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SurveyMonkey vs LimeSurvey

Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 SurveyMonkey with the European alternative 🇪🇺 LimeSurvey on the things that actually decide who can read your data.

🇺🇸 SurveyMonkeyvs🇪🇺 LimeSurvey

Verdict

  • Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?

    LimeSurvey — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.

  • Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?

    Neither ships full E2E by default — check the table for nuance.

  • Which one tracks you for ads?

    SurveyMonkey relies on ad tracking. LimeSurvey doesn't.

  • Which one is open source?

    LimeSurvey is open source. SurveyMonkey is proprietary.

Side-by-side

SurveyMonkey vs LimeSurvey — full comparison

Criteria
🇪🇺 LimeSurvey
🇺🇸 SurveyMonkey
Headquarters
Hamburg, Germany
United States
Jurisdiction
Germany (GDPR)
United States (US CLOUD Act)
Data location
Germany
United States
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
Yes
End-to-end encryption
No
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
LimeSurvey GmbH
US Corporation
Founded
2003
0

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Open-source survey platform

Other European alternatives to SurveyMonkey

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🇪🇺 European & decentralised