Customer Experience

Qualtrics vs Medallia: A Detailed Comparison (2025)

Nov 26, 2024

19 mins read

Manisha Khandelwal

Confused between Qualtrics vs Medallia? Wondering which one would suit your needs better? 

This comparison will draw out each tool’s pros and cons, best features, etc to uncover which will suit your needs better and drive better CX improvements while not exceeding your budget. 

So, let’s dig further to help you choose between the best of the two options – Medallia vs Qualtrics. 

Qualtrics, Medallia, and SurveySensum – The Introduction

Qualtrics and Medallia are well-known industry leaders in CX tools. While Qualtrics is noted for its predictive analytics and advanced surveys, Medallia is known for its real-time feedback management. However, both tools come with their drawbacks like a steep learning curve and high costs, making it a less ideal choice for small to medium-scale businesses.

Enter SurveySensum: an agile, budget-friendly alternative that blends the strengths of both while offering user-friendly CX solutions.

But, let’s not get ahead of the game and explore each tool to see how they differ from each other and which one aligns the best with your CX goals and needs. Let’s start with Qualtrics. 

What is Qualtrics – Platform Overview

The image is showing the homepage of Qualtrics

Qualtrics is a web-based CX platform that enables you to create and run customizable surveys. It helps you gather omnichannel feedback and gives you in-depth insights and reports using advanced analytical tools. Also, it helps identify the emotions, tone, and sentiment hidden in each response. 

Let’s explore some important pros and cons of Qualtrics –

Pros:

  • With Qualtrics you can create complex and advanced surveys.
  • Qualtrics provides robust and analytical reporting capabilities, enabling you to analyze data with real-time dashboards and in-depth segmentation.
  • The platform can seamlessly integrate with other platforms like CRM systems, etc.
  • Qualtrics meets high standards for data privacy and security, including compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.

Cons:

  • The tool is very expensive with additional hidden fees.
  • It requires additional training and comes with a steep learning curve as it is advanced and complex.
  • Customization options are limited to premium plans which can be expensive to small businesses.
  • Customer support is slow and often delayed.
→ Looking for alternatives to Qualtrics that will match your needs and requirements? Then explore the top 10 Qualtrics competitors and alternatives.

Now that we know a bit about Qualtrics, let’s deep dive into the Medallia platform.

What is Medallia – Platform Overview

The image is showing the homepage of Qualtrics
Medallia is an experience management platform that uses experience data points called signals to help drive growth. This AI-enabled experience management solution helps you identify top customer sentiments from unstructured data with its text analysis and gives you actionable insights. 

Let’s explore some important pros and cons of Medallia –

Pros:

  • Medallia offers real-time feedback mechanisms, helping companies quickly respond to customer needs and improve engagement.
  • Medallia integrates with a variety of other tools and software, allowing data to flow seamlessly across platforms.

Cons:

  • It does not have specialized survey tools like Qualtrics.
  • It does not provide its users with many custom survey templates.
  • Its pricing falls on the higher end, making it not suitable for small to medium-scale organizations.
→ Looking for alternatives to Medallia that will match your needs and requirements? Then explore the top 15 Medallia competitors and alternatives.

SurveySensum – Platform Overview

SurveySensum is an AI-enabled customer experience management software that provides end-to-end CX solutions that help you take prioritized actions impacting your bottom line and driving business growth. 

How is SurveySensum different from Qualtrics and Medallia?

Well, for starters, with SurveySensum you don’t have to worry about investing too much time in learning the ins and outs of all the features as the tool comes with an ease-to-use and implemented user interface with DIY capabilities. This makes it an ideal choice!

Moreover, SurveySensum provides end-to-end CX consultation, implementation support, and also onsite support, ensuring that you can get started easily — All within the same costs, with no hidden pricing! It helps you with advanced analysis and provides you with a well-formed action plan by extracting insights from feedback. All of these will be aligned with your business KPIs, transforming feedback into revenue.

Start using SurveySensum’s customizable survey builder today and design surveys that match your unique needs. Dive into DIY capabilities and simplify your feedback collection now!

Qualtrics vs Medallia: Comparison

Both Qualtrics and Medallia offer several features and tools to analyze the user experience and drive growth. 

Let us drill down further and compare a few other features and tools in detail. 

