Replace / Qualtrics
Best free Qualtrics alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to Qualtrics is LimeSurvey (or Formbricks) with HeyForm, self-hosted on Railway. Research surveys you host. LimeSurvey is GPL-2.0; Formbricks is AGPL-3.0 — Qualtrics without the experience-management seat.
Estimated save $2,400 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Qualtrics compares
| Qualtrics | LimeSurvey / Formbricks | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- LimeSurvey
GPL-2.0 research surveys — the published Qualtrics path
- Formbricks
AGPL-3.0 Typeform-shaped engine if the job is a flow, not a questionnaire
- HeyForm
AGPL-3.0 form builder if LimeSurvey is not the shape
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source Qualtrics alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to Qualtrics is LimeSurvey (or Formbricks) with HeyForm, self-hosted on Railway. Research surveys you host. LimeSurvey is GPL-2.0; Formbricks is AGPL-3.0 — Qualtrics without the experience-management seat.
- Is it free?
- The LimeSurvey / Formbricks licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Qualtrics seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Qualtrics?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The LimeSurvey / Formbricks stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Qualtrics links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the LimeSurvey / Formbricks stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: LimeSurvey (PHP + MySQL or Postgres) with a volume for uploads. Bind HTTP to 0.0.0.0:$PORT. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. A Typeform-shaped flow stays on /stacks/formbricks-forms.
- What does this replace?
- Qualtrics. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $2,400 a year.
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