We get it.
It’s time to find a new tool, but you don’t have the hours (or days) to figure out what might work best.
So we’re here to help.
We did a deep dive into Typeform vs., SurveyMonkey, and our solution, PandaDoc Forms, to help you uncover the best SaaS form builder for your needs.
What to look for in a survey solution
The best survey solutions go beyond data collection alone to make things easier across your organization.
They should save you lots of time, reduce the risk of human error, and streamline your processes (like collecting in-form payments).
These digital forms should also:
- Integrate with key programs
- Allow you to customize and use templates without code
- Collect eSignatures
- Offer deep analytics and insights
And while desktop features tend to be the richest of all, it doesn’t hurt to have a companion app for Android and iOS, as all three of these software options do.
Whether you need to create digital docs for your teams or figure out your net promoter scores (NPS), make these your non-negotiables:
- Easy onboarding
- Ample access to customer support
- User-friendly UX.
1. What is Typeform?
G2: 4.5/5 stars (625 reviews)
SoftwareWorld: 96/100
SoftwareWorld’s Typeform review says that ease of use and beautiful designs lead to “higher completion rates (and higher quality data)”
Typeform’s “methodology [engaging user interaction] appears to work well, getting on average four times the completion rate over what the industry considers standard.”
TechRadar
Typeform is both survey software and a research tool.
Its features include online forms, quizzes, polls, and tests, but surveys are their major focus.
What does Typeform do?
Typeform makes it easy to create and share interactive forms, surveys, and quizzes.
The solution’s goal is to make collecting information easier, more enjoyable, and more efficient.
This allows you to easily collect data from customers, colleagues, or users in a customized way that’s both engaging and informative.
Suppose you want to know how your customers feel about a product or service.
Typeform lets you create an online survey with questions tailored to the product or service, as well as custom visuals, photos, and videos.
Or, if you want to know more about a person’s career goals, you can create an online quiz with questions designed to get at the heart of their ambition.
Typeform also allows you to customize your forms and surveys with visuals, photos, videos, GIFs, or any other content type—no coding required.
This makes it easy to create something unique and engaging and also helps you stand out from competitors.
For example, if you’re asking people to fill out a form, you could add a funny GIF to make the process more enjoyable.
Or, you could add a video that explains the purpose and value of the form to make it more engaging. Some of the best Typeform alternatives don’t offer this level of customization.
2. What is SurveyMonkey?
G2: 4.4/5 stars (18,086 reviews)
“…reviewers preferred the ease of administration and doing business with SurveyMonkey overall.”
SoftwareWorld: 98/100
SurveyMonkey is “among the best survey software that indulges in delighting customers and increasing loyalty through feedback”.
SurveyMonkey “allows those without any coding skills to create complex question sets and then process the responses easily and efficiently”.
TechRadar
SurveyMonkey is a survey software and market research company. They dub themselves as “the world’s most popular free online survey tool”, which gives plenty of insight into their offerings and positioning.
They have two main areas of focus:
- Market research
- Customer experience (CX) i.e. using surveys to collect customer feedback
They recently acquired Wufoo (now called Wufoo by SurveyMonkey).
Both platforms are separate, and they direct potential customers to use Wufoo instead if they need file uploads, data storage, data organization, and in-form payment processing.
What is SurveyMonkey used for?
SurveyMonkey can be used in a number of ways, depending on your needs. Let’s look at some of the top uses:
- Market research – Companies can ask questions to get an idea of what their customers want and how they think about the brand or products.
For example, suppose you want to create a survey about a new product you’re developing.
You can use SurveyMonkey to ask potential customers what they think of the design, features, and price. This feedback can then be used to make the product better and more appealing.
- Customer experience (CX) – Companies also use SurveyMonkey to collect customer feedback on their products, services, or experiences.
This can help them identify areas of improvement and measure customer satisfaction.
For example, a restaurant can create a survey asking customers about their dining experience.
This feedback can then be used to improve the customer experience in the future.
- Analytics – Another popular use of SurveyMonkey is for data analysis. Companies can analyze survey responses to draw conclusions about their target audience. They can then use this data to make informed decisions and optimize their marketing and product strategies.
