We provide an overview of survey software based on the WebSM list of 365 online survey software tools. The results show that the number of software tools is in steady decline. Newcomers are increasingly rare, while the solutions that could not adapt are slowly disappearing. Open source solutions are almost non-existant.

The survey software market is becoming increasingly difficult. Service prices are becoming more and more competitive, development costs are increasing, and requests for new features are continuously expanding. The latter is particularly true for providing support for mobile surveys, mixed modes, multiple languages and panel management. These are also the features that separate advanced solutions from the simple ones. Other survey software features are basically becoming industry standards for all solutions. To keep the pace, survey software companies must always have a considerable team of developers present. Consequently, market segmentation, concentration and takeovers have been in full progress in recent years, particularly in 2011 (see WebSM 2011) and continues in 2012.

Although a clear separation between high-end and low-end solutions still exists (with a few segments in between), cheap and low-end Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are becoming increasing powerful, while high-end complex software solutions are often stuck in old architecture and awkward interfaces. There is a clear trend towards vendor based solutions (SaaS), GUI interface and Web 2.0 approach (which appeared very late in this industry). The presence of customer support (documentation, help) is also increasing, as well as (aggressive) marketing.

Approximate traffic statistics for SaaS solutions, which basically host surveys on their main domain, show that among 365 included software solutions there are around ten solutions with more than 100,000 visit per day (a few million is the maximum), and around 40 with daily visits above 10,000.

The majority of solutions focus on web surveys, while many are also specialized solely on forms, polls, quizzes or events. On the other hand, the web software is also becoming increasingly integrated – and thus losing its separate identity – into marketing research, direct (e-mail) marketing, human resource management, enterprise feedback management, voice of the customer and business intelligence. Major suppliers also seek business in the integration with their own panel of respondents.

Software prices are increasingly presented in standardized packages and the majority varies from 3 EUR to 625 EUR per month for the basic package. In addition, the complex solution offers tailored pricing (quote request is needed), however this is increasingly not the only format, but an addition to standard packages.

Key words: Web survey software