LimeSurvey
Open-source survey platform — a German alternative to SurveyMonkey.
Overview
LimeSurvey is a Hamburg, Germany-based European company building form builder and open source software since 2003. As an EU-headquartered provider, LimeSurvey operates under GDPR and is outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act, making it a privacy-friendly alternative to Typeform and Google Forms for European teams.
Why European teams pick LimeSurvey
Teams in Europe pick LimeSurvey when they want a form builder provider that bills in EUR, supports their local data-protection officer requirements, and keeps customer data under Germany law, operating since 2003. Compared with Typeform and Google Forms, LimeSurvey avoids cross-border data transfers under Schrems II and the US CLOUD Act, which is often the deciding factor for European procurement and legal teams.
See more EU form builder tools or browse other startups from Germany.
About
LimeSurvey is an open-source online survey platform developed in Hamburg, Germany since 2003 and used by over 400,000 installations globally, including major universities, research institutions, and European public sector organisations. It offers over 100 question types, multi-language support, panel management, response quotas, and SPSS/R-compatible data export for statistical analysis. The Community Edition (GPL) is fully self-hostable on any EU server. LimeSurvey Cloud is hosted in German data centres with GDPR compliance. It is the reference platform for academic and social research in Europe and is trusted by organisations like the European Commission for EU-wide survey projects.
Details
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- Hamburg, Germany
Categories
Other EU startups like LimeSurvey
- FormVaultNorway — GDPR-compliant form builder with end-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM), EU data residency, and a submission dashboard. No cookie banners needed.
- PocketbaseBulgaria — Open-source backend in a single file — a European alternative to Firebase.
- NocoDBGermany — Open-source Airtable alternative that turns databases into smart spreadsheets.
- BaserowNetherlands — Open-source no-code database and Airtable alternative — built in the Netherlands.
- PortainerNew Zealand — Container management UI for Docker and Kubernetes — a New Zealand/European alternative to Rancher.
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Frequently asked questions
What is LimeSurvey?
LimeSurvey is an open-source online survey platform developed in Hamburg, Germany since 2003 and used by over 400,000 installations globally, including major universities, research institutions, and European public sector organisations. It offers over 100 question types, multi-language support, panel management, response quotas, and SPSS/R-compatible data export for statistical analysis. The Community Edition (GPL) is fully self-hostable on any EU server. LimeSurvey Cloud is hosted in German data centres with GDPR compliance. It is the reference platform for academic and social research in Europe and is trusted by organisations like the European Commission for EU-wide survey projects.
What does LimeSurvey do?
LimeSurvey is open-source survey platform — a german alternative to surveymonkey. It is listed under form builder and open source on EU Alts because its core functionality serves teams looking for a European form builder tool with EU data residency, typically as a switch away from Typeform and Google Forms.
Is LimeSurvey a good European form builder alternative?
LimeSurvey is a fit for European businesses evaluating form builder options where data residency and GDPR alignment matter — typical buyers include EU-based SaaS teams, public-sector projects, regulated industries (healthcare, finance, legal), and any organisation that needs to demonstrate that customer data does not leave the EU. It also overlaps with open source use cases.
Is LimeSurvey GDPR compliant?
LimeSurvey is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and falls under EU jurisdiction, so it processes user data under the GDPR by default. Customer data processing is supervised by Germany's data protection authority, the Bundesbeauftragte für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit (BfDI). Because the company is not US-incorporated, it is not subject to the US CLOUD Act — meaning US authorities cannot compel LimeSurvey to disclose customer data the way they can with Typeform and Google Forms. For European buyers, that often simplifies DPIA paperwork and standard contractual clauses.
How do teams switch from Typeform to LimeSurvey?
Most teams move to LimeSurvey from Typeform and Google Forms because they want EU data residency without giving up the core form builder workflow. LimeSurvey's Germany base means a single jurisdiction for both the company and (typically) its hosting infrastructure, so you can drop Schrems II transfer impact assessments for this part of your stack. Plan the migration in stages: export your data from the US incumbent, pilot LimeSurvey with a small team, then move the rest once the integration coverage you need is confirmed.
Where is LimeSurvey based?
LimeSurvey is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company was founded in 2003. Its main website is https://www.limesurvey.org.