LimeSurvey vs Survey Solutions
| Tagline | Mature open-source survey tool with advanced question types and quotas | World Bank's free self-hosted CAPI/CAWI survey platform for large-scale data collection |
| Category | Forms & Surveys | Forms & Surveys |
| Replaces | SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, Typeform | SurveyMonkey, Typeform |
| GitHub stars | 3.6k | 300 |
| Language | PHP | C# |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Self-host difficulty | 4/5 Involved | 4/5 Involved |
| Deploy options | Docker Manual | Docker Compose Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | 5 days ago | 1 month ago |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
LimeSurvey
- Dated UI/admin experience compared to modern SaaS form builders
- Steeper learning curve due to the sheer breadth of options
- Manual installation requires configuring PHP, a database, and a web server
- Form aesthetics are less polished than Typeform out of the box
Survey Solutions
- No native SaaS managed option; requires your own server infrastructure
- Android interviewer app not on Google Play without sideloading in some regions
- Complex initial setup compared to simpler form tools
Bottom line
Both are a similar lift to self-host; choose LimeSurvey for the larger community and ecosystem. LimeSurvey has seen more recent development. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
Survey Solutions
World Bank's free self-hosted CAPI/CAWI survey platform for large-scale data collection