--- title: "XM for Strategy & Research Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is XM for Strategy & Research the right Survey solution for you? Explore 427 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/72396/Strategy-and-Research/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- XM for Strategy & Research 4.7 (427) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/72396/Strategy-and-Research/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated August 26th, 2026 # Reviews of XM for Strategy & Research Ease of use 4.4 Customer Service 4.6 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews Ginger S Graduate Student Academic AdvisorEducation Management, 201 - 500 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Mostly I and my team used it for collecting basic data, however, when I had the opportunity to use it for research data collection, I was impressed with the flexibility of the settings and logic to deploy a high-level, IRB-approved survey.“ July 9, 2025 CC Connor C Data AnalystNon-Profit Organization Management, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “There are not enough customization options for some of our projects, and when using personalized links, the survey expires a week or so after being opened with no ability to change the duration before it expires“ March 16, 2026 JW Jamie W Onboarding ManagerMarketing and Advertising, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “I also love how the survey appears to the survey takers because it has each question come up after the other so the survey takers aren't easily distracted or overwhelmed by the long surveys.“ June 9, 2024 Toni M Director of Market ResearchMarket Research, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The biggest pain point is that you cannot tag your panelists to different topics.“ April 20, 2026 AW Ashley W PrincipalResearch, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “It was not terribly friendly to do, but the collaboration component made feedback simpler.“ October 1, 2024 Toni M Director of Market ResearchMarket Research, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “You can only overwrite existing information.“ April 20, 2026 SH Shir H Social Media ManagerPharmaceuticals, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Qualtrics XM provides us with excellent services.“ December 29, 2024 Chandan K DirectorInformation Technology and Services, 10,001+ employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The set up takes a lot of cache memory and hijack the speed of the processor. If you are using a lot of multilayered applications at once, you are prone to face some disruptions for sure.“ August 5, 2024 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 427 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Ginger S. Graduate Student Academic Advisor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Flexible, Powerful Tool with a Learning Curve" July 9, 2025 4.0 Overall, using Qualtrics XM has been a positive experience. Mostly I and my team used it for collecting basic data, however, when I had the opportunity to use it for research data collection, I was impressed with the flexibility of the settings and logic to deploy a high-level, IRB-approved survey. It just took some time to learn it, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Pros Qualtrics XM is a powerful, flexible tool that can perform funtions as basic as a survey on lunch preferences to research surveys with IRB-required anonymity. The variety of question types, delivery methods, collaboration options, and export settings make Qualtrics a versatile tool for a wide variety of settings. Cons Due to its capacity for high-level performance, many of the tools, options, and settings are not intuitive. Significant time and effort along with thorough training are needed to make use of all the features available to Qualtrics XM users. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Market Research Market Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "By far the best survey platform out there." April 20, 2026 5.0 Very positive--not major complaints, and the customer service team is also very knowledgable and timely in responding to your resquests. Pros By far the best survey platform out there. A comprehensive suite inclusive of survey design, survey outreach, panel management, and analytics. Cons The biggest pain point is that you cannot tag your panelists to different topics. You can only overwrite existing information. Alternatives considered [Decipher](https://www.capterra.com/p/188720/Decipher/) Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research Simply a more comprehensive and a much much easier product to use. Review Source Melissa R. Administrator Food & Beverages Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "The Gold Standard for Advanced Enterprise ResearchIncredibly " August 21, 2026 4.0 Advanced survey logic: Handles complex skip logic and branching seamlessly.Powerful data analytics: Offers deep data filtering and real-time visualization reporting tools.Enterprise-grade security: Provides robust user access controls and reliable data encryption. Pros A very powerful and secure platform for data collection, though the high cost and complex interface mean it requires dedicated staff training to fully utilize Cons Steep learning curve: Setting up advanced projects can be overwhelming for beginners.Premium pricing: The software is expensive and might not offer the best value for smaller teams.Rigid interface templates: Customizing the visual look of surveys can sometimes feel restrictive. