LimeSurvey Review
LimeSurvey is a survey platform for creating, distributing, and analyzing online questionnaires, with both cloud hosting and a self-hosted open-source option.
TL;DR
LimeSurvey is a solid option if you need survey depth (question types, logic, exports) and stronger control over where data is hosted. If you want the simplest builder and modern reporting dashboards out of the box, you may prefer a more streamlined survey tool.
Overview
LimeSurvey lets you build surveys with a large set of question types, survey logic (skip logic/branching and piping), and multilingual support. You can distribute surveys via share links, QR codes, embedding, and email invitations with reminders, then review results and export data to common formats. It stands out for data-control options like hosting-region choice in LimeSurvey Cloud and a self-hosted Community Edition for teams that need full control over infrastructure. It’s commonly used by education, public sector, and research organizations that care about compliance and governance.
Ease of Use 3.5/5
LimeSurvey gives you a lot of control, but it feels more like a “survey system” than a lightweight form builder. We found the workflow makes sense once you learn its structure (survey settings, question groups, conditions), but it can take longer to set up complex logic than in more guided, modern editors. Distribution is straightforward with public links, password-protected links, embedding, QR codes, and email invitations with reminders.
Features 4.5/5
This is where LimeSurvey stands out: 30+ question types, lots of matrix variants, quotas, randomization, and piping/micro-tailoring for personalization. For research workflows, exports to SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel, and PDF are a practical advantage. There is also an API (RemoteControl via XML-RPC/JSON-RPC) plus plugins/modules, but you should expect some integration work compared with tools that focus on plug-and-play app connections. Some “insights” and team items are presented as “Soon,” so teams should confirm what’s available in their chosen plan today.
Key Features
Lacking Features
Looks & Design 3.5/5
Branding controls are better than most open-source-leaning tools: you can apply fonts/colors, add a logo, use your own domain, and remove LimeSurvey branding on higher tiers. If you need deep design control, LimeSurvey supports custom themes and even custom HTML/CSS/JS. The tradeoff is that getting a truly polished, bespoke respondent experience may take more setup than template-first tools.
Customer Satisfaction 4/5
For privacy- and governance-minded teams, LimeSurvey’s positioning is clear: hosting-region choice in LimeSurvey Cloud and a self-hosted Community Edition for full infrastructure control. Documentation and community history are a plus for technical teams, and there are paid support paths (including priority/VIP on higher plans). If you rely on vendor-led enablement like onboarding and dedicated support contacts, you’ll likely be looking at Corporate.
LimeSurvey Pricing 3.5/5
The entry paid tier (Basic) is priced at 16€ billed monthly (shown as ₺850/month), with 1,000 responses/month and 1 admin user, which is reasonable for small projects. Expert is cheaper only when billed annually (167€ per year shown), and adds white-label domain and branding removal; Business jumps to ~900€/year and is positioned around customized plugins and priority support. The pricing page also notes checkout is always in EUR, and Corporate is sales-led for SSO/LDAP/SAML and dedicated server, so budgeting can require a bit of back-and-forth for enterprise needs.
Basic
- 1 admin users
- 1,000 responses/month
- 250 MB upload storage
- Unlimited surveys
- Unlimited questions
Expert
- ₺8,950 billed annually
- 3 admin users
- 10,000 responses/year
- 1 GB upload storage
- Everything in Basic
- White-label domain
- Remove survey branding
Business
- ₺48,163 billed annually
- 5-10 admin users
- 50,000 responses/year
- 3 GB upload storage
- Everything in Expert
- 1 alias domain
- Priority email support
Corporate
- Tailored users/responses
- Advanced features
- SSO, LDAP, SAML
- Dedicated server
- VIP support
Pros & Cons of LimeSurvey
Pros
- • Large question-type library including many matrix variants
- • Skip logic/branching and piping (micro-tailoring)
- • Multilingual surveys (80+ languages) and translation support
- • Multiple distribution methods: link, embed, QR codes, email invites/reminders
- • Export options for research workflows (SPSS, R, Stata, CSV, Excel, PDF)
- • Hosting region choice for LimeSurvey Cloud and self-hosted Community Edition option
- • Custom theming and full HTML/CSS/JS survey design control
Cons
- • Free plan details are not clearly shown alongside paid plan limits on the pricing page snippet
- • Some collaboration/insights items appear marked as “Soon,” so availability may vary
- • Advanced enterprise needs (SSO/LDAP/SAML, dedicated server) require a sales-led plan
- • Non-EUR prices are shown for orientation and checkout is in EUR, which can make budgeting less straightforward
The Verdict
LimeSurvey makes sense for research, academic, and public-sector style surveys where logic, question variety, and exports matter, and where data location/governance is a key requirement. It also stands out if you want a self-hosted, open-source route (Community Edition) rather than being locked into a single SaaS vendor. On the other hand, teams prioritizing the fastest “pretty survey” creation and highly polished built-in analytics may find it takes more setup and expertise than simpler tools. If your main need is quick customer feedback or lightweight polls, a simpler UI-first tool may be a better fit.
This review has been researched and written following our strictly standardized OnlineSurveyTools methodology. We believe in transparency and consistency.
- We create real accounts and build actual forms.
- We test specific features like logic, payments, and integrations.
- We evaluate the respondent experience on mobile and desktop.
- We verify pricing claims and support responsiveness.