Expert Guide

The Best Free Survey Tools in 2026

Eight survey tools compared on free response caps, question limits, branding and the cheapest verified paid plan.

Louis CorneloupFounder, Dupple · 930,000+ readers · Updated Oct 2026

Product links may be affiliate links. How we rate 8 tools compared

TL;DR

Tally is the best free survey tool for most people, with unlimited forms and submissions under its fair usage guidelines and conditional logic on the free plan. Its Pro plan at $24 a month removes the Tally branding. Google Forms is the pick for internal surveys, with up to 500,000 responses per form from September 2026. Limits and published prices were checked on each vendor's own pages on 10 October 2026.

If you need a paid step, FlexiQuiz Essentials is the lowest verified paid price at $204 a year billed yearly, with 500 responses a month. The free plans below differ mostly on how many responses they allow and whether the branding stays on.

Key facts8 tools compared: Tally, Google Forms, Zoho Survey, QuestionPro, Jotform, SurveySparrow…

Updated: October 14, 2026
Top pick: Tally (best for: Anyone who wants unlimited responses for free and can live with Tally branding)
Top pick price as of October 14, 2026: Tally: Free with unlimited forms and submissions, fair usage applies; Pro is $24 a month.

8 tools compared: Tally, Google Forms, Zoho Survey, QuestionPro, Jotform, SurveySparrow, FlexiQuiz, SurveyMonkey
Google Forms (best for: Internal surveys and feedback forms for teams that already work in Google accounts): Check current pricing. From September 2026: 500,000 responses per form and 1 GB total storage.
Zoho Survey (best for: Solo researchers who run many short surveys, each with no more than 100 responses a month): Free plan: unlimited surveys, 10 questions per survey and 100 responses per survey a month.
QuestionPro (best for: One person who needs logic and 30 question types without paying): Essentials is free forever; Advanced is $99 per user a month billed annually after a 10-day trial.

Every survey tool here can build a survey. The difference is what the free plan lets you do before it stops you.

A plan that allows 20 responses a month works for a classroom quiz and fails the week a customer survey goes to 200 people, so the response allowance is the number to check first.

Toolradar data: our survey software category lists 89 tools as of October 2026.

How we compared: this list covers eight of them with a free plan, ranked by how far the free plan goes before a limit stops you.

Top Picks

Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.

Best Free Survey Tools in 2026: Response and Question Limits Compared: 8 tools compared, updated Oct 2026
Tool	Pricing	Best for
Tally	Free with unlimited forms and submissions, fair usage applies; Pro is $24 a month.	Anyone who wants unlimited responses for free and can live with Tally branding.
Google Forms	Check current pricing. From September 2026: 500,000 responses per form and 1 GB total storage.	Internal surveys and feedback forms for teams that already work in Google accounts.
Zoho Survey	Free plan: unlimited surveys, 10 questions per survey and 100 responses per survey a month.	Solo researchers who run many short surveys, each with no more than 100 responses a month.
QuestionPro	Essentials is free forever; Advanced is $99 per user a month billed annually after a 10-day trial.	One person who needs logic and 30 question types without paying.
Jotform	Starter is free with 5 active forms and 100 submissions a month; Bronze is $39 a month.	Small teams with a few live forms that can accept Jotform branding.
SurveySparrow	Forever free: 75 responses a quarter and 3 active surveys. Basic is $19 a month billed yearly.	Students and freelancers who run a few small surveys each quarter.
FlexiQuiz	Free plan allows 20 responses a month. Essentials is $204 a year billed yearly, 500 responses a month.	Teachers and trainers who mainly run graded quizzes.
SurveyMonkey	Basic is free: 10 questions per survey and unlimited surveys. Advantage is $39 a month billed annually.	Buyers who want the best-known brand and will pay once they need more than Basic.

Pricing read from each vendor's own published pricing page, checked Oct 2026. 1 of 8 does not publish one; those entries say so rather than estimating.

Tally

Top Pick

Best for: Anyone who wants unlimited responses for free and can live with Tally branding.

PricingFree with unlimited forms and submissions, fair usage applies; Pro is $24 a month.

+The only plan here with no stated response cap, within Tally's fair usage guidelines

+Conditional logic and calculations are included on the free plan

+Forms can close automatically on a set date or after a set number of responses, also on the free plan

−Tally branding stays on free forms, and removing it needs the Pro plan

−Unlimited holds only within the fair usage guidelines, so a very large mailing list may need a paid plan

Visit Tally →

Google Forms

Best for: Internal surveys and feedback forms for teams that already work in Google accounts.

PricingCheck current pricing. From September 2026: 500,000 responses per form and 1 GB total storage.

+Google's help page sets a 500,000 response limit per form from September 2026

+You can set a close date or a response limit under the Accepting responses setting

+Responses are viewed and managed inside the form, with a summary and per-response views

−The 1 GB total storage limit arrives in September 2026, and heavy data collection can reach it

−No question cap is stated in Google's form limits, so test a long questionnaire before you send it

Visit Google Forms →

Zoho Survey

Best for: Solo researchers who run many short surveys, each with no more than 100 responses a month.

