Introduction: Why You Need an Online Survey Maker for Free
Getting feedback quickly has become more important than ever. Whether you run a small business, organise events, teach in schools, or just want opinions from friends, surveys help. But paying for survey tools can get expensive. That’s why finding an online survey maker for free is so valuable. With the right tool, you can design surveys, get respondents, review results all without spending a penny.
What Makes a Great Online Survey Maker for Free
Before choosing, you need to know what to look for. A free option might have limitations, but some tools are excellent even in free mode. Here are the crucial features.
- Unlimited surveys, questions, responses
A free tool is much more useful if you can create many surveys (not just one), with as many questions as you like, and accept many responses. If you’re limited too strictly, you might have to upgrade or switch tools.
- Templates & pre-written questions
Not everyone loves starting from blank. Good online survey maker for free platforms provide sample templates for specific uses—customer feedback, employee satisfaction, education, events, etc. If they also offer pre-written questions, it saves a lot of time.
- Easy, clear design (themes, customisation)
Your survey should look decent. Free tools should allow choosing themes or colours, customising look, maybe adding your logo. Responsive layouts (so the survey works well on phones/tablets) are essential.
- Branching / skip logic
This means the survey adapts, showing certain questions only if respondents choose specific answers. It makes the flow more natural and avoids irrelevant questions.
- Sharing and distribution
You need to send out the survey easily—via link, email, embedding on a website, or social media. The easier the distribution, the more responses you’ll likely get.
- Analysis & results view
After people respond, you want to see results clearly. That means charts, simple summaries, maybe exporting data in useful formats. If the free version allows exporting, that’s a big plus.
- Multi-language support & accessibility
If your audience speaks different languages, or if people use different devices, these features help. Also, finding tools that are accessible (readable text sizes, etc.) is often overlooked but important.
What to Watch Out For: Free Version Limitations
Free often comes with trade-offs. Knowing the usual restrictions helps you pick the tool that least limits your needs.
- Branding or logos: Free versions often show the survey maker’s logo on your survey.
- Limited export formats: Some free tools do not allow exporting data or limit which formats.
- No advanced branching or logic: Some free tiers may limit or omit skip logic, conditional questions.
- Number of responses: Even if you can send unlimited surveys, the number of responses per survey might be capped.
- Less customisation: Fewer themes, colours, fonts; less ability to change look and feel.
- Support & integration: Free often means minimal customer support; fewer integrations.
Spotlight: SurveyPlanet What It Offers
One of the strong contenders in the online survey maker for free world is SurveyPlanet. Let’s look at what SurveyPlanet gives you in its free version, and what extra features its paid version adds.
What SurveyPlanet Offers for Free
- You can create unlimited surveys, with unlimited questions and unlimited responses.
- They have lots of pre-made templates and sample questions. If you’re unsure what to ask, you can use their existing templates and even combine them or modify them.
- Custom themes are available. You can choose from creative, pre-made themes and style your surveys nicely.
- Responsive design: surveys made with SurveyPlanet adjust well on mobile devices, tablets, desktops. They have a preview mode so you can see how the survey looks across devices.
- Multi-language support: the interface and text can be shown in many languages (over thirty). That helps if your respondents are international or speak different languages.
What SurveyPlanet Offers in Premium / Paid Features
For those needing more advanced features, the Pro version has these add-ons:
- Exporting results to CSV or other formats, which is very useful for deeper analysis.
- Question branching and skip logic (conditional questions).
- Custom branding: ability to add your own logo, change branding, redirect to your own success URL.
- More image upload options and refined control over survey look and feel.
Why SurveyPlanet is a Strong Free Choice
Given these features, SurveyPlanet stands out as a great online survey maker for free because even the free version is generous: unlimited surveys, questions, responses, templates, and decent design tools.
How to Choose the Best Online Survey Maker for Free for Your Purpose
Now that you know what features matter and what tools are available, here are steps to picking the right one.
- Define your core needs
Ask yourself:
- How many respondents will you need? (Dozens, hundreds, thousands?)
- How many questions? Are they simple or do you need skip logic / branching?
- How important is branding or appearance? Do you need to match your company colours or logo?
- What devices will respondents use? (phones, tablets, desktops)
- Will you need to export the data (e.g. for analysis in Excel, SPSS, etc.)?
- Compare free features vs paid upgrade
Even if you go for a free tool now, check what its paid version gives. If in the future you want better branding, or deeper analytics, it helps if the free-tool can scale up. SurveyPlanet is good here because paid upgrades add exports, branding, logic—not huge UI changes. That suggests its free version is already solid.
- Check ease of use
If a tool is too complex to use, it wastes time. Tools like Google Forms or SurveyPlanet are user-friendly. You want to set up the survey quickly; if it takes too long, you might abandon or make errors.
- Test a sample survey
Before committing, try building a small survey: draft your questions, test the flow, send it to a few people, see how results are displayed. That trial run shows whether the tool’s free version meets your needs.
- Consider privacy and support
Data protection is increasingly important. Check how the tool handles respondent data. Also, in a free version, support may be limited, but see whether there is online help, documentation, community support.