3. PandaDoc
PandaDoc Forms is our new online form builder for collecting and analyzing in-depth, non-anonymous data.
Instead of focusing on how many people fill out a survey or form, we focus on collecting qualitative data from identifiable sources (including sensitive information).
That’s why Forms is only available for Business and Enterprise subscribers.
We pay special attention to:
- Meeting security and compliance standards
- Integrating with trusted payment gateways
- Automating workflows (including eSignatures, of course!)
Ease of use
| Feature/Aspect | Typeform | SurveyMonkey | PandaDoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of content creation | Respondents can upload files directly to their forms. | Surveys can be built from templates or from scratch. | Bulk-send capability, even for unknown recipients |
| Integrates with other apps & tools | Seamlessly integrates with dozens of tools including Slack & Mailchimp. | Integrates with apps, including Zoom, Eloqua and Google Forms. | Integrates with dozens of tools, including Salesforce, Pipedrive and Zoom. |
| Automation | Custom, automated follow-up messages | Plug-and-play functionality | Automated workflows and messages |
| Help & support | Priority support and live chat for Business users. | Dedicated customer success manager (Enterprise customers only) | Email and chat support |
Typeform highlights
- Respondents can upload files directly to their forms
- Custom, automated follow-up messages
- Integrates with dozens of tools, including Slack, Mailchimp, Klaviyo, Excel Online, and HubSpot
- Priority support and live chat for Business plan users
Typeform is great for small businesses because it’s easy for anyone to create online forms, particularly surveys.
The forms are easy to fill out, too, and they promote a conversational style, presenting users with one question at a time.
This kind of flow makes Typeform surveys seem more approachable while encouraging users to respond throughout the entire “conversation”.
SurveyMonkey highlights
- Easy to build surveys, from pre-made formats or from scratch
- Integrates with hundreds of apps, including Zoom, Eloqua, Google Forms, Google Sheets and Microsoft Teams
- 24/7 email support for Team Advantage subscribers (Team Premier and Enterprise users get phone support too)
- Dedicated customer success manager (Enterprise customers only)
SurveyMonkey offers user-friendly tools with plug-and-play functionality, – making it easy to collaborate for small and large businesses alike.
PandaDoc highlights
- Automated workflows and messages
- Bulk-send capability, even for unknown recipients
- Integrates with dozens of tools, including Salesforce, Pipedrive, Zoom, Mailchimp, and Slack
- 24/7 email and chat support
PandaDoc makes it easy to work smarter and faster while also making it easier for the people who sign your forms; onboarding is seamless, too, with a variety of options from a self-paced startup to custom multi-team support.
Forms feature easy drag-and-drop content blocks, and they can be customized without code.
Templates
| Feature/Aspect | Typeform | SurveyMonkey | PandaDoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premade templates | Yes – you can find premade templates for applications, orders, evaluations, feedback, donations, healthcare, and more. | Yes – they have pre-made templates for surveys, questionnaires, and evaluations. | Yes – over 100 customizable templates for opt-in email lists, medical consent forms, evaluations, expense reports, tax registration, petitions, and more. |
| Embedding | Yes – you can embed into your website, share a link or send a form via email and social media. | Yes- you can embed surveys into your website, or send a URL or QR code. | Yes- embedding surveys and forms into your site is quick and easy (simply copy and paste the code into your website’s HTML) |
| Multiple question forms | Yes – short text, long text, multiple-choice, statements, opinion scales, picture choice, and more. | Yes – multiple-choice, rating scale, demographic, dropdown, click map, file uploads, and more. | Yes – text responses, multiple-choice, masked information, file uploads, and more. |
Typeform
Typeform templates come in lots of formats, but you can also create custom forms.
There are forms for applications, orders, evaluations, feedback, donations, healthcare, and more.
And you can embed the finished results into your website, share a link, send online forms by email, or share them on social media.
Their question types include short text, long text, multiple-choice, statements, opinion scales, picture choice, and more.
See Typeform survey examples here.
SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey offers templates for surveys, questionnaires, and evaluations. Enterprise clients are able to customize and brand them.
Their forms can be shared by email, embedding them into your website, or sending a URL or QR code.
You can also add a survey to your app or use their bot to host it in Facebook Messenger.