Comparison Table: Qualtrics vs Medallia vs SurveySensum

Aspects Qualtrics  Medallia SurveySensum
Key Features
  • Predictive analysis
  • Benchmarking
  • Advanced reporting capabilities
  • Advanced survey
  • AI-enabled analytics
  • Market research
  • Survey editor with DIY capabilities
  • Survey logic
  • AI-enabled text and sentiment analysis
  • Role-based analytical dashboards
  • Advanced reporting capabilities like cross-tab analysis, etc
  • CX consultation (with no extra charge)
Pre-built Survey Templates Offers survey templates like employee onboarding, customer experience, etc Doesn’t offer many custom templates, but lets you build customer questions and logic in the survey builder Offers 100+ industry-specific survey templates with pre-built relevant questions
Customization Capabilities In-built customization license. You can customize surveys to match your branding You can only change the look of surveys Survey builder with DIY capabilities which enables advanced customization of survey templates from questions, looks, font size, logos, etc
Customer Support Use the portal or contact the account executive for support Offer customer support as a SaaS model. You need to pay extra for extended technical support Offers support via 24*7 live chat support, individual account managers, social media channels, email support, and call support

Free Version Yes, with a single user account, 500 responses, 50+ survey templates, and limited styling options No Yes, with 25 survey responses, website integrations, unlimited surveys, unlimited users, and unlimited questions
Generative AI Capabilities ‘XM/os2’ AI gives recommendations ‘Ask Athena’ AI discovers trends and customer sentiments SurveySensum’s AI-enabled text analytics offers key drivers and actionable insights from thousands of qualitative feedback
Price On higher end On higher end Budget-friendly pricing plans
Set-up Time Longer setup with a steep learning curve Longer setup with implementation support Faster implementation 
Ideal For Large-scale enterprises Large-scale enterprises Medium and large scale enterprises

Qualtrics and Medallia – Feature Comparison in Detail

Here is a detailed comparison between Qualtrics and Medallia for you to evaluate further.

1. User Interface and Ease of Use

Qualtrics: The navigation and ease of use of this platform is not as per customers’ expectations! Users require in-depth product knowledge before creating any simple survey, or any analysis.

Medallia: Similarly, the Medallia user interface can also be slightly complex as it focuses on in-depth analysis and comes with a learning curve for beginners.

SurveySensum: Here SurveySensum differs from Qualtrics and Medallia. It is known for its simple and easy-to-use interface with DIY capabilities making it ideal for both beginners and seasoned professionals.

2. Data Collection and Feedback Mechanisms

Qualtrics: It enables users to gather feedback from multiple channels which fosters an omnichannel feedback collection, ensuring that no insight is lost. The tool also comes with advanced analytical capabilities like predictive analysis that help you gain detailed insights into your customer pain points, experience, etc.

Medallia: It also fosters an omnichannel feedback collection process by gathering feedback from multiple sources and consolidating data on a single platform for a unified view. This makes analysis easy and smooth by identifying recurring customer themes, pain points, and sentiments.

SurveySensum: The tool captures customer feedback from multiple channels and gathers it on a single platform for a unified and comprehensive view. Also, its AI capabilities enable automating the process of identifying recurring themes, customer sentiments, pain points, etc, boosting productivity and never missing an insight.

3. Survey Creation and Customization

Qualtrics: Qualtrics offers extensive customization options that can be overwhelming for users who are looking for a straightforward approach. Also, if you want to manage more advanced and complex surveys, you need to contact customer service agents to figure out the interface.

Medallia: On the other hand, Medallia offers survey customization but with a focus on creating experience-centric feedback tools.

SurveySensum: This platform offers a DIY survey builder. All you need to do is choose a survey template, edit the questions and you are good to go in merely 2-3 minutes! All the minor edits can be done by the user. For more radical changes, the support team is always open for feature requests!

4. Analytics and Reporting

Qualtrics: Qualtrics offers advanced analytics and reporting capabilities like predictive analysis, text and sentiment analysis, and advanced statistical analysis like regression, cluster, and correlation analysis. It also provides in-depth visualization and detailed segmentation reports. However, this comes at an additional cost. 

Medallia: Medallia comes with deep analytics and robust reporting, especially for customer experience trends. Its AI-powered predictive behavior analytics are designed to identify themes and patterns that drive action across touchpoints. However, the reporting feature can be difficult to navigate sometimes.

