What is the difference between Formbricks and SurveyMonkey?

Formbricks is best for Product teams wanting open-source in-app surveys, while SurveyMonkey is best for Anyone wanting professional surveys and research. Formbricks starts at Free and SurveyMonkey starts at Free.

Is Formbricks or SurveyMonkey cheaper?

Formbricks starts at Free and is free. SurveyMonkey starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to SurveyMonkey?

Both Formbricks and SurveyMonkey offer free tiers.

Formbricks vs SurveyMonkey

Formbricks is open-source survey and form platform for in-app micro-surveys, feedback, and NPS tracking, while SurveyMonkey is survey platform with templates, analytics, and enterprise research tools. Formbricks is open source and can be self-hosted, giving you full control over your data. Formbricks is built for product teams wanting open-source in-app surveys, whereas SurveyMonkey targets anyone wanting professional surveys and research.

At a glance

	Formbricks	SurveyMonkey
Best for	Product teams wanting open-source in-app surveys	Anyone wanting professional surveys and research
Starting price	Free	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
AI	—	✓
Analytics	—	✓
In-App Surveys	✓	—
NPS	✓	—
Open Source	✓	—
Self-Hosted	✓	—
Surveys	—	✓
Templates	—	✓

Formbricks

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes In-App Surveys as a core feature, purpose-built for form builder workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Self-hosting requires Linux admin skills and ongoing server maintenance
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in form builder

Try Formbricks → Full review

SurveyMonkey

Strengths

Includes Surveys as a core feature, purpose-built for form builder workflows
Huge template library covers social media, presentations, marketing materials, and more
Free for 10 questions — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 20+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Ecosystem of third-party integrations is smaller than the market leaders in form builder
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try SurveyMonkey → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Both Formbricks and SurveyMonkey are free. You can try both without spending a dollar.

Feature gaps: Formbricks offers In-App Surveys, NPS and Open Source that SurveyMonkey lacks. SurveyMonkey brings AI, Analytics and Surveys that Formbricks does not have.

Team fit: Formbricks is geared toward small teams teams, while SurveyMonkey is aimed at any size teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Formbricks is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. SurveyMonkey is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Formbricks's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes in-app surveys as a core feature, purpose-built for form builder workflows. SurveyMonkey's biggest strengths are: includes surveys as a core feature, purpose-built for form builder workflows. huge template library covers social media, presentations, marketing materials, and more.

Watch out for: With Formbricks, users commonly note that may lack some advanced features. With SurveyMonkey, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Formbricks if...

You need a tool built for product teams wanting open-source in-app surveys
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need In-App Surveys and NPS
You care about includes in-app surveys as a core feature, purpose-built for form builder workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Formbricks is designed for

Choose SurveyMonkey if...

You need a tool built for anyone wanting professional surveys and research
You specifically need AI and Analytics
You care about huge template library covers social media, presentations, marketing materials, and more
Your team size fits the any size profile SurveyMonkey is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 10 questions