Step-by-Step: How to Create a Survey in Minutes Using a Free Tool
Here is a generic guide you can follow, using any good online survey maker for free (we’ll use SurveyPlanet as example at points).
Step 1: Sign up & choose your tool
Choose the tool that matches best. For instance, you can choose SurveyPlanet. You’ll likely need to create an account—free version is enough to start.
Step 2: Pick or create a template
Use an existing template if one matches your goal (e.g. customer feedback, event RSVPs, education). Templates save time. In SurveyPlanet, there are many example templates and pre-written questions.
Step 3: Write or adapt questions
If you use pre-written ones, modify them to suit your audience. Keep questions clear and short. Use different types: multiple choice, rating scales, open-ended.
Step 4: Apply logic or branching (if needed)
If your tool has skip logic (SurveyPlanet’s Pro version has this), use it to tailor the flow. Otherwise keep questions linear but don’t overwhelm respondents with irrelevant ones.
Step 5: Design your survey look
Choose theme, colours, layout. Use Preview to check how it appears on different devices. SurveyPlanet allows preview mode so you can see on mobile/tablet/desktop.
Step 6: Set sharing options
Get a shareable link, embed on a webpage, send via email or social media. Also check if you need to allow anonymous responses or capture respondent info.
Step 7: Test & launch
Send to a few people first, check if all questions make sense and responses are recorded correctly. Then launch to a wider audience.
Step 8: Check results & analyse
When responses come in, use the built-in dashboards or summaries. If exporting is possible (if you have Pro or a tool that allows export even for free), download for deeper analysis.
Deep Dive: Using SurveyPlanet to Create Surveys Quickly
Let’s walk through using SurveyPlanet specifically as an example of a free online survey maker for free that delivers well.
- Signing up and starting
- Go to SurveyPlanet’s website.
- Click Sign Up. Choose the free account.
- Immediately you can create surveys, name them, pick survey type.
- Choosing theme & templates
- Use pre-made survey templates or the survey examples. SurveyPlanet offers examples for employee surveys, market research, education, events, etc.
- Pick a theme you like. Even in free mode you can use pre-made themes.
- Adding questions
- Use the builder to add questions. Various types: multiple-choice, open text, rating, etc.
- SurveyPlanet also provides hundreds of pre-written questions you can use and adapt.
- Preview & adjust for device
- SurveyPlanet has a preview mode so you can see how your survey will appear on desktop, tablet, mobile. This helps ensure it looks good everywhere.
- Sharing
- Once you’re happy, share it via a link. SurveyPlanet supports online sharing.
- Distribute by email, social media. Because responses are unlimited on free plan, you can share broadly.
- Reviewing results
- SurveyPlanet gives you a dashboard to view responses.
- Summaries, charts. If you need deeper export, that is in Pro.
Pros and Cons of SurveyPlanet Free Version
Here are key positives and negatives from working with SurveyPlanet in the free mode.
Pros
- Very generous free limit: unlimited surveys, questions, responses. Many tools limit responses or questions, but SurveyPlanet does not.
- Good set of templates and sample questions, making it easier for beginners. t
- Nice themes and responsive design ensure good experience across devices.
- Multi-language support is strong. Good if your audience is not just English speakers.
Cons
- Exporting is limited in free version. If you need CSV or Excel for analysis, you’ll need Pro.
- No custom branding (e.g. your logo, custom success URL) unless you upgrade.
- More advanced logic / skip-logic features are locked behind paywall.
- Image uploads in questions or opening/closing messages are limited or absent in free version.
Example Use Cases: How People Use Free Survey Makers
To give you concrete ideas, here are some real-life scenarios where a free online survey maker for free like SurveyPlanet or others is useful.
- Customer Satisfaction After a Purchase
A small shop might send a short 5-10 question survey to recent customers, asking how they found the product, shipping, service. Free version suffices; results help improve. - Event Feedback
After a seminar or online workshop, a survey is emailed. Asking what people liked, what could be better. If only 50-100 responses, no need for advanced paid tools. - Teacher or Course Feedback
Students fill surveys at end of course. Using templates helps. Multiple question types (rating, open-ended). Free tools provide what’s needed. - Community Polls / Social Media
Polls among social media followers on ideas, preferences. Free tool works because you share link; responses are moderate; branding less critical. - Research Projects or Theses
For a dissertation, you need many responses, sometimes logic. SurveyPlanet free gives unlimited responses which is great. But if you need advanced export, might need paid.
Is SurveyPlanet the Best Online Survey Maker for Free?
In my view, SurveyPlanet is one of the best free options out there. It ticks many boxes:
- Unlimited surveys, questions, and responses huge advantage.
- Good templates and pre-written questions help get started quickly.
- Responsive design ensures participant experience is good.
- Multi-language ability is useful for varied audiences.
It’s not perfect if you need exports, custom branding, or advanced logic, you’ll need to pay. But for many common uses, SurveyPlanet free is more than adequate.
If you compare with tools like Google Forms, Typeform, Zoho, etc., SurveyPlanet’s free version often gives more freedom (especially regarding number of responses and questions).