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Survey Research Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good product held by poor support and reporting options" February 10, 2026 3.0 Good tool for collection data, mediocre (at best) for reporting and analysis of results. Terrible customer support - I cannot stress this enough Pros Advanced survey logic, routing, skip logic. Advanced question types, workflows, survey distribution methods Cons Poor customer service. Poor reliability, changes nad updates are made in a haphazard manner. Reporting (even the Results Dashboard) is lacking in functionality. Alternatives considered [Blue](https://www.capterra.com/p/125028/Blue-Surveys/)[QuestionPro](https://www.capterra.com/p/135455/QuestionPro/)[Zoho Survey](https://www.capterra.com/p/131426/Zoho-Survey/)[SurveyMonkey](https://www.capterra.com/p/253516/SurveyMonkey/) Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research It seemed like the best product for our needs at the time and the price was reasonable. Review Source VK Vatsal K. Software Engineer Computer Software Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Qualtrics- the leading survey software" May 28, 2026 5.0 Pros The smoothest user experience I have found in a survey taking software so far. Great UI as well and best for enterprise users focused on analytics aspect of surveys Cons There needs to be a better transparent pricing estimation and to use this, you need to have someone focused on this or need to have a big learning curve to leverage this properly. Review Source TA Tahir A. Manager Market Research Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "XM for Strategy " March 3, 2025 5.0 it is considered a powerful tool for market research and strategic insights generation across various industries. Pros I like the was we can see how the research is communicated Cons There could be more indepth information given on the research Alternatives considered [UrbanBound](https://www.capterra.com/p/222664/UrbanBound/) Reason for choosing XM for Strategy & Research allowing researchers to transform complex data into easily Review Source Andrew P. Project Manager Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Designed to Advance your metrics" September 3, 2019 5.0 This tools is fantastic for working with our Faculty and Researchers. They expect in-depth analysis and appreciate the power of Qualtrics. Our staff and administrative personnel have all learned to use Qualtrics and most of my co-workers find it easy to use and can adapt it to their various needs. This is a great option for anyone looking for a variety of analytics for surveying, and can be adapted to simpler projects as well. Pros The most useful part of Qualtrics is the depth of analytics you receive on your surveys, questionnaires, and other tools. In real time, as you develop your surveys you are given insights into how your data can be analyzed. It is designed to help you get the data you need back without asking unnecessary questions. The menu for building out surveys is very easy to use and the number of options and variety in types of questions gives you the ability to develop them exactly how you want. Conditional formatting is easy to implement, and there are many ways to incorporate other media into your survey/questionnaire. The surveys are built to be compatible in mobile without any additional design input as well. Cons At times Qualtrics is a more powerful tool than you need. I find that there are some users who adapt to Qualtrics quickly, but others simply do not need it. If you are asking straight-forward surveys and only need basic analysis, you can find easier and lower cost tools. Some people can be overwhelmed by the options and the "analysis" that come with the variety of question-types. That being said, this can be a one-size-fits-all solution, but there will be some training and trial and error involved. Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) Conditional logic and analysis was not as simple, required additional add-ins, and did not provide us the flexibility we needed. Review Source Nadir S. College House Dean Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Data Collection and Analysis Made Easy" April 21, 2021 5.0 We have used Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey for larger surveys (50-100 questions) about students' experiences and Qualtrics makes manipulating the date very simple. It's easy to filter and export the data if you want to use Excel to do a bit more digging. Pros I primarily use SurveyMonkey, Google Forms, and Qualtrics for surveying my students. Qualtrics is adopted by our University on a wider scale and we have access to all features. Qualtrics is a very capable, easy to use tool. There are a lot of helpful resources online that can be used to make the most of the features. Cons If you are looking for a short and quick form to collect simple data, like signups, that don't require any data analysis, it is often easier to set it up in Google Forms or O365 than in Qualtrics. Qualtrics needs many more clicks for a simple survey than other (free) options. Switched from [SurveyMonkey](https://www.capterra.com/p/253516/SurveyMonkey/) SurveyMonkey was an individual license and in some ways it was not as feature-rich as Qualtrics. When other departments switched to Qualtrics, we did too, so we could save money on licensing. Review Source CC Connor C. Data Analyst Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Has most of what you need, missing a lot of extensive options for customization" March 16, 2026 4.0 Overall we like Qualtrics and it gives us everything we need to draft and send out surveys for our company Pros I like how it is optimized for creating normal surveys. For most of your projects, you don’t need to spend extra time on things that should be easy because they made it easy to do those things. Cons There are not enough customization options for some of our projects, and when using personalized links, the survey expires a week or so after being opened with no ability to change the duration before it expires Review Source Renee L. HR Coordinator Computer & Network Security Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Fantastic tool" August 7, 2025 5.0 Overall XM makes collecting and visualizing data super easy. The interface makes it easy to construct complex questions that have many layers to them; with all the features and options they provide users, surveys are far easier to execute than with other products. Pros XM has a great offering of features with their tool, I think they lead the industry with this. The data visualization options and the survey builder makes composing complex surveys and