Quick to start, good support, but it can also take some time to figure out all the details

Pros

I've been using SmartSurvey for social science research for about 6 weeks now, and agreed to write a brief review and first impressions of the product and my experience using it in return for a not-for-profit discount on the product.

I'm using the service to conduct open-ended social scientific questionnaires about how online communities help people care for those with chronic health conditions, and have so far found SmartSurvey to be quite a nice way for doing so. It allows me to post links to surveys within online communities and efficiently each a globally distributed population.

I was originally attracted to the product because I needed a service provider that adhere to EU data privacy laws but offer a product that is in English (since this my native language and the common language of my respondents). A lot of the US providers could not meet the requirements, especially regarding data deletion. SmartSurvey quickly responded to a question I had on this account and told me they could guarantee that upon request, survey data would be deleted from active servers within a week and from backups within 30 days. Most US providers could not come close to guaranteeing this.

While you can get a basic survey going quickly, there is a lot of customizability on the back end, and this can take some time to learn. My experience is that documentation is good and support tickets I have submitted have always been answered promptly and helpfully.

Cons

One example of the tool's behavior that takes some getting used to so this is not so much a con as a part of the tool that is a bit more complex and takes more time to learn is the anonymous response function. This function hides respondent IP and geographic information from responses when activated. However, if it is off, and then someone responds, and you then turn it on, the system seems to continue to log the information, although it hides. You can then turn the setting back off and reveal all this information. This means a survey is not a truly anonymous UNLESS you design it so from the get go. Similarly, it is possible to activate both the complete it later function, which lets respondents save incomplete surveys by entering a name and email (identifying information that allows them to receive a unique link). But this identifying information will only be permanently hidden if you set the anonymous response feature to on before your first response. Otherwise, the complete it later function undoes the anonymous response setting. So make sure you peruse the full set of privacy features before opening up your survey to respondents so that the settings are correct before you begin. (Also, if you are testing features, be sure to start with a fresh, unopened survey, rather than just changing features on a survey that for which you have already gathered test responses.)

Fantastic! Exactly what we need to be able to collate information effectively.

Pros

The ease of use and simplicity of the programme. I am creating the surveys on behalf of Local Authority Building Standards Scotland. We are currently looking at our membership and require to see if we are currently meeting their needs and where we need to improve. Smart survey as a tool to be able to collate this information is fantastic and the fact that it produces the tables and diagrams for you and makes us as a group move on from the spreadsheet and having to interrogate the information provided saving on valuable man hours as the admin and management team are put together from staff from the 32 Local Authorities and this is not a job we are paid to do this is just for us to hopefully in Scotland improve the services we provide to the customer. We issued our 1st survey at the beginning of February and still have 2 weeks for it to run but it is brilliant seeing the information coming in and being able to see we are making progress and that we are not to far of the mark. The way it is presented is very easy to analysis with lots of tools available to assist. If stuck customer helpline is exactly what is says on the tin help...no question to small or silly.

Cons

There are some questions that need to be adapted but on discussion I was told there are ongoing developments (matrix questions in multiple answers currently all fields require to be completed even if the response is zero - a default of zero if not completed would be perfect)

Extremely easy to use questionnaire software, suitable for both small and large organisations

Affordable, flexible questionnaire design, administration and management

Pros

It is very easy to set up a questionnaire, and there is a very good range of question types and answers. Images and video can be embedded in a question, broadening the design. The design-test-redesign cycle is well implemented. The whole questionnaire can be easily branded to give a unique look. Deployment is simple, and with multiple versions easily set up. Usefully for a forum, it is possible to produce a print copy of on-line survey with ease, so that the same questionnaire can be used on street stalls or visiting where online use is not possible or low. There is also support for publishing links to the survey via social media such as Twitter or Facebook.

Analysis facilities are good, with basic summaries and a frequency count of answers immediately available. This aids continuous tracking of the survey. There are good export features, so data can be moved to Excel or R for more detailed review.

I found this a very useful software suite and can wholeheartedly recommend it. The speed at which a survey can be prepared and sent out, and distributed via a variety of means such as email lists, social media or web sites makes it a very effective tool for carrying out a wide variety of consultations, such as in planning and community surveys. Local authorities would benefit from a slightly more expensive version that could allow them to get to know their community views in greater depth.

Satisfactory surveys with verified information

Pros

This is the only survey which verifies the demographic information of the attendee of a survey that is created thus making it more legitimate.

Cons

Because it is free it is also used by fraudsters creating scams, we advise them to make it more secured.

