Marketing
Qualtrics
Survey and experience-management platform spanning self-service research and separately packaged enterprise CX and EX suites.
What it is
Qualtrics combines survey research with Customer Experience, Employee Experience and Strategy & Research suites. A restricted free account exists, but it omits capabilities such as email and SMS distribution, the offline app, APIs and third-party integrations. The current self-service Strategic Research offer starts at $420 per month ($5,040 annually); its 30-day trial advertises 500 responses, three active surveys and 22 question types, while the purchased self-service license includes 1,000 responses or equivalent interactions. Larger capacities and broader suites require a custom plan. CX and Strategy & Research are interaction-priced; EX is employee-priced, so one public starter figure does not represent an enterprise deployment.
Key features
Survey research
Builds multilingual surveys with tier-dependent logic, question types, quotas and analysis.
Experience suites
Packages customer, employee and strategy/research use cases under different usage models.
Multi-channel collection
Paid capabilities can distribute through email, SMS, web, QR, links and offline workflows.
Usage governance
Tracks contract-defined interactions and exposes administrative usage reports.
Strengths and trade-offs
What works well
- Complex question, logic and analysis capabilities support structured research beyond a basic feedback form.
- Paid distribution spans links, QR, web embeds, email, SMS and offline collection, depending on license.
- Suite packaging connects survey responses with broader customer, employee and research workflows.
- Interaction usage reporting gives administrators a way to monitor metered consumption.
Where it falls short
- The free account excludes API, third-party integrations, email, SMS and offline collection and has restricted logic and branding.
- The $420 monthly starting price covers a specific Strategic Research package, not the complete CX, EX or enterprise platform.
- Responses, calls, chats, emails, reviews, video minutes or other records may consume interactions depending on the product and contract.
- Trial downgrades and brand migration can remove premium capability or require manual migration and recreation of some assets.
Who it is for
Research and experience-management teams that need sophisticated survey programs and can govern interaction capacity, suite scope and implementation.
Our verdict
Qualtrics is capable research and experience-management infrastructure, but its free account, self-service research plan and enterprise suites are materially different products. Select the exact suite, enumerate interaction types and capacity, and validate distribution, migration, identity and export requirements in writing.
Closest alternatives we track
Same category, ordered by verified starting price.
What we checked
- Public APIOffers a documented API you can build against.Yes
- Mobile appHas a native app for iOS or Android, not just a mobile website.Yes
- Open source / self-hostableSource is open and the tool can be run on your own infrastructure.No
- SSO (SAML)Supports SAML single sign-on on at least one plan.Yes
“Not checked” means exactly that — we have not verified it, and we do not guess.
Evidence and freshness
Status: Official sources reviewedReviewed: 2026-08-24
- Qualtrics Support — Free accounts ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: free-account scope, eight question types, logic and branding restrictions, distribution limits, no API or third-party integrations, no offline app
- Qualtrics Support — Self-service licenses ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: flat-rate self-service model, 1000-response or interaction allowance, custom-plan route, FedRAMP exclusion, brand-migration boundaries
- Qualtrics — Free trial and Strategic Research pricing ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: $420 monthly and $5040 annual starting price, 30-day trial, 500 trial responses, three active surveys, 22 question types, language and analysis scope
- Qualtrics — Pricing and packaging updates ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: CX EX and Strategy and Research suites, interaction pricing for CX and research, employee pricing for EX, usage tracking
- Qualtrics Support — DesignXM trial ↗
Checked 2026-08-24 · Supports: automatic downgrade, no extension or repeat trial, loss of premium feature access, continued survey and response access
Limit: Official Qualtrics free-account, self-service, trial, pricing-update and support sources were reviewed; ToolCompare did not register, buy or renew a license, build a survey, collect an interaction, test logic/analysis/export/API/SSO/SMS/email/offline/mobile/integrations, migrate a brand, verify FedRAMP or contract language, contact sales or support, or evaluate research validity. Prices, entitlements and interaction definitions can change and agreements control actual rights.