Their question types include multiple-choice, rating scale, demographic, dropdown, click map, file uploads, and more.
See SurveyMonkey survey, questionnaire and evaluation examples here.
PandaDoc
At PandaDoc, we offer over 100 customizable templates for opt-in email lists, medical consent forms, evaluations, expense reports, tax registration, petitions, and more.
You can customize them or create your own, and even edit forms after publishing.
Question types and field options include text responses, multiple-choice, masked information, file uploads, and more.
And you can share them by sending direct links or embedding surveys and forms into your site (simply copy and paste the code into your website’s HTML).
Check out PandaDoc form examples here.
Analytics
| Feature/Aspect | Typeform | SurveyMonkey | PandaDoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key metrics measured. | Total viewsNumber of people who started the surveyNumber of responsesTotal completion rateAverage time used to complete your surveyDrop-off questions | Summaries for analyzing resultsRespondent filters for responses, time, property (such as a specific name), etc.Ability to combine multiple filtersCrosstab reports for comparing the relationships between different questions and answers (if any)Sentiment analysis (Were survey responses positive, negative, or neutral?)Benchmarks for comparing responses on a global scale (example use case: customer feedback surveys) | Who responded to a formNumber of times a document was openedNumber of responsesNumber of unique form views, forwards, and downloadsTime spent on formsDevices and browsers used |
Typeform
Typeform isn’t the most in-depth survey tool when it comes to data and analytics.
And you can only dive deeper if you integrate a tool like Intersect to analyze responses or Enhencer to find any predictive stories hidden within your data.
Their analytics offer a bird’s eye view:
- Total views
- Number of people who started the survey
- Number of responses
- Total completion rate
- Average time used to complete your survey
- Drop-off questions
You can also generate reports for specific questions, and use Google Tag Manager or Facebook Pixel ID for additional analytics, retargeting and conversion tracking.
SurveyMonkey
If you’re considering SurveyMonkey vs. Typeform, you should know SurveyMonkey offers richer analytics:
- Summaries for analyzing results
- Respondent filters for responses, time, property (such as a specific name), etc.
- Ability to combine multiple filters
- Crosstab reports for comparing the relationships between different questions and answers (if any)
- Sentiment analysis (Were survey responses positive, negative, or neutral?)
- Benchmarks for comparing responses on a global scale (example use case: customer feedback surveys)
SurveyMonkey also offers a customizable dashboard, tables, and charts.
But to get the most out of your data, it would be best to integrate with an analytics and reporting tool.
On the topic of integrations, no SurveyMonkey review is complete without mentioning that it has over 100 integrations, but only Enterprise customers can integrate with Salesforce, Eloqua, Marketo, and Tableau.
PandaDoc
PandaDoc offers even richer information:
- Who responded to a form
- Number of times a document was opened
- Number of responses
- Number of unique form views, forwards, and downloads
- Time spent on forms
- Devices and browsers used
- Ability to collect qualitative, non-anonymous and even sensitive data (our security protocols meet the strict compliance standards for HIPAA, GDPR, FERPA, and SOC 2 Type II)
We also offer seamless integrations with two2-way sync for dozens of platforms and you can generate reports to get data-driven insights in real-time to shape your time-sensitive follow-up strategies.
All three3 platforms allow you to collect medical information if you’re HIPAA-authorized and fill out a Business Associate Agreement (BAA).
This service is available for Typeform Business users, SurveyMonkey Enterprise users, and both Business and Enterprise PandaDoc users.
Pricing
| Feature/Aspect | Typeform | SurveyMonkey | PandaDoc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is there a free version? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Basic | Basic: $348/yr or $29/mth | Team Advantage: $25 per user/month | Business Basic: $49 per user/mth (billed on an annual basis), or $65 per user/mth |
| Tier 2 | Plus: $600/yr or $59/mth | Team Premier: $75 per user/month | Business Plus: $65 per user/mth (billed on an annual basis) |
| Tier 3 | Business: $996/year or $99/month | Enterprise: custom pricing, based on needs | Enterprise: custom pricing, based on needs |
How much is Typeform?
Typeform pricing is split into three main tiers or four if you count the limited free plan:
- Free Version
- Basic: $348/yr or $29/mth
- Plus: $600/yr or $59/mth
- Business: $996/year or $99/month
Typeform allows users to trial their paid features from their free plan by adding paid features of interest.
