SurveyMonkey vs Delighted 2026: Best Customer Feedback Tool for SaaS?

SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform built for teams and enterprises seeking extensive templates, integrations, and high response volumes.

Delighted is a self-serve CX platform focused on collecting NPS, CSAT, and CES feedback via email, web, and SMS. In this comparison, we break down pricing, features, and AI capabilities — and show where each falls short.

SurveyMonkey vs Delighted: Feature & Pricing Comparison

SurveyMonkey vs Delighted: Key Differences

Pricing & Plans

SurveyMonkey uses a per-user subscription model with annual response quotas. At low volumes (100–1K responses/month), the cheapest annual plan runs $468/year, which is slightly more than feedback.tools's $420/year. At 5K responses, SurveyMonkey jumps to $1,668/year with no monthly billing option.

Delighted charges per response on a monthly basis with no annual billing available. At 500 responses/month, you pay $224/month with no way to reduce it annually. At 1K responses, costs climb to $449/month, making it significantly more expensive than either SurveyMonkey or feedback.tools at scale.

feedback.tools charges a flat $35/month ($420/year) regardless of response volume. There are no per-response fees, no overage charges, and no tiers based on usage.

AI Features

SurveyMonkey gates all AI features behind its Team Premier+ plan. Sentiment analysis, AI-powered text analysis, and advanced insights are unavailable on lower tiers, including the standard annual plan at $468/year.

Delighted offers Smart Trends, a keyword-based theme detection system that groups responses by recurring words. It is not true AI analysis and does not automatically categorize feedback, identify bugs, or surface feature requests.

feedback.tools includes automated AI insights on all paid plans. Feedback is automatically categorized, sentiment is detected, and a prioritized product backlog is generated without any manual tagging or configuration.

Survey Types & In-App Targeting

SurveyMonkey supports URL-parameter-based targeting for web surveys, but lacks a full JavaScript SDK for in-app programmatic control. Survey delivery is primarily link-based, making precise in-app targeting difficult.

Delighted supports custom properties and segmentation on Premium plans ($224+/month). You can target users by attributes, but SDK access requires a paid tier, and free/starter plans are limited to link-based surveys.

feedback.tools includes a JavaScript SDK on the Standard plan, enabling programmatic targeting of specific users and segments without additional cost.

Integrations & SDK

SurveyMonkey offers broad integrations with tools like Salesforce, Zoom, and Power BI, but most of these require the Enterprise tier. Core integrations are available on lower plans.

Delighted connects with Salesforce, Slack, Intercom, and others, with most integrations available on paid plans. Mobile SDK access is not available, limiting in-app use cases on mobile platforms.

feedback.tools focuses on a JavaScript SDK for web integration and offers standard webhook-based connectivity. It is purpose-built for in-app web surveys rather than broad CRM/enterprise integration.

Ease of Setup

SurveyMonkey is built for teams and enterprises with complex survey workflows. Setup involves user management, response quota configuration, and integration setup, which can take significant time for non-technical users.

Delighted is designed for quick CX measurement with minimal setup. Its templated NPS, CSAT, and CES surveys can be deployed in minutes, making it well-suited for teams that want fast feedback without custom configuration.

feedback.tools is built for software development teams who need in-app surveys with JavaScript SDK integration. Setup requires developer involvement but is straightforward for engineering-led teams.

Hidden Costs

Hidden Costs of SurveyMonkey

⚠️ Response limits are annual, not monthly: Plans pool responses yearly, so you could run out mid-year if you front-load surveys.

⚠️ Free plan hides responses beyond 25: You can collect more than 25 responses, but must upgrade to view them.

⚠️ No free trial for paid features: Cannot test premium features before committing to an annual plan.

⚠️ Overage charges: $0.05-$0.10 per response when exceeding plan limits.

⚠️ Auto-renewal by default: Accounts auto-renew indefinitely with a strict no-refund policy.

⚠️ Team plans require 3+ users minimum: Cannot get team collaboration features as a solo user or pair.

⚠️ Annual billing only for most plans: Standard Monthly ($99/mo) is the only monthly option.

⚠️ Advanced features locked to higher tiers: Sentiment analysis, advanced logic, white-label branding, and phone support require Premier plans or higher.

⚠️ Enterprise-only integrations: Salesforce, Power BI, Zoom, SMS surveys, and offline mode require the highest tier.

⚠️ HIPAA compliance is an add-on: Extra cost on top of already-expensive Enterprise pricing.

Hidden Costs of Delighted

⚠️ Platform sunset June 30, 2026: Delighted will be discontinued, making it unsuitable for long-term commitment or annual contracts.

⚠️ Hard monthly response caps: When you hit your monthly limit, all surveys immediately close with no grace period or overage option.

⚠️ Unused responses expire: Responses don't roll over to the next month, so unused capacity is lost.

⚠️ Limited delivery channels on lower tiers: Email, SMS, and SDK access require Premium plans ($224+/month), free and starter plans support only link surveys.

⚠️ Live chat support paywalled: Support is self-serve only until you reach the Premium tier at $224/month.

⚠️ Survey send limits: Even if you have response capacity, there are hard monthly caps on surveys sent (1,000 on Free, 10,000 on Premium).

Hidden Costs of feedback.tools

No hidden costs! All features are available on the Standard plan with no limits except the number of surveys.

SurveyMonkey vs Delighted: Which Should You Choose?

Choose SurveyMonkey if: you need unlimited surveys, extensive templates, and enterprise-grade integrations across a large team.

Choose Delighted if: you need fast NPS/CSAT/CES deployment via email or SMS with minimal setup and you can migrate before the June 2026 shutdown.

Consider feedback.tools if: you're a software development team that wants flat-rate pricing, built-in AI insights, and sentiment analysis without paying per user or per seat.

A Better Alternative for Software Teams

feedback.tools is built specifically for software development teams: response-based pricing, automated AI insights, sentiment analysis, and incident tracking — all on a single flat-rate plan.

Try feedback.tools free today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SurveyMonkey better than Delighted?

SurveyMonkey is better if you need unlimited surveys, extensive templates, and broader enterprise integrations. Delighted is better if you need fast multi-channel NPS/CSAT/CES collection, though it is shutting down on June 30, 2026.

Which is cheaper: SurveyMonkey or Delighted?

SurveyMonkey is cheaper at low response volumes: $468/year for up to 1K responses/month. Delighted costs $224/month at 500 responses and $449/month at 1K responses, making it significantly more expensive at scale. At 5K responses, neither offers a clear affordable option.

Does SurveyMonkey have a free plan?

SurveyMonkey has a free plan, but it caps responses at 25 per survey (additional responses are collected but hidden until you upgrade). Most useful features require a paid plan starting at $39/month billed annually.

Does Delighted have a free plan?

Delighted offers a free plan limited to 1,000 survey sends per month with link-based delivery only. Email, SDK, and SMS channels require the Premium plan at $224/month, and the platform is shutting down in June 2026.

What is a good SurveyMonkey alternative?

feedback.tools is a strong alternative for software teams: it charges $35/month for unlimited responses, includes automatic AI analysis and sentiment detection, and offers a JavaScript SDK for in-app targeting.

Conclusion

SaaS teams that need in-app surveys with automated AI insights and unlimited responses at a fixed cost will find feedback.tools more practical than either SurveyMonkey or Delighted.