PricingFree plan: unlimited surveys, 10 questions per survey and 100 responses per survey a month.

+Unlimited surveys and unlimited collectors per survey on the free plan

+The 100 responses are counted per survey, so each new survey starts a fresh monthly allowance

+A 10-question survey fits a short product or event poll without a paid plan

−One user on the free plan, so a team cannot work from one account

−Ten questions per survey rules out a long research questionnaire

Visit Zoho Survey →

QuestionPro

Best for: One person who needs logic and 30 question types without paying.

PricingEssentials is free forever; Advanced is $99 per user a month billed annually after a 10-day trial.

+Logic and 30 question types are on the free Essentials plan

+The vendor's pricing page labels Essentials free forever, with no time limit on the plan

+Advanced adds a 10-day free trial, so you can test the paid features before paying

−One user on Essentials, and the 200 responses cap each survey

−Advanced bills per user, so three people on it pay $297 a month, billed annually

Visit QuestionPro →

Jotform

Best for: Small teams with a few live forms that can accept Jotform branding.

PricingStarter is free with 5 active forms and 100 submissions a month; Bronze is $39 a month.

+Up to 100 fields per form, so a long questionnaire can fit on the free plan

+10,000 form views a month on the free plan

+Bronze is the lowest-priced paid plan, at $408 billed yearly

−Five active forms is a hard cap for a team that runs many surveys at once

−Jotform branding stays on the Starter plan until you move to a paid subscription

Visit Jotform →

SurveySparrow

Best for: Students and freelancers who run a few small surveys each quarter.

PricingForever free: 75 responses a quarter and 3 active surveys. Basic is $19 a month billed yearly.

+The free plan includes three active surveys and 10 questions per survey

+Basic lifts the allowance to 2,500 responses

+Business adds custom branding, three users and 36,000 responses at $99 a month billed yearly

−75 responses a quarter is about 25 a month, a tight allowance for a survey sent to a list

−Free and Basic both have one user, so a team needs the Business plan, which has three

Visit SurveySparrow →

FlexiQuiz

Best for: Teachers and trainers who mainly run graded quizzes.

PricingFree plan allows 20 responses a month. Essentials is $204 a year billed yearly, 500 responses a month.

+Essentials has unlimited quizzes and questions

+Auto scoring and grading are on the Essentials list

+Essentials lifts the free 20-response allowance to 500 responses a month

−The free plan stops at 20 responses a month, which one class can exhaust quickly

−Built for quizzes and tests, so a customer feedback survey is a poor fit

Visit FlexiQuiz →

SurveyMonkey

Best for: Buyers who want the best-known brand and will pay once they need more than Basic.

PricingBasic is free: 10 questions per survey and unlimited surveys. Advantage is $39 a month billed annually.

+Unlimited surveys on the free Basic plan

+Standard gives 1,000 responses a month at $149 billed monthly, and Advantage is the cheapest paid individual plan

+Paid plans charge $0.15 for each response over the limit

−The free response cap is hidden until you sign up or log in

−Standard at $149 a month billed monthly comes to $1,788 a year, against $468 billed annually for Advantage

Visit SurveyMonkey →

What it is

A free survey tool lets you build a questionnaire, share a link and read the answers without paying. The free tier is a trial with limits, and vendors set those limits on four things: responses, questions per survey, live surveys and the branding your respondents see.

Some also cap the number of users, which decides whether a team can share one account.

Survey tools and form builders overlap. If you mainly need a booking or sign-up form, read best form builders, which is about form limits.

For paid research features and analysis, the best online survey software list covers the paid side.

Why it matters

The response cap is the limit that ends a project. The plans here allow anywhere from 20 responses a month to unlimited submissions, and the period matters as much as the number. 75 a quarter is about 25 a month, while 200 per survey applies to each survey separately.

Check the period before you trust the number.

Branding is the second cost. A free form with the vendor's logo on it can read as a student project to a customer. Tally and Jotform both keep their branding on the free plan, so a paid step is the only way to remove it there.

The third cost is the billing term: Tally's yearly option saves two months, while SurveyMonkey's Standard plan costs $149 a month billed monthly, which is $1,788 over a year.

Key features to look for

Response allowance

Responses per month, per survey or per quarter. Read the period first, because the same number means very different things.

Questions per survey

Several free plans cap a survey at 10 questions, which rules out a long research questionnaire.

Branding

Free forms can carry the vendor's logo. Removing it is a paid step on Tally and Jotform.

Logic and branching

Conditional logic sends each respondent down a different path. Tally includes it on its free plan, and QuestionPro's Essentials plan lists logic too.

First paid step

The price to remove a cap matters more than the top plan's price. Compare the annual rate with the response allowance you would actually buy.

Pricing

Every price and limit here was read on the vendor's own pricing or product page on 10 October 2026: Tally pricing, Jotform pricing, QuestionPro pricing, SurveySparrow pricing, FlexiQuiz plans, SurveyMonkey individual plans, Zoho Survey pricing and Survicate pricing.

