open source survey software

Here's the current landscape of open-source survey software, organized by use case:

Best mature, research-grade platform

• LimeSurvey — in active development for over 20 years, remains the leading open-source survey platform. The self-hosted Community Edition gives complete control over your data (no third-party servers, no response limits, no vendor lock-in), with 80+ language support, 30+ question types with advanced branching and conditional logic, GDPR compliance tools (participant anonymization, data deletion), and an active plugin ecosystem with API access. Best for IT-savvy organizations, government agencies, healthcare institutions, and universities that require full data sovereignty.

Best for in-app, behavior-triggered feedback

• Formbricks — an open-source (AGPLv3) experience management platform combining link surveys, in-app micro-surveys embedded directly in your product, and pop-up surveys triggered by user behavior (page visits, button clicks, custom events). Dockerized self-hosting, a full open API, and a free visual builder (unlike SurveyJS, where the builder is a paid add-on). Widely used for employee surveys, market research, customer feedback, and driving product decisions. Best for engineering-led teams that want a complete platform rather than a library.

Best embeddable library (native inside your own codebase)

• SurveyJS — a JSON-schema-driven library, not a standalone platform — embed directly in React, Angular, Vue, or plain JS. The rendering engine is free (MIT-licensed, no usage caps); the visual drag-and-drop builder (Survey Creator) and analytics Dashboard are separate commercial add-ons. Deepest branching, calculated-field, and scoring logic among developer-focused options. Best when the survey needs to feel fully native inside your product rather than a separately-hosted tool.

Best for forms that also drive backend logic

• Form.io — JSON-schema-driven with automatic REST API generation, permissions, and workflow logic from the form/survey definition — best when the survey needs to double as application infrastructure (intake, approvals, compliance), not just collect responses.

Best conversational-style, fully open source

• HeyForm — brings a Typeform-style, one-question-at-a-time interaction to a fully open-source package. Self-hostable via Docker under AGPLv3, with an AI copilot, smart logic (conditional branching, URL redirections), and full visual theme customization with CSS access.
• Typebot — wins specifically for conversational, chatbot-like flows; self-hosts with no response caps.

Best general-purpose, no-code

• OpnForm — a clean, no-code form/survey builder (PHP/Laravel + Vue), open source (AGPLv3 core), unlimited forms and submissions on the free tier, with webhooks and API access for custom workflows.

The universal trade-off None of these are static sites you can drop on a CDN — every one needs a real server with a database attached, and most need SMTP for email notifications. The payoff is no response caps, no per-seat pricing, no surprise bills, and full ownership of your data.

How to choose

• Long, statistically rigorous, multilingual research surveys → LimeSurvey.
• In-app, behavior-triggered product feedback (NPS, feature satisfaction) → Formbricks.
• Embedding survey logic natively inside your own app's codebase → SurveyJS.
• Survey needs to also generate backend APIs or drive workflow/permissions → Form.io.
• Want a Typeform-style conversational experience, fully open source → HeyForm or Typebot.
• General-purpose, no-code, self-hosted → OpnForm.

Bottom line: LimeSurvey remains the gold standard for traditional, research-grade open-source survey software, while Formbricks is the strongest pick specifically for modern, in-app product feedback with a genuinely free builder, and SurveyJS is the right choice if you want the survey rendered natively inside your own application rather than deployed as a separate hosted tool.