sharing the data a breeze. Cons The only negative I can really say is the cost for XM. It's a fantastic tool and I understand that the subscription price is a reflection of that. Review Source SH Shir H. Social Media Manager Pharmaceuticals Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simplify data collection from target groups directly" December 29, 2024 5.0 Qualtrics XM made setting up and publishing surveys easier and faster, enabling us to expand our marketing research deployment and continuously feed the database. Pros Qualtrics XM provides us with excellent services. We can create any survey, I loved the ease of integrating it into social media ads or promotional messages across all communication channels. I loved how Qualtrics XM makes the questions within the form clear and organized and enables respondents to navigate and record answers easily. I loved its ability to screen respondents and ensure they are real and from within the target group. Cons There are no negatives at all. With Qualtrics XM everything is easy and data collection is straightforward. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Research Associate Research Used the software for: 2+ years ### "It's the best - but the future is concerning" October 5, 2019 5.0 Qualtrics is excellent all around, and has been the standard survey software among academic researchers for years for a reason. However, while the base platform is great, the organization is far from perfect. I had numerous issues deploying the offline app. After months of contacting support -- and getting zero explanation as to why my account, which was enabled for the offline app, could not access the app. After months of bothering them, they did something -- didn't tell me what -- and it worked. Their support team, while friendly, wasn't knowledgeable about their survey app and couldn't connect me with someone who was. Their best information regarding app crashes was that "the development team says it's buggy." Not super helpful considering the additional fee for the app. The timing of these experiences with support -- the same time that the Qualtrics company was sold, and immediately refocused toward the "customer experience" and CRM products they make -- has me concerned about the future of Qualtrics for academic research. Pros Building and deploying a basic survey in Qualtrics is very easy. Every step of the process, from writing questions to survey launch and distribution will be simple as long as you allow it to be. For advanced users, Qualtrics offers a number of methods for building in complex survey logic (such as skip patterns, display patterns, and survey flow mapping). Additionally, the built-in question types can be modified using JavaScript, allowing advanced users to ensure that the question "works" exactly as designed, without compromise. Sending the survey is exceedingly easy as long as you've got someone to send it to. Followups with those who haven't respond can be automated through their email system as well. Exporting data to a variety of formats upon survey completion is simple. As long as you've done everything right within Qualtrics, the quality of the data you export should be pretty high. Cons The data analysis options offered within Qualtrics are weak, as are the data cleaning options. This is a non-issue for smaller, or non-scientific surveys. However, for most of its existence Qualtrics has been licensed by universities worldwide specifically for use in scientific studies. Less experienced researchers may be misled by these lacking tools and produce inaccurate analyses based on them. The Qualtrics survey platform also offers an offline application -- for an additional fee -- which is extremely weak. It does not work with many functions that a survey used primarily online may include, such as the "request response" option. It's also prone to crashing for no clear reason. Users dealing with protected health information (i.e. those who need to be HIPAA compliant) should consider other options. While Qualtrics does consider themselves "self-assessed" to be HIPAA compliant, they do not enter business associate agreements with clients (so, they do not take liability for the protection of the data); other platforms, such as SurveyMonkey, offer full HIPAA compliance with a BAA. Review Source ES Eshwar S. UX Researcher Research Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Best of the best but super pricey" January 5, 2023 5.0 Superb tool for conducting market, academic, behavioural, or business research. Very feature rich and easy to learn. Overall great experience but just super pricey for all but the bigger companies. Pros Feature-rich and easy to learn. Integrates with lots of software given it's the industry standard. UI is really nice to use and offers tools for analysis too. Cons Extremely pricey. They offer discounts if you ask, especially for smaller companies. But the plans shut out a lot of people. Free trial is pretty good giving you all features but time limited; so maybe do this to start with.Also the plans are odd; all plans except the top (very pricey custom quote plan) limit you to 1000 responses per year, so even with a really nice plan you are quite limited response wise. Particularly bad if you run frequent surveys. Review Source SC Sriram C. Associate Professor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Qualtrics is a Fantastic Product " March 3, 2022 5.0 It is a fantastic product that is continuing to evolve over time. Pros Qualtrics is the tool I depend on for collecting data from target sample groups. The Qualitrics app is easy to use for building surveys, collecting data, and interpreting results using automatically generated reports, with graphs and tables. Cons I have zero complaints about Qualtrics. The app is great for maintaining privacy and security of user data and for managing personal identifying information. Review Source KS Kayla S. Campaign Manager Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great tool for staff, students, etc.!" June 16, 2023 5.0 I've used qualtrics in many ways. For simple things like a door decorating contest among staff, a chili cook off