Online survey tools provide a cost-effective mechanism for creating and delivering surveys and collecting  and accessing the resulting data; they are widely used. Any number of such packages exists, and it is not  always easy for the researcher to know what interface will best serve his or her need. To address this  issue, we have prepared an overview comparing the features of common packages. We examine several  packages that are available for researchers to purchase (including Checkbox, Qualtrics, and Viewsflash,  all of which are provided at no cost to faculty and students by our home institution, Duke University) and  several that are available at no cost online (at least for simple, short surveys) including PollDaddy, SurveyMonkey, and Zoomerang. Our comparison examines a number of features, including (a) ease of  entry – how simple is it to add features defining text, such as italics, and what features does the interface  offer to import from other sources, such as a Word document; (b) functionality – how well does the system  incorporate commonly used survey mechanisms, such as skip patterns, branching, piping, and  randomization; (c) appearance – how easy is it to customize the look and feel of a survey instrument,  from background and foreground color to table size and complexity and inclusion of graphics; (d)  administration – what alternatives are available for sharing the survey instrument with research subjects,  tracking responses, and sending reminders; (e) data storage – where does the package store responses,  and how securely; and (f) data analysis – how versatile are the self-contained tools each package offers  for examining results, and how easy does the package make it to download the data. While we focus on  the needs of our primary constituents – faculty and students – our comparison is of broad relevance to survey researchers generally.