These forms are only for trials, so they cannot be shared.
After sampling features with a free account, the Business plan is the way to go. It includes unlimited typeforms and questions and up to 5,000 responses per month.
You can personalize your user flows, filter questions that are irrelevant to specific users, integrate your CRM to filter, and qualify your contacts, and integrate marketing automation and analytics apps.
How much is SurveyMonkey?
SurveyMonkey pricing includes three business plans, billed exclusively on an annual basis:
- Team Advantage: $25 per user/month
- Team Premier: $75 per user/month
- Enterprise: custom pricing, based on needs
Team Advantage offers some essentials like:
- Advanced analytics
- Payments
- Free integrations with top collaboration apps
- 10,000 responses per year
Team Premier offers everything Advantage does and more, including:
- 15,000 responses per year
- More tools for testing, data and analytics
- The ability to create surveys that are multilingual or white label
- Survey completion redirection (e.g. sending respondents to a landing page)
- Phone support
- API access to build your own apps
- The privilege of removing the SurveyMonkey footer (a must)
Finally, Team Enterprise steps things up with:
- Plan flexibility
- Customization and branding
- More robust encryption and security
- Integrations with Salesforce, Marketo, Eloqua, and Tableau
- Dedicated customer success manager
- Team management privileges (including SSO, onboarding automation, and user activity tracking)
How much is PandaDoc?
There are three paid PandaDoc plans: Essentials, Business, and Enterprise. Business and Enterprise users can take advantage of Fforms as an add-on.
New subscribers can give us a go with a free 14-day trial.
- Business: $49 per user/mth (billed on an annual basis), or $65 per user/mth
- Enterprise: custom pricing, based on needs
The Business plan offers:
- Templates and a rich editor with drag and drop
- Approval workflows
- Custom branding
- Content library (hello, faster forms)
- Bulk send (even to unknown recipients)
- Document analytics
- Integrations with CRM tools and Zapier (for handy automations like webhooks)
- 24/7 email and chat support
While Enterprise goes further with:
- User management and SSO
- User performance and reports
- Unlimited team workspaces (for easier collaboration)
- Salesforce integration
- API access
The strongest contender: PandaDoc
So, what’s the main takeaway from our Typeform vs. SurveyMonkey vs. PandaDoc deep dive?
While SurveyMonkey and Typeform excel in the realm of surveys in many ways, so does PandaDoc Forms—and it’s an in-depth data collection and lead generation tool, too.
- It empowers users with rich analytics and insights into responses and respondents.
- It meets trusted security and compliance standards to process sensitive information.
- PandaDoc Forms offers advanced eSigning features.
- Customizing and branding is open to both Business plan and Enterprise users.
- And of these three platforms, it’s the only one that gives you the option to use custom CSS.
The best solution should be easy, seamless, and convenient, while giving you access to key data that can be used in other strategies.
Think beyond surface-level perceptions of surveys and forms to envision how digital documents can truly transform your business.
See for yourself – start your free 14-day trial today. No credit card needed.
Frequently asked questions about Typeform vs. SurveyMonkey
-
Survey Monkey pricing offers a limited, free plan with some features.
However, to unlock more features and access the full suite of tools, you’ll need to upgrade to one of their paid plans.
Typeform also has a free plan with basic features, as well as various paid plans that offer more advanced features.
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Typeform pricing offers a free plan with some features.
But if you want to utilize more advanced functionality like custom branding, integrations, and A/B testing, you can upgrade to one of the company’s paid plans: Basic, Plus or Business.
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Yes, Typeform is a robust survey platform with an easy-to-use interface and powerful features.
It comes with pre-made templates to help you get started quickly, as well as the ability to customize your typeforms with different fonts, colors, and images.
Plus, it integrates seamlessly with many popular third-party apps.
Disclaimer
PandaDoc is not a law firm, or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This page is not intended to and does not provide legal advice. Should you have legal questions on the validity of e-signatures or digital signatures and the enforceability thereof, please consult with an attorney or law firm. Use of PandaDocs services are governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Originally published October 20, 2021, updated April 5, 2023