SurveySensum: Instead of navigating through complicated dashboards filled with endless data points, SurveySensum’s AI capabilities simplify this data to provide you with clear, actionable drivers behind customer satisfaction. This targeted approach means you won’t be overwhelmed by unnecessary metrics; instead, you can prioritize actions that will have the greatest effect on improving customer experience.

5. Customer Insights and AI Capabilities

Qualtrics: Qualtrics is known for its advanced analytics features for using AI and machine learning to enhance text analytics, sentiment analysis, and predictive modeling. It also focuses on automating insights for faster decision-making. That said, this type of analysis can feel overwhelming for beginners or those seeking a more simplified approach.

Medallia: Medallia has advanced AI capabilities through Medallia Athena, which uses machine learning to identify patterns and provide predictive insights.

SurveySensum: With SurveySensum’s AI-enabled text and sentiment businesses can identify and act on recurring trends in customer feedback. This feature ensures you don’t just collect feedback but can extract meaningful insights over time. By analyzing large volumes of customer data, SurveySensum’s TA pinpoints key patterns and shifts in customer sentiment or behavior, allowing you to stay ahead of evolving customer needs.

6. Integration and Compatibility

Qualtrics: Qualtrics offers extensive integration options, allowing data to be gathered and unified from various systems or platforms such as CRM systems, analytics tools, marketing tools, etc. These integration capabilities are designed to meet the needs of large-scale organizations.

Medallia: Similarly, Medallia also offers integration from a wide range of data sources which is geared toward large enterprises.

SurveySensum: With SurveySensum you can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems like Slack, Outlook, Salesforce, Zendesk, etc. Not only that, you also receive implementation support from the team at no additional cost. Also, if you want any additional integration, the team is responsive to requests.

7. Pricing and Value for Money

Qualtrics: Both Qualtrics and Medallia fall on the higher end when it comes to their pricing. With Qualtrics, the pricing plans are easy to understand but are on the higher end as the features are mostly designed for large enterprises and can be quite high for you if you do not need such a versatile tool with too many complex features.

Medallia: Similarly, Medallia’s prices also fall in the higher end as they charge for both ‘units’ and ‘users’.

SurveySensum: Here, SurveySensum can be an ideal choice for users looking for a budget-friendly pricing plan. The best part – No hidden pricing! Along with that, the tool also offers a free version with all the necessary survey features for users to explore.

8. Customer Support and Resources

Qualtrics and Medallia: Both Qualtrics and Medallia’s customer support is not robust enough as they lean towards managed service rather than self-service. You will need to get in touch with the customer support team directly to make changes to your dashboards, customize your reports, etc.

SurveySensum: Whereas, the customer support team of SurveySensum follows a balanced approach of self-service and managed service. The team provides individual account managers for you to get in touch with in case of any issues. Also, the customer support team is also available via chat support, social media channels, email, 24*7 support with 2 hour SLA globally.

9. Security and Data Privacy

Qualtrics: Qualtrics complies with major data privacy standards, including GDPR and HIPAA. It offers robust data encryption and secure data handling practices. 

Medallia: Similarly, Medallia also adheres to stringent security measures, with compliance with GDPR, CCPA, and other international standards. Medallia emphasizes data protection across all client interactions.

SurveySensum: SurveySensum provides a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) which ensures that all parties involved in handling PHI understand their obligation. It also offers multi-layered access control, seamless integration with your existing EHS system, best-in-industry authentication protocols, a private server for data backup, and comprehensive audit logs.

→ Explore the list of top 7 HIPAA Compliant Survey Tools to ensure data security.

Qualtrics and Medallia – G2 Ratings

G2 is a popular peer-to-peer review platform where users can find unadulterated, unbiased, and real-time reviews about different software and technologies. So, let’s see what G2 has to say about Qualtrics vs Medallia.

