LimeSurvey vs Typebot
Both are alternatives to Typeform. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Typebot vs LimeSurvey — same comparison, one verdict.
LimeSurvey
Twenty years of serious survey methodology, GPL, self-hosted.
LimeSurvey is the survey tool academic and research institutions actually use, and it shows: dozens of question types, quotas, randomisation, complex conditional logic, multilingual surveys and statistical export. It is not trying to be beautiful and it is not conversational — it is trying to be methodologically sound, which is a different and sometimes more important thing. GPL-2.0, self-hosted, with two decades of development behind it. Choose it when the survey is research rather than marketing.
Typebot
The conversational format, open source, with real branching.
Typebot is the closest match to what people actually pay Typeform for: conversational forms built on a visual flow canvas, with branching, conditional logic, variables and integrations. Because it is a flow builder rather than a question list, complex branching is easier to construct here than in Typeform. Self-hostable with Docker and available as a paid cloud. It is the pick when the conversational feel is the thing you are buying and you would rather not buy it per response.
Side by side
| LimeSurvey | Typebot | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 93 | 91 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free and open source to self-host. Paid cloud hosting available. | Free and open source to self-host. Paid cloud plans available. |
LimeSurvey edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
LimeSurvey
Strengths
- +Most methodologically serious tool here — quotas, randomisation, complex logic
- +Excellent multilingual support
- +Twenty years of development; trusted in academic research
- +GPL-2.0 with a complete self-host path
Trade-offs
- −Interface is dated and the learning curve is real
- −Nothing conversational about it
- −PHP and MySQL to operate
- −Overkill for a contact form or a short marketing survey
Typebot
Strengths
- +Closest replication of the Typeform conversational experience
- +Flow-canvas builder handles complex branching better than Typeform
- +Variables, conditions and integrations built in
- +Self-hosts on Docker; no per-response charge
Trade-offs
- −AGPL-3.0 strong copyleft — read it before modifying and redistributing
- −Smaller community than Formbricks
- −Fewer templates and prebuilt integrations
- −Self-hosting is your responsibility to run and update
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Facts verified 2026-08-07. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.