7 Best Survey Tools for Small Businesses: Affordable & Effective

For any big or small business, to improve customer satisfaction or earn loyalty, you need to listen to your customer’s feedback and their experiences. 

However, the process can be challenging for small businesses due to budget constraints and the need for a tool that offers robust features without breaking the bank. They often struggle to find a cost-effective solution that provides comprehensive survey creation, distribution, and analysis capabilities.

But fret not! 

There are several best survey tools for small businesses available in the market right now that will fit your budget and meet all your business needs and of course, you don’t have to compromise on the quality of the features. 

So let’s discover these tools, their best features, pricing, and their pros and cons.

Top 7 Best Survey Tools For Small Business

1. SurveySensum

SurveySensum is an AI-enabled survey tool that enables users to create, launch, and analyze effective surveys across industries like B2B, NBFC, automotive, retail, SaaS, etc. It is known for helping businesses take relevant action on customer feedback that actually drives revenue.

It is not just a survey tool, it’s a full-fledged CX service. The tool also provides CX consultation and implementation support from top CX experts (with no extra charge!). These experts provide end-to-end support – from creating effective surveys to analyzing them to creating a well-formed action plan by extracting insights from feedback. All of these will be aligned with your business KPIs and how feedback can help you achieve those.

Along with the basic necessities like cross-tab analysis, WhatsApp surveys, an analytical survey dashboard, and more, SurveySensum has advanced features like AI-powered text analysis, a real-time ticketing system (for closed loop), ease of DIY, better visualization, and more. The objective is basically to extract actionable insights, take action in time, and boost the overall customer experience while driving the CX-driven ROI.

SurveySensum Key Features

• CX Consultation
• Text analytics software
• 2-hour SLA support guaranteed
• Transparent and affordable pricing
• Real-time customizable dashboards
• Closed-loop capabilities with a real-time ticket system
• Advanced Reporting 
• Integrations (along with data import)
• On-site support

Pricing

In the free plan, you get 25 survey responses. Along with that, you also receive website integrations, unlimited surveys, unlimited users, and unlimited questions. The paid plan starts from $99/month and goes higher with survey responses.

Launch, gather, and analyze feedback with industry-specific in-built survey templates in just under 5 minutes with SurveySensum!

2. Google Workspace

Google Workspace, formerly known as G Suite, is a collection of cloud-based productivity and collaboration tools developed by Google. It is designed to help businesses, organizations, and individuals work more efficiently and collaboratively. Google Workspace includes a variety of applications for email, document creation, file storage, communication, and more.

Our View: If you are looking for a simple survey tool to just send surveys, then Google Workspace might work out great for you. But if you are looking for a robust tool with advanced analysis features and in-built survey templates with customization options, then this tool might not be ideal for you.

* Source: G2, May 01, 2024

Best Features

• Google Workspace has an API for larger organizations to integrate these apps with third-party applications with ease.
• Google’s cloud partner network is so widespread that you can get a partner to guide you with almost everything.
• The tool can be accessed as a web app or on our mobile devices.

Pricing

The basic plan starts at $6/month.

G2 Review: 4.8/5

3. SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey is an online survey development and data collection platform that enables users to create, distribute, and analyze surveys. It is widely used by businesses, academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and individuals to gather feedback, conduct research, and collect data on various topics. SurveyMonkey offers a range of tools and features that make it easy to design surveys, reach respondents, and gain actionable insights from the collected data.

Our View: SurveyMonkey is one of the popular choices when it comes to creating simple surveys with few questions. But if you are looking for tool with more customization capabilities to design more complex surveys, this tool might not be ideal for you as the tool lacks advanced customization options.

* Source: Capterra, 2022

Best Features

• The tools have an intuitive drag-and-drop editor that allows users to create surveys without any technical skills.
• It collects and views responses in real-time, allowing for real-time analysis.
• It allows users to collect data from customers, and employees, for market research, events, and product development.

Pricing

The basic plan starts at $25/month.

G2 Review: 4.4/5

4. Jotform

Jotform is an online form builder and data collection platform that allows users to create, customize, and manage forms for various purposes, including surveys, registrations, order forms, and feedback collection. Jotform provides a user-friendly interface and a wide range of features, making it accessible to individuals, businesses, and organizations of all sizes.

Our View: The tool is an excellent choice for creating and launching online surveys, but if you need to do detailed analysis then this tool might not be ideal for you as it lacks built-in data analysis tools.

* Source: G2, May 14, 2024

Best Features

• The tool is very user-friendly and incredibly adaptable.
• Their customer support is quick to reply and effective.
• The tool provides users with the ability to generate anonymous surveys and feedback forms

Pricing

The basic plan starts at $34/month.

