Which survey products handle language routing, and what to test before you buy

What to take away

Language routing is documented on paid plans from Qualtrics Survey Platform, SurveyMonkey, Alchemer, QuestionPro and SmartSurvey, and in the free LimeSurvey community edition.
Scored on published evidence alone, the provisional order runs SmartSurvey, LimeSurvey, Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Alchemer, QuestionPro. The acceptance test, not the score, decides.
No UK price including VAT could be confirmed at 6 September 2026. Published signals sit in USD and EUR, so only a dated quote is usable.
Demand an acceptance test with synthetic responses and every approved script before you buy.
A recorded survey language is participant data, not proof of proficiency, so access, retention, deletion and export terms belong in writing.

Shortlist ranked on published evidence

Feature pages and help records were checked on 6 September 2026 for England-based commissioning. No account was opened and no edition was tested. The ONS language topic page gives the share of Welsh and other language speakers, which sets how many versions a survey needs.

If you want to test a supplier's own claims against other public sources, the method is covered in researching multilingual competitors from public records. The table below ranks disclosure, not fitness for your brief.

Language routing evidence gaps

Qualtrics (licence unknown)

Language route: Multiple languages, language selection
Target text: Upload, download, manual editing
Procurement-safe edition: Not identified
UK price and VAT: Unknown
Data location: Unknown

SurveyMonkey (paid plan unknown)

Language route: Respondent choice, language links
Target text: Buyer supplies translations
Procurement-safe edition: Not identified
UK price and VAT: Unknown
Data location: Unknown

Manual baseline

Language route: Separate approved forms, study ID
Target text: Manual translation and review
Procurement-safe edition: Not applicable
UK price and VAT: Staff time only
Data location: Buyer controlled

Product	Language routing	Exports	UK price and edition	Accessibility record	Rank
SmartSurvey	Multilingual surveys on some paid plans	Excel, CSV, SPSS	UK hosting stated; GBP 29 per month excluding VAT	Not stated	1
LimeSurvey	Multilingual surveys in the free community edition	CSV, SPSS, Excel, PDF	Free to self-host; Cloud from around EUR 29 per month	Not stated	2
Qualtrics Survey Platform	Multiple languages in one survey, language selection, recorded language field	Several formats; permissions can disable export	Translation only with certain licences; no edition named	Checker has stated limits	3
SurveyMonkey	Respondent choice, language links, browser-language behaviour	Export labelled as paid	Plan unnamed; check the plan	No product-specific record found	4
Alchemer	Multi-language surveys, language element, respondent choice	CSV, Excel, SPSS	From around USD 49 per month, enterprise quotes	Not stated	5
QuestionPro	Multi-language surveys with translated question and answer options	Excel, CSV, SPSS	Free plan has limits; from around USD 99 per month	Not stated	6

Ranking uses a published routing record, an export list, a UK hosting or pricing statement, a named edition and any accessibility record. SmartSurvey leads on UK hosting and a GBP rate. LimeSurvey follows with a free self-hosted route and the widest export list.

Price and VAT: what remains unconfirmed

Qualtrics says translation is available only with certain licences. SurveyMonkey labels multilingual surveys and export as paid features and asks users to check their plan. Neither page names a procurement-safe edition.

Edition, UK price, VAT, data location and contract terms stay unknown until a dated quote and agreement name them. Alchemer, QuestionPro, LimeSurvey and SmartSurvey publish paid or free routes, and each exact edition still needs written confirmation.

Terms in England must be fair and transparent. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the standard a supplier contract is measured against.

Example: one frozen brief for the acceptance test

One frozen brief

One questionnaire, English source and Welsh target version.
Language choice offered at the start, with no inferred profiling.
One invitation route per language version, reconciled through a single study ID.
Export as UTF-8 CSV with an explicit codebook.

Manual baseline: cost and time

Three language versions mean three form builds, three invitation routes and one reconciliation sheet. Staff time scales with the number of versions rather than the number of respondents.

Platform pricing usually scales with responses or seats, so volume sets where the manual route stops competing. The per-task scores behind that judgement sit in the comparison of Phrase TMS, Lokalise and a manual baseline. The manual route also survives a platform that fails the evidence standard.

Run one acceptance test on every candidate

Freeze the brieftarget population, sampling frame, one questionnaire, one source language and one target-language version.
Ask the supplier to name the contracting entity, edition, hosting geography and sub-processors in writing.
Enter synthetic responses in each approved script and complete the survey twice per language.
Test language selection without inferred profiling, then right-to-left display and screen-reader completion.
Test validation messages, withdrawal, mobile rendering and session timeouts.
Export every response set and check missing values, encoding, script preservation and access roles.
Check deletion, backup treatment and account handover before signing.

Same acceptance test for every product

Use synthetic responses and approved scripts
Test language selection without inferred profiling
Test right-to-left display where relevant
Test keyboard and screen-reader completion
Test validation, withdrawal and mobile rendering
Test exports, missing values and script preservation
Test access roles, deletion and account handover

One feature cannot offset failure elsewhere. Select no product if the exact edition, data flow or exit stays unclear.

Survey responses are personal data. The ICO UK GDPR guidance and resources covers lawful basis, retention and deletion for the edition you buy. Keep export files under the same retention rules as the live responses.

Privacy, security, accessibility and procurement owners each sign their own gate. Non-compensating gates for provider and product review are explained in reviewing multilingual social providers and products.

Common questions

Which survey product should I choose?

Start with SmartSurvey and LimeSurvey where UK hosting or a free self-hosted route matters most. Let the acceptance test choose between them, because no edition is named and no UK price is confirmed.

Why is there no UK price including VAT?

Qualtrics gates translation by licence, and SurveyMonkey treats multilingual surveys and export as paid features without naming the plan. Alchemer, QuestionPro and LimeSurvey publish in USD or EUR, and the SmartSurvey GBP figure excludes VAT.

What does the acceptance test cover?

Language selection, right-to-left display, screen-reader completion, validation, withdrawal, mobile rendering, exports, missing values and access roles. It uses synthetic responses in every approved script, so no participant data is at risk.

Is there a free or self-hosted option?

LimeSurvey community edition is free to self-host and supports multilingual surveys. Self-hosting moves the cost to staff time, backups and security, so treat it as a paid route on a different invoice.