users, custom branding.
- Business: $83/month — Access to 10,000 responses, 5 users, advanced analytics.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing — Customizable limits, VIP support.
Use cases:
1. Quick data collection: Typeform’s user-friendly interface lets you create and launch surveys quickly. In contrast, because Qualtrics is more complex, it takes much longer.
2. Simple survey analysis: Typeform’s user-friendly and design-first interface is efficient for quick and simple surveys; however, Qualtrics, with its extensive toolset, caters more to enterprise-level needs.
Best for
SMBs, startups, and individuals who want a quick, user-friendly interface and engaging form designs.
6. Google Forms
Google Forms is one of the simplest online survey builders out there for Google account holders.
Its drag-and-drop editor and pre-built templates make it extremely easy to build online surveys—even for beginners.
Key features:
- Custom logic: Follows responses to make sure relevant only follow-up questions are displayed
- Customization: Offers extensive customization options to align with your branding.
- Automated insights: Get instant summaries and analyze your survey data in real-time.
- Integrations: Integration with Google Sheets for advanced data handling.
- Device Flexibility: Create and respond to forms from any device.
Pricing:
Google Forms is entirely free to use for anyone with a Google account. This plan includes unlimited forms and responses, with 15 GB of storage shared across all Google services.
If you require additional features, you can upgrade to a Google Workspace plan.
Use cases:
1. Even registrations and RSVPs: Google Forms is ideal for quickly setting up simple event registrations or RSVPs, whereas using Qualtrics for such needs would be unnecessarily complex and time-consuming.
2. Team collaboration: Google Forms supports real-time collaboration, which makes it simple for small businesses or departments to conduct surveys together without the steep learning curve of Qualtrics.
Best for
Individuals, small businesses, and organizations looking for free or low-cost surveys, quizzes, and forms.
7. GetFeedback
GetFeedback is designed to gather and analyze customer feedback quickly, making it great for sales and marketing teams.
It works smoothly with Salesforce, providing immediate feedback to understand and respond to customer needs faster.
Key features:
- Multi-channel feedback: Collect feedback from where customers are using email, SMS, websites, and mobile apps.
- Advanced analytics: Use sentiment analysis, key driver analysis, and customizable dashboards for better and actionable insights.
- Unified customer insights: Merge customer feedback with data from other systems (like CRM or support tools) to give a complete view of each customer
- Salesforce integration: Directly link feedback to Salesforce triggering automated workflows.
- Customizable surveys: Allows for branded surveys with various templates for NPS, CSAT, and CES.
Pricing
GetFeedback does not publicly disclose its pricing.
Use cases:
1. Teams using Salesforce: You can automate workflows by integrating GetFeedback with Salesforce to directly collect and synchronize customer feedback.
2. Mobile feedback collection: Mobile-optimized survey feature makes GetFeedback an ideal choice for businesses targeting customers on mobiles, like those in retail or ecommerce. This is more challenging for Qualtrics users because it requires even more complex setup and customization for mobile surveys.
Best for
SMBs, marketing teams, and customer service departments that prioritize fast feedback loops.
Choose the right Qualtrics alternative
Qualtrics is advanced and integrates well with large systems, but its complexity and cost limit its suitability for many business and survey needs.
Choosing a great Qualtrics alternative boils down to:
- Your business needs—for choosing the right set of features
- Your budget—to know what you can afford
You want a survey tool that fits both criteria and aligns with your team's skills while simplifying work.
Use this list to compare the best options.
- If you're a research or product team that needs targeted user feedback with depth and actionable steps to optimize your product's user experience, Sprig is the way to go.
- For basic survey needs like event registrations or quick feedback, opt for Google Forms and Survey Monkey for their simplicity and free access.
- If your a sales or marketing team looking for seamless integration with Salesforce, GetFeedback is perfect for you.
- For conversational-styled offline surveys, SurveySparrow and Typeform are good options..
Sprig's all-in-one product experience platform includes tools like surveys, feedback widgets, session replays, and heatmaps that provide real-time user feedback and behavior data to pinpoint friction points in the product and uncover opportunities to optimize the user experience. This makes Sprig an ideal tool for companies looking to build best-in-class products that users truly love. Book a demo today to see Sprig in action.