  1. Meets Requirements: Qualtrics scored an 8.8 in this aspect, indicating strong customer satisfaction in meeting customer expectations and needs. While Medallia scores an 8.7, showing a high level of satisfaction, though marginally behind Qualtrics.
  2. Ease of Use: Medallia leads with a score of 8.6, reflecting that users find it intuitive and user-friendly. Qualtrics scored an 8.3, which is still a strong rating but indicates that some users might find the platform complex or require additional training.
  3. Ease of Setting Up: Qualtrics scored a 7.4, indicating that while many users find the initial setup manageable, it involves some complexity or a steeper learning curve. Medallia scores 7.1, indicating a slightly more challenging setup process compared to Qualtrics.
  4. Ease of Administration: Both Qualtrics and Medallia score 7.7, showing they are equally efficient when it comes to managing and administering the platform. 
  5. Quality of Support: Medallia scores 8.5, suggesting that users generally have positive experiences with customer support. Qualtrics follows closely with an 8.4 rating, though slightly less so than Medallia’s.
  6. Ease of Doing Business: Qualtrics scores an 8.5 in this aspect, indicating that users find it relatively easy to collaborate and engage. While Medallia scores 8.4, showing a similarly positive, but marginally lower.
  7. Product Direction: Medallia takes the lead with a 9.5 rating in product direction, suggesting that users have strong confidence in future developments. While Medallia scores 8.4, indicating positive user perception, but not as overwhelmingly as Medallia.

The image shows the rating of Qualtrics and Medallia on the G2 rating on different aspects like ease of use, quality of support, ease of administration, etc.

→ Here’s why SurveySensum is a great Qualtrics alternative!

NPS, CSAT, and CES – Qualtrics and Medallia G2 Ratings

Let’s dwell a bit further into G2 ratings of features of Qualtrics and Medallia when it comes to different customer experience metrics.

  1. NPS: Medallia scores 9.7, indicating high user satisfaction and strong capabilities for measuring NPS effectively. Qualtrics scores 9.3, which is also very strong but slightly behind Medallia.
  2. CSAT: Qualtrics has a 9.1 rating, showcasing robust tools for measuring customer satisfaction and positive feedback for CSAT surveys. Medallia scores 8.7, which is still high, but suggests slightly less favorable compared to Qualtrics in this feature.
  3. CES: Both Qualtrics and Medallia score 9.0, indicating equally strong user satisfaction with their tools for assessing customer effort during interactions.

The image shows the rating of Qualtrics and Medallia on the G2 rating on different features like NPS, CSAT, and CES.

 

→ Check out which CX software should you choose – Qualtrics vs SurveyMonkey

What do Qualtrics and Medallia customers have to say about these platforms?

Here is a comparison of customer testimonials for Qualtrics and Medallia, as presented by SurveySensum. It highlights feedback from customers who have used these platforms:

Qualtrics Testimonials:

  • Ngo Hong Minh (Director of the Passenger Service Department, Vietnam Airlines) mentions how the platform’s speed and accuracy help capture customer insights that are essential for creating exceptional customer experiences.
  • Craig Westbrook (VP, BMW of North America) states that Qualtrics’ XM platform is the right technology to align with its vision of delivering a top-tier product experience.
  • Meto Nyati (CTO, Microsoft Africa) expresses that partnering with Qualtrics allows them to measure impact and improve their programs effectively.

Medallia Testimonials:

  • Nicole Myers (VP, Customer Experience, Holiday Inn Club Vacations) emphasizes the value of listening to customer feedback for taking meaningful action during unpredictable times.
  • Gil West (SEVP & COO, Delta Airlines) highlights the platform’s capability for real-time customer insight.
  • Anthony Pacitti (IT Manager, End User Experience, Johnson & Johnson) notes that Medallia supports a seamless employee experience, influencing the overall workforce journey.

Here’s what Qualtrics & Medallia customers have to say!

Is there any alternative that stacks up to Medallia and Qualtrics?

Medallia and Qualtrics are great tools in general. 

Our question here is if there is a better alternative to Qualtrics and Medallia. 

If there is any single solution that can replace Medallia and Qualtrics comprehensively in terms of pricing, features, functionalities, reliability, ease of use, etc.? 

Well, SurveySensum can help you here.

Let us see how SurveySensum stacks up with Medallia and Qualtrics in detail.

Introducing SurveySensum

The image shows the NPS dashboard that gives an overview of the NPS program.

SurveySensum utilizes AI to transform your customer experience to the next level. It helps organizations collect feedback, analyze it, and create actionable insights to drive growth. 

How?

With its innovative and AI-driven capabilities. Some of the features of SurveySensum are:

  • Ease-of-Use

Creating surveys has never been easier. SurveySensum’s AI-enabled survey builder is beginner-friendly and comes with advanced customization and DIY capabilities. All you have to do to create feedback surveys is choose a survey template based on your objective, customize it in your theme and you are good to go!

 The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about how the SurveySensum platform is easy to use and has a simple interface.