Easy to use product, with great customer service

High quality surveys are straightforward to put together and send to a large number of people.

Pros

We are using SmartSurvey to gather views from both our employees and our customers. We have set up a few surveys now, collecting responses in the form of free text boxes, radio buttons and drop downs.

The dashboard is easy to navigate. It is helpful to have the option to use pre-programmed questions and our own corporate template. The response formats are professional and the skip logic is easy to implement.

There are comprehensive online guides for each stage of creating and using the survey. Where we needed additional help, the customer service was prompt.

Cons

It doesn't seem possible to customise the formatting of text within a question (italic, bold, paragraphs etc.); this would be a useful tool.

SmartSurvey is very easy to use and we use it regularly

I write lots of stories for our Alumni Community. I use SmartSurvey to set up typical Q&A for people to fill out so rather than emailing people the questions every time I simply direct them to the Smart Survey URL (which you can customise).

Pros

Ease of use - you can set up surveys quickly and easily and also view results in anyway you prefer.

Cons

I have yet to find anything I don't like.

Have filled out survey's using this app/software. Easy to navigate and fill out.

Giving information I thought was important to the organization asking for the input.

Pros

It was easy to navigate as a user. I don't have any experience at the other end of those seeking information.

Cons

I did not have any cons as a user. Screen was a good size, easy to read and easy to flip through pages. Length was determined by those seeking information and sometimes this was long.

Straightforward online survey system with great customer support

Ease of use, competitive price, helpful customer support, ease of reporting and ability to develop surveys that are unique and tailored to our requirements.

Pros

When initially looking at options for an online survey tool, SmartSurvey offered by far the best service for a competitive price. When enquiring about the service the customer service answered all of our questions and we signed up with multiple accounts. Many people have accessed SmartSurvey and no one has had any difficulties in creating surveys or analyising them. The ease of use and expert customer support is great service.

Cons

Having used SmartSurvey for a number of years now we have not had any issue or found anything we 'least' like.

Excellent customer service, brilliant survey tool and great value

Huge increased ability to canvass our existing client base, plus the potential to canvass a wider group. We can use this software for course/service/event feedback, to assess the demand for future courses/services, to understand how schools manage certain functions with a view to best-practice sharing opportunities. Surveys are far quicker for school personnel to complete than lengthy responses to emails or opening and completing email attachments. As such response rates have been vastly improved.

Pros

Customer service - quicker, more cohesive and proactive than other survey vendors we approached.
The system is extremely easy to navigate and the option to use/view pre-populated questions was very useful.
Data Output - the responses are very easy to read and quantify, meaning both at a glance and indepth analysis can be performed very quickly.

Cons

I'd perhaps like there to be more options for the background choices on the Pro version - as its designed for professional users I felt it would benefit from a greater range of choices. This was a minor complaint though !

A great experience in setting up the account with SmartSurvey. Team are very friendly and can be con

Pros

Very Accessible visually and the navigation and editing functions are really user friendly.
The team at SmartSurvey were really helpful, approachable and importantly can be contacted with ease.

Cons

Getting used to the system still and wanting to get more creative so need to understand how some of the functionality contributes to the overall impact of surveys. Would like to have option to download data directly in to powerpoint.

To be honest this is really picky because you have to highlight cons on the review, but to be honest don't have any grumbles at all!

Really intuitive to use and great customer support

Easy to use despite loads of features - offers great value for money compared to other tools and has first class support.

Pros

Easy to use, great functionality and adding new features all the time.
Multi-language support is great and the servers are in the UK so Safe Harbour isn't an issue.

Easy to use even for beginners

the ease of creating surveys quickly and the ability to create and collect results very quickly which was convenient for me

Pros

i came across this site when doing my dissertation when i was weighing up my options on which platform to use, with this one i found that like some of the others it was one which is very simple and easy to use and gave the user a lot of control over the layout of the service and the format of the questions that can be asked and even as a beginner knew to this i was able to glide through the navigation and have a good play around with all of its features and found it was pretty easy to create services gather results and even export and downloa the results in different formats

Cons

sometimes you would like to format text of the questions for example if i wanted to bold something that was important for some reason i had a problem doing this and had to just leave it out but it just didnt work

SmartSurvey does not meet design requirements.

Pros

SmartSurvey is a platform that does have very good functions to be considered one of the best in the market of surveys, however, it should be stressed that this platform is very good to maintain opinions with a better status.

Cons

SmartSurvey does not fulfill what it promises, because when you go to the registration page, the design is very n