registration, sign up for skydiving club, gathering information for students i advised, event registration and more. The trigger email is my favorite thing qualtrics has so follow up can be automated! Being able to copy qualtrics or edit ones you use frequently to fit your current needs are amazing, so you dont always have to start from scratch! Pros Qualtrics made it easy for me to gather information on students I advised. I could ask them questions related to their testing and if it was completed, what courses they were interested in taking, etc. and it made it so I didn't have to manually look all this info up (although I'd check their answers when we met!). It also made it possible for visits and events to have students sign themselves up as well as guests with a trigger email going to both of them from our team letting them know who to contact with further questions and attach a map of our campus! Cons No cons, this system is one of the best that our institution has spent money on! It helps save time and make things efficient when we need to gather info! Review Source AK Amanda K. Researcher Religious Institutions Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Product and It Keeps Getting Better" June 20, 2019 4.0 Overall I really love Qualtrics. I'd highly recommend it. It allows for great collaboration, I like that I can customize using Java or HTML, and it also applies to many types of research. The other cores are also great. I'm always excited about the newest feature rollouts and it seems they're always getting better. Pros I love that Qualtrics is so intuitive and has so much functionality built in. I also love that they are consistently working to improve it and roll out other useful features. I seldom find it's missing something that I need for my job. Cons I have hated the reporting and dashboard functionality, as well as the administration dashboard. It's not that they're terrible, but I can create better stuff for myself by downloading the raw data and manipulating it in Excel. HOWEVER, we do have major dashboard, reporting, and administration updates coming in the next month which sound very promising and like great improvements. One other negative, you can't have two people working on a project at once - it gets buggy and changes get lost. It's also difficult to have two Qualtrics pages open in your browser at once. I've managed to manipulate it to a degree, but it doesn't do super well. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Field Marketing Specialist Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Qualtrics is a strong tool for collecting and analyzing data" April 26, 2022 5.0 The platform is primarily used for market research, although other departments have recently started using it for vendor scorecards. We are currently developing a use case that will allow our stores to provide real-time input on operational opportunities. As a result, the time it takes to respond will be reduced. Pros Using Core XM, I can create surveys, distribute them, and view the results in a variety of ways. My target demographic will have no trouble using its user interface and templates because they are both very user-friendly. Cons After using Qualtrics, I can't think of many disadvantages. According to what I've read, the phrasing of questions can become challenging depending on the amount of your investigation. Using the tool for a research project, for example, necessitated extreme caution in selecting the questions we posed to ensure that they were relevant to our original idea. This is more of a warning than a problem in the tool itself, though. Review Source FA Frances A. Senior Research Specialist Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Qualtrics is beginner friendly! " September 9, 2021 5.0 As a relatively new user of Qualtrics, I am definitely a fan. It was easier to learn with the help of their email and chat support. Their online help topics are also very helpful! Pros I had never used an online survey software and working with Qualtrics was user friendly. I could set up several national surveys using skip logic and survey flow to address various conditions. The customer service is top-notch! I believe in every case that I had to contact them; they could answer my questions. Qualtrics even updated their interface since I started using it and the additional features were also user friendly. Cons I am not sure if this is a university policy or a Qualtrics policy but limiting the use of matrix formats, which adds time to the survey for both the builder and participant. But I understand that readability is important. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Visiting Researcher Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Highly reliable software" December 18, 2019 5.0 It is very reliable software to collect responses which use can extend from students' feedback, tracking of students experiments to collect event registrations and abstract submissions. With some updates, it can become a fantastic multi-tasking software. Pros Highly user-friendly and most of its features require no programming skills (as a user, not as an administrator) with a nice working environment. It is quite flexible software and can be used as a conference management tool to track registrations and even handle the abstract submission, review and the subsequent revisions Cons Some parts require basic skills of programming (eg in the appearance of the form, the adjustment of the font style and position, or in the design of the automatic replies). More flexibility in uploading data from other forms would make this product very helpfull and more versatile. Moreover, deleting selected responses takes forever and decrease its ease of use. Similarly, it would be ideal if the data file wouldn't be disturbed once there is an addition of a question (currently it doesn't move the old data to the relevant cell when a new column is added). Last but not least, it would be great if the data mapping from other forms could be used in a user-friendly way to create automatic responses (currently even with the help of academic staff from Computer Sciences, we couldn't resolve the issue) Review