19 rules in 5 groups, worth 100 points in all. They were set before any product was scored and apply the same way to all 12.
Version 1, published 8 Oct 2026
In short
Each rule is a yes-or-no fact, a list (such as the systems with an app) or a number with published thresholds, read from the vendor's own pages.
A fact the vendor does not publish earns nothing. A feature in beta or preview does not count.
The list follows the points. A tie goes to the lower price on "cheapest paid plan", then to the name.
Web-based survey tools for research and feedback, usable in a browser on Windows. Plain form builders, quiz tools and respondent-panel sellers are left out. Plan lines count the cheapest self-serve plan for one person, priced from the vendor's US page. Features count if any published plan, enterprise included, has them, unless a rule says otherwise.
Price 20 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Free plan
A free plan (not a time-limited trial) on the vendor's hosted service that lets you build a survey and collect responses. A free edition you install and run yourself does not count.
6
Cheapest paid plan
Cheapest self-serve paid plan for one person, US dollars a month at the regular price, from the vendor's US page. Use the yearly-billed price per month, or the monthly price if the plan is sold only monthly. Euro-only prices record cur EUR. No paid plan is $0; quote-only is null. Tiers: $15 or less 14 points, $25 11, $40 8, $60 5, $100 2.
14
Limits 14 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Responses a month, cheapest paid plan
Responses the same cheapest paid plan (as in the price line) allows each month. A yearly cap is divided by 12; if the plan states its cap only per survey, record null. If the plan says unlimited responses, record 10000. 1,000 or more earns 10 points, 500 or more 7, 250 or more 4, 100 or more 2.
10
Unlimited surveys and questions
The cheapest paid plan states no cap on the number of surveys and no cap on questions per survey.
4
Questions and logic 22 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Skip logic on the cheapest paid plan
The vendor lists skip logic, branching or logic jumps (show or skip questions by earlier answers) as included in the cheapest paid plan.
8
Randomised questions or answers
On at least one plan, the order of questions, blocks or answer choices can be randomised.
4
Multilingual surveys
On at least one plan, one survey can be published in several languages for respondents. The language of the builder's own menus does not count.
5
Answer piping
On at least one plan, an earlier answer can be inserted into the text of a later question.
3
Response quotas
On at least one plan, you can close the survey, or a group of respondents, after a set number of responses.
2
Results 18 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Export formats
Formats in which the vendor documents exporting the raw survey responses on at least one plan. Each one earns 2 points. PDF reports do not count.
6
Cross-tabulation
On at least one plan, the vendor documents splitting results by the answers to another question (cross-tabulation or banner tables).
4
Public API
The vendor documents a public API or webhooks for reading responses, on a plan below custom enterprise pricing.
4
Remove vendor branding
On a plan with a public price, you can remove the vendor's logo or badge from the survey.
4
Security and trust 26 points
Rule
What it takes
Points
Single sign-on
The vendor lists SAML or other single sign-on for the people who build surveys (its account users) on at least one plan. Sign-in for survey respondents does not count.
4
EU data storage
The vendor says survey data can be stored in the European Union, on at least one plan.
5
SOC 2 Type II or ISO 27001
The vendor names a SOC 2 Type II report or an ISO/IEC 27001 certification for this product or the company running it.
7
Data processing agreement
The vendor publishes a GDPR data processing agreement, or offers one to sign online, for its customers.
3
Published accessibility report
The vendor publishes a VPAT, an accessibility conformance report or a WCAG statement for the survey product.
4
Open source
The source code of the survey software is public under an open-source licence.