  • Powerful Dashboards with Key Drivers

An AI-powered dashboard highlights key drivers behind customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction, giving each team member personalized insights tailored to their role. 

The best part about AI-driven dashboards is that you don’t have to decide which data points to analyze, the dashboard uses AI to give you detailed reports on which data points are important, streamlining the entire process.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about how the SurveySensum helps them gain real-time insights via analytical dashboards.

  • NPS, CES, CSAT surveys, and more

Go beyond the NPS, CES, and CSAT surveys. Product, onboarding, CSI, pulse, or more, launch any kind of survey you want and take full advantage of the team that will help you with choosing the right survey and the right questions.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about how the SurveySensum survey builder helps them save 70% of survey costs.

  • AI-Enabled Text Analytics 

Identify the top issues of customers with the help of AI text analytics software within seconds and reduce complaints considerably. It leverages AI and machine learning to automate the process of extracting top customer complaints and sentiments from the open-ended responses giving you actionable insights in a prioritized manner.

  • Customer Support

SurveySensum delivers exceptional, fast-response customer support across multiple channels, including email, social media, dedicated account managers, and 24/7 live chat. With a commitment to a 2-hour SLA, SurveySensum ensures rapid issue resolution, empowering your team with reliable assistance whenever and wherever needed.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about how the SurveySensum has a responsive customer support team.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about how SurveySensum has an excellent customer support team.

  • Transparent and Affordable Pricing

Unlike many other platforms, SurveySensum is very transparent about its pricing. What you see is what you get, no hidden pricing is involved.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about SurveySensum’s affordability and transparent pricing.

  • Seamless Integrations 

SurveySensum offers flawless integrations to many third-party tools and services, creating seamless connectivity throughout. Helping you can enjoy all the processes and information on one platform.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about SurveySensum’s CX consultation.

  • CX Consultation

SurveySensum offers end-to-end CX service – from creating the right survey and launching it at the right time and via the right channels to gather relevant feedback to analyze feedback effectively with AI capabilities to derive actionable insights and take prioritized action. The best part? All of this at no additional cost!

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about SurveySensum’s agile approach to revolutionizing customer feedback.

The image shows a customer review on the SurveySensum platform. The customer is talking about how the SurveySensum has a responsive customer support team.

SurveSensum offers a superabundance of functionalities and benefits in addition to endless features:

  • Offers 360-degree solutions for professionals 
  • Provides actionable feedback
  • Robust NPS software

Analyze open feedback with AI-enabled text and sentiment analysis to identify recurring customer themes, pain points, sentiments, etc to take prioritized action that can drive data-driven CX improvements!

Now that we know a bit about all three, which one should you go for?

Which one to choose? Medallia or Qualtrics or SurveySensum?

Qualtrics, Medallia, and SurveySensum – each platform brings unique strengths to improve customer experience management and enhance overall CX strategy. While Medallia excels in real-time feedback management, Qualtrics excels in advanced data analysis, but both may come with a learning curve and might not be suitable for everyone’s budget. 

Here, SurveySensum can offer a balanced combination of both basic and advanced CX solutions suitable for both beginners and advanced professionals and all in budget-friendly pricing plans.

Ultimately, the right choice depends on aligning your specific needs – such as ease of use, budget, and integration capabilities – with what each platform offers. Evaluate these key factors to make the most informed decision for your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Which is better, Qualtrics or Medallia?

Both Qualtrics and Medallia are top-tier customer experience and reputation management tools, but they excel in different ways. To choose between the two tools you need to explore each tool separately, evaluate their pros and cons, and see if they align with your goals or not.

2. What are the disadvantages of using Qualtrics?

The main disadvantages include:

  • Steep learning curve
  • Complex features
  • Expensive pricing plans
  • Complex customization options
3. Is Qualtrics better for smaller businesses?

No, Qualtrics is not an ideal choice for small businesses as it comes with an advanced and complex feature that requires a steep learning curve, and also the pricing falls on the higher end.

4. Does Medallia offer AI-driven insights?

Yes, Medallia offers strong AI-driven insights. The platform leverages machine learning and AI to provide predictive analysis, sentiment analysis, and trend identification.

5. Can both platforms integrate with CRM systems?

Yes, both Qualtrics and Medallia have integration capabilities with popular CRM systems. 

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Manisha Khandelwal

Senior Content Marketer at SurveySensum

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