Source SV Sotheary V. Digital Marketing Coordinator Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Does the Job, Looks better than Google Form" September 26, 2022 5.0 Positive experience with Qualtrics, just wish it was "cuter" and easier to navigate, especially when it comes to data and reports. Pros I like that it is convenient and there is a free feature that allows me to do quick surveys. Cons It's not very user friendly. It's not hard to understand but I feel like finding features tends to be difficult and it's not as intuitive as I'd like. Switched from [Google Forms](https://www.capterra.com/p/176571/Google-Forms/) Google forms was not as good looking. Review Source CW Caroline W. Assistant Professor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Qualtrics: A Great Tool for Education and Research" June 16, 2021 5.0 Qualtrics is a great tool for survey design. It’s easy to use for research, course work, and professional organizations. It offers features not available on other sites and typically allows for the clearest and cleanest survey design. Pros Qualtrics is easy to use for research purposes as well as instructional materials. It is easy to construct well designed surveys, copy questions between projects, and even create quick RSVP’s or surveys to collect information from people. Further, as a teacher, having students use Qualtrics is simple. The website is fairly self-intuitive and easy for students to use. There are also a lot of great resources that help users understand the features of the product. Cons One difficult part of the software is how the font is managed on surveys. If you bring in questions outside of the library, often you have to manually change the font for each question. It would be great if everything was set to a default font instead! Review Source Becca G. Learning Specialist Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "A step up from Survey Monkey" December 18, 2018 5.0 We use Qualtrics for student satisfaction surveys for our coaching and tutoring programs, events and workshops, or to poll students regarding needs, ideas for services, etc. As a doctoral candidate and researcher, I use Qualtrics to deliver a digital version of survey instruments and filter and export my data dor use in SPSS. I use it multiple times per week. Pros It generates extremely professional looking surveys and results are exportable to csv format if you want to make an Excel or Google Sheet or directly into SPSS for advanced statistical analysis. Cons A few features weren't self-explanatory, but quick Google searches turn up instructions, usually a Qualtrics help page. Review Source Lon D. Assistant Dean Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great survey software " October 16, 2018 5.0 Our University owns an enterprise license for this software program so it is readily available for our use. Recently I had difficulty with a survey b/c the results were not reflecting what we thought we had done with the distribution of it. That said, it was user error and through GREAT customer service we discovered what had happened and chose to close it out and distribute a second one that was formatted correctly. I have now used this program for well over four years and would highly recommend it to anyone needing a survey tool for gathering data/information. Great program!! Pros This is a very powerful program for creating and distributing surveys. On the surface it is fairly user-friendly, however, there is a depth to this program beyond what you see on the surface that can be incredibly useful. That said, customer service is really amazing and is willing to quickly assist when there is a question about doing something with the program that is not just your standard survey creation. Cons It is difficult to understand the depth to this program without some significant time spent or communication with customer service. The settings/tools are a bit kluge unless you fully understand the "language" of survey creation and the research it supports. Review Source mH mark H. Academic Technology & Instructional Design. Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A very powerful survey application, very intuitive to use! Extremely flexible, superb support" September 4, 2017 5.0 great survey tools obviously, but we have built some wonderful educational applications as well Without the flexibility of Qualtrics we would never have even tried to create these apps on our own. Pros The broad variety of question types, the generally intuitive inteface that lets you start simply, but encourages you to explore its more poweful features. I like the ability to easily get data out in a variety of formats (SPSS, CSV, etc) and add Tableau support was a huge plus!!! The ability to customize the look and feel is very nice, and the flexible distribution options (email, anonymous links, etc) work very well for us. The ability to embed objects in the GUI Editor is awesome, we have built training, teaching modules in Qualtrics without advanced tech help just because the tools are so easy to use!! Cons the Table of Contents tool is limited by rules put on place for surveys. We'd like to see educational options settings that would allow more creative use of Qualtrics for educational use. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Marketing Intellingence Coordinator Used the software for: 2+ years ### "One of the best survey tool in the market" February 10, 2018 5.0 Advanced survey functionalities Pros Qualtrics is a very intuitive and user friendly tool to build and launch a survey in few minutes. It offers the possibility to use different question types and logic in the survey flow. It's easy to build the questionnaire you need using its set of functionalities. There is the possibility to track respondents and send reminders, through email invite. Support team and e-learning platform are offering a first class service. Cons For the time being there better tools for Conjoint Analysis and Max Diff analysis. Reporting functionality is ok, but could result most proficient to download raw data to build visualizations with other tools. 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