Google Forms response limits come from Google's help page on form responses, and its product page is Google Workspace Forms.

Prices are shown in dollars on each vendor page, and the billing basis sits next to each figure. Tally's Pro price is monthly, and its yearly option is two months off. Zoho's upgrade prices and Google Forms' pricing are not quoted here, so check them on the vendor's own page before you pay.

Plan	Price	Best for
Tally Free	Free	Unlimited forms and submissions within fair usage, with conditional logic
Tally Pro	$24/mo	Removes Tally branding; yearly billing is two months off
Google Forms	Check current pricing	500,000 responses per form and 1 GB total storage from September 2026
Zoho Survey Free	Free	Unlimited surveys, 10 questions and 100 responses per survey a month
QuestionPro Essentials	Free	200 responses per survey, 30 question types, logic, one user
QuestionPro Advanced	$99/user/mo	25,000 responses a year, 10-day free trial, billed annually
Jotform Starter	Free	5 active forms, 100 submissions a month, Jotform branding
Jotform Bronze	$39/mo	Entry paid plan; yearly billing lowers the monthly rate
SurveySparrow Free	Free	Forever plan with 75 responses a quarter and 3 active surveys
SurveySparrow Basic	$19/mo	Billed yearly; 2,500 responses and one user
SurveySparrow Business	$99/mo	Billed yearly; 36,000 responses, three users, custom branding
FlexiQuiz Free	Free	20 responses a month for quizzes
FlexiQuiz Essentials	$17/mo	Billed yearly at $204; 500 responses a month, one administrator
SurveyMonkey Basic	Free	10 questions per survey, unlimited surveys, response cap shown after sign-in
SurveyMonkey Advantage	$39/mo	Billed annually up front; $0.15 per response over the limit
SurveyMonkey Standard	$149/mo	Billed monthly, with 1,000 responses a month

Mistakes to avoid

×Comparing response numbers without their period. 75 a quarter, 100 a month and 200 per survey are three different allowances, and they do not add up the same way.

×Assuming free means unbranded. Jotform's Starter plan carries Jotform branding, and Tally keeps its own until you pay for Pro.

×Assuming Survicate has a free plan. It offers a 10-day trial that collects up to 25 responses, and its Growth plan starts at $114 a month billed annually.

×Paying monthly for a year you will keep. Tally's yearly billing is two months off, and SurveyMonkey's Standard costs $1,788 a year when billed monthly.

Expert tips

→Count one month of responses before you pick a plan. A 100-response allowance covers a poll sent to 80 people, but not a newsletter survey, so match the tool to the list size.

→Run a dummy survey on each free plan before you send anything to a list, so you see the real cap first.

→Put public surveys on a tool that removes branding, and keep internal feedback on Google Forms, where the ceiling is 500,000 responses per form. For the rest of a free stack, see <a href='/reviews/best-free-crm-software'>best free CRM software</a>.

The bottom line

Take Tally if you want the most responses for nothing and can live with its logo, and read its fair usage line before a large send. Take Google Forms for internal surveys, where the 500,000-response ceiling is far above what most teams collect.

Choose Zoho Survey for many short surveys with 10 questions each and one user.

If you need a paid step, FlexiQuiz Essentials is the lowest verified paid price, billed yearly, and SurveySparrow Basic is close at $19 a month billed yearly.

Skip SurveyMonkey for a free start unless you test its cap first, and read our SurveyMonkey review for the paid tiers.

Tool pages: Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, QuestionPro and FlexiQuiz.

For the wider free stack, see best free cloud storage, best free PDF editors and best eSignature software.

Cite this: Techpresso, "Best Free Survey Tools in 2026", October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free survey tool in 2026?

Tally is the best pick for most people, with unlimited forms and submissions under its fair usage guidelines and conditional logic on the free plan. Google Forms is the pick for internal surveys, with up to 500,000 responses per form from September 2026.

Which free survey tool has the highest response limit?

Tally states no response cap on its free plan, within fair usage. Among tools with a stated number, Google Forms allows 500,000 responses per form from September 2026, and QuestionPro Essentials allows 200 per survey.

Is there a free survey tool with no branding?

Tally and Jotform both keep their branding on free forms. Tally removes it only on Pro, and Jotform removes it on a paid subscription. Check the branding rule of any other free plan before you send a survey to customers.

How many questions can a free survey have?

Zoho Survey, SurveySparrow and SurveyMonkey's Basic plan each cap a survey at 10 questions. Jotform's Starter plan allows 100 fields per form, the most generous stated question cap in this list.

What is the cheapest paid survey plan in this list?

The lowest verified paid price is FlexiQuiz Essentials at $204 a year billed yearly, for 500 responses a month. SurveySparrow Basic is $19 a month billed yearly, and Tally Pro is $24 a month, or $240 a year when billed yearly.

Is Survicate free?

No. Survicate offers a 10-day free trial that collects up to 25 responses. Its Growth plan starts at $114 a month billed annually for 250 survey responses a month.

Sources

Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.