The best free survey tools in 2026, ranked by what the free plan allows

We compared free plans only, because that is the question: what do you get for $0? We did not run surveys through each product, so there are no completion-rate claims. We read each vendor's pricing page and help center on 28 September 2026 and scored six things. Where a vendor did not say, we write "not listed" instead of guessing.

1. Response cap: how many responses the free plan accepts, and whether the cap is per month, per survey or on how many you can view.

2. Survey question types: a matrix or grid (several statements on one scale), a Likert-style scale, and a 0 to 10 scale for NPS.

3. Logic: can a respondent skip questions that do not apply? Branching by section is weaker than logic on any question, and both beat none.

4. Export: can you download raw responses as CSV or Excel, or push them to a spreadsheet, on the free plan?

5. Analysis: does the tool summarize results with charts, or do you do all of it in a spreadsheet?

6. Branding: does the free survey carry the vendor's logo or badge, and what does removing it cost?

The ranking weighs all six criteria for a typical survey: 20 to 40 questions, a few hundred to a few thousand responses, at least one rating grid, and some skip logic. Each entry lists who it suits and the cons that would make you pick something else.

Google Forms has no published response cap, and its free question list covers most surveys: multiple choice grid and checkbox grid for matrix questions, a linear scale that can run from 0 to 10, a rating question, and file upload. Responses show as summary charts and can be linked to a Google Sheet in two clicks.

Cons: there is no dedicated NPS question, so you build one from a 0 to 10 linear scale and calculate the score yourself (our NPS calculator does the arithmetic). Logic only works by sending people to a section based on a multiple choice or dropdown answer, not by hiding single questions. Every form carries Google Forms branding, and respondents without a Google account cannot upload files.

Tally gives unlimited forms and submissions within its fair-use policy, and its free plan includes conditional logic, calculations, answer piping and a matrix block for Likert-style grids. It connects to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable and webhooks for free, so it handles more complex surveys than Google Forms without a Google account.

Cons: the built-in results view is lighter than a dedicated survey tool, so most analysis happens in a spreadsheet. Removing the Tally badge, capturing partial submissions and drop-off analytics need Pro at $24 a month on annual billing or $29 monthly.

Microsoft Forms has the survey-specific question types that Google lacks: Likert, Net Promoter Score and ranking, plus branching and Excel export. Inside a Microsoft 365 work or school tenant a form can take up to 50,000 responses, and results sit next to the rest of your Microsoft data.

Cons: on a free personal Microsoft account the limit is 200 responses per form (1,000 on a paid personal account), so it is a weak choice outside an organization. Each Likert statement counts toward the form's question limit, and design options are narrow.

Zunoform's free plan accepts 500 responses a month across unlimited forms and includes matrix, rating, star and ranking questions, logic on any question, answer piping, randomized option order and a question shuffle. Partial responses are saved as people move through the survey, anonymous mode stores no IP address or device data for that form, and responses export to CSV or go to Google Sheets. The same questions can run as a one-question-at-a-time survey or a single page.

Cons: 500 responses a month is a cap, where Google Forms and Tally have none. The NPS question can be built and previewed on Free but needs Pro ($14.99 a month) to publish, so a free NPS survey means a 0 to 10 rating instead. Free surveys show a small "Powered by Zunoform" badge, and there is no built-in spam protection yet.

Formbricks' free Hobby plan lists all question types, conditional logic, hidden fields, partial responses, file uploads, single-use links and full API access. It can also run surveys inside a web or mobile product, not just by link, and the code is open source if you want to host it yourself.

Cons: the hosted free plan stops at 250 responses a month and one workspace, and the next step, Pro, is $74 a month. Formbricks branding stays on until you pay.

LimeSurvey's cloud free plan includes every question type, logic, themes and all languages; the only real limit is volume. Its Community Edition is free, open-source software you install on your own server, with no response cap beyond your hosting.

Cons: the cloud free plan allows 25 responses a month, and LimeSurvey says the survey site locks when you run out until the month resets. The editor takes longer to learn than any other tool here.

QuestionPro's free plan lists 30 question types, basic logic and analysis for one user.

Cons: responses are capped at 200 per survey. Custom branding is a paid feature, and the first paid plan, Advanced, is $99 per user per month billed annually, the steepest jump on this list.

SurveyMonkey's Basic plan allows unlimited surveys, AI survey building, website embedding and a Zapier integration, and its paid tiers have the deepest analysis on this list: statistical significance, crosstabs and AI thematic analysis.

Cons: Basic limits each survey to 10 questions and lets you view only a limited number of responses per survey; SurveyMonkey shows that number only after you sign up. Skip logic and data exports start on Standard, which is $149 a month on monthly billing. Advantage is $39 a month but billed as $468 a year.

Zoho Survey's free plan allows unlimited surveys, 250 templates and XLS or CSV exports, and it sits naturally next to Zoho CRM. Its Basic plan is only $7.42 a month billed annually, the cheapest paid step here.

Cons: free surveys are capped at 10 questions and 100 responses per survey, with no skip logic and no logo upload. That rules it out for most real surveys at $0.

Typeform's one-question-at-a-time surveys are well designed and include matrix, opinion scale and NPS questions, with logic available on every plan.

Cons: the free plan accepts 10 responses a month. Basic, at $28 a month on annual billing, raises that to 100.

Of the ten, only Google Forms and Tally have no response cap on the free plan: Google publishes none, and Tally allows unlimited submissions within a fair-use policy. LimeSurvey and Formbricks become unlimited only if you host them yourself.

Every other tool caps something. Watch how the cap is counted: Zunoform and Formbricks count per month across all surveys, QuestionPro and Zoho count per survey, Microsoft counts per form, and SurveyMonkey limits how many responses you can view, not how many it collects.

Yes, but not all of them. For a Likert grid (several statements rated on the same agree-disagree scale), Google Forms' multiple choice grid, Tally's matrix block, Microsoft Forms' Likert question and Zunoform's matrix question all work at $0. Our Likert scale guide covers the wording and how to analyze the answers.

For NPS, Microsoft Forms has a native question on its free tier. Everywhere else you can build it as a 0 to 10 scale labelled "Not at all likely" to "Extremely likely", then compute promoters minus detractors with our NPS calculator.