G2 Review: 4.7/5

In the game of customer experience management, only listening to VOC is not enough, you also need to take action. With SurveySensum’s advanced analysis and reporting feature, you can get the real picture of customer pain points and resolve them in real-time.

5. QuestionPro

QuestionPro is one of the 7 best online survey tools for small businesses that enables users to create, distribute, and analyze surveys and polls. It is designed to cater to a wide range of needs, from simple feedback forms to complex research projects. QuestionPro is widely used by businesses, academic institutions, market researchers, and non-profit organizations to gather data and gain actionable insights.

Our View: QuestionPro is another great survey tool for small businesses. This tool provides users with customizable options, a user-friendly survey builder interface, and analytical tools. But the tool is not ideal for small businesses as some of the advanced features such as question types and analysis are part of higher-tier plans and might not be ideal because of the additional pricing.

* Source: G2, May 29, 2024

Best Features

• The tool provides users with the ability to use complex procedural filters (e.g., limiting follow-up questions to only specific choices to prior questions).
• With a vast array of templates, QuestionPro makes it easy to create surveys, even for beginners.
• The tool offers an extensive range of question types allowing for flexibility in survey design.

Pricing

The basic plan starts at $99/month.

G2 Review: 4.6/5

6. Zoho Survey

Zoho Survey is an online survey creation and management tool that is part of the Zoho suite of business applications. It allows users to design, distribute, and analyze surveys with ease. Zoho Survey is suitable for businesses, educational institutions, non-profits, and individuals looking to gather feedback, conduct market research, measure customer satisfaction, and more.

Our View: This is an ideal survey tool for basic capabilities. However, it lacks import features from other apps and direct integration with most of the CRM and email marketing tools.

* Source: G2, Dec 05, 2023

Best Features

• The tool facilitates real-time feedback collection and management.
• It has about 200+ templates that can be customized to enhance survey design.
• It seamlessly integrates with other Zoho apps.

Pricing

The basic plan starts at $20/month.

G2 Review: 4.4/5

7. SurveySparrow

SurveySparrow is one of the 7 best online survey tools for small businesses designed to help create engaging surveys and gather actionable feedback. It differentiates itself with a focus on conversational surveys, aiming to improve response rates and user engagement. SurveySparrow offers a range of features for creating, distributing, and analyzing surveys, making it a versatile tool for collecting data in various contexts.

Our View: This is an ideal beginner-friendly survey tool for 2024. However, it doesn’t have a robust and intuitive real-time ticketing system.

* Source: G2, Mar 15, 2024

Best Features

• The tool provides advanced customization options.
• Even with the lowest pricing tier you can get survey logic and use variables (in a limited way though).
• The tool works great both on mobile and web platforms.

Pricing

The basic plan starts at $19/month.

G2 Review: 4.4/5

Conclusion

Choosing the right survey tool for a small business involves balancing ease of use, cost, feature set, and integration capabilities. The best tools are user-friendly and do not require extensive technical expertise, allowing for quick creation and deployment of surveys. Cost-effectiveness is crucial, with many tools offering free tiers suitable for basic needs, while premium options unlock more advanced functionalities.

An ideal survey tool, like SurveySensum, will offer a variety of question types, templates, and customization options to tailor surveys to specific business needs. Integration with other business applications is also important, enabling seamless data transfer and comprehensive analysis. Additionally, features such as real-time analytics, detailed reporting, and respondent management enhance the overall utility of the tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

The best tool for surveys depends on your specific needs, such as ease of use, feature set, cost, and integration capabilities. Look for a tool that offers intuitive survey creation, diverse question types, robust analytics, and compatibility with your existing business applications. The ideal tool should streamline the process of collecting and analyzing feedback to help you make informed business decisions.

Creating a survey for your small business involves several key steps:

• Define Your Objectives: Clearly outline what you want to learn from the survey.
• Choose a Survey Tool: Select a survey tool that meets your needs and budget.
• Design the Survey: Use templates and customize the questions to align with your objectives. Include a mix of question types (e.g., multiple choice, open-ended).
• Distribute the Survey: Share the survey with your target audience via email, social media, or embedded on your website.
• Analyze the Survey Data: Use the tool’s analytics features to interpret the responses and gain actionable insights.

Yes, there are several free survey tools available that offer basic functionalities suitable for small businesses. These tools typically provide essential features like customizable templates, basic analytics, and a limited number of responses per survey. While free versions are great for simple surveys, upgrading to a paid plan can unlock advanced features and higher response limits for